Board of Trustees

Peter Dames is the President & CEO for Servco Pacific Inc. responsible for overseeing the company’s Automotive Distribution, Technology, Digital Strategy, and Marketing areas.

President of Trees for Honolulu’s Future; Former President of Hawaii Coffee Company; Former Vice President of Regional Marketing & Development of Hilton Grand Vacations; Former Executive Director of the Hawaii Community Development Authority; Former Chair of the Board of Japan-America Society of Hawaii and Current Director; Monbusho Scholar at the University of Tokyo.

Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer of First Hawaiian Bank,Inc.; Chairman – Hawaii Medical Service Association; Board Member – Pacific Guardian Life, Hawaii Community Foundation, Hawaii Bankers Association, Hawaii Business Roundtable and Shidler College of Business.

Professor Emeritus of Japanese Literature, Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures at UH Mānoa; Former Director of the Center for Japanese Studies at UH Mānoa; Member of the Steering Committee for National Institute of Japanese Literature (Tachikawa, Japan); former member of University of Ryukyus Management Council, 2009-2018. Recipient of Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon (2019) 

Retired CFO, Central Pacific Bank and Retired Executive Vice President Bank of Hawaii.

Attorney, Law Office of Lawrence Kumabe; Former State of Hawaii Deputy Attorney General; Executive Board Member of Japanese Jr. Chamber of Commerce; Former President of Japanese-American Citizens League; Board Member of Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii.

Arnold Martines is Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Central Pacific Bank (CPB). He joined CPB in 2004 and has served in a range of senior leadership roles, including President and Chief Operating Officer and Chief Banking Officer.
In his current role, Martines advances CPBʼs founding commitment to serve all of Hawaiʻiʼs people with aloha—honoring the legacy of the bankʼs nisei veteran founders who served in the legendary 442nd Regimental Combat Team and 100th Infantry Battalion. A central focus of his leadership is strengthening and expanding ties between Hawaiʻi and Japan, cultivating long-term relationships that promote investment, business collaboration, and mutual opportunity for Japanese and local business owners. He also champions advocacy for small business and homeownership and continues to advance the bankʼs digital capabilities through innovation to better support customers and employees.
Martines grew up in Pāʻauilo on Hawaiʻi Island during the final years of the sugar plantation era—an experience he credits with shaping the values of Positively Ohana and Voyaging Spirit that are core to CPB today.
Active in the community, Martines currently serves on the boards of the Hawaiʻi Community Foundation, YMCA of Honolulu, Saint Louis School, and the Hawaiʻi Catholic Community Foundation. His past board service includes Chair of Child & Family Service, as well as past Chair roles with Hope Services Hawaiʻi and Scouting America, Aloha Council.

Elliott Mills brings over 30 years of leadership experience in Hawaii’s hospitality sector, with executive roles at Disney Aulani, Marriott International, and as Vice President overseeing all four resorts at Disneyland Resort in California. He is known for driving operational excellence, strengthening owner relations, and delivering guest experiences rooted in Hawaiian culture.
At Hawaii Hospitality Group, Mills leads company-wide strategy and performance oversight. He remains actively involved in supporting healthcare, education, and tourism initiatives across the islands, reflecting a long-standing commitment to community and place.

Sun Global Broadband Board; Locations, Inc. Board; State Judicial Council; Hawaii Executive Collaborative Executive Advisor; Kinsen Co., Ltd, Hawaii Liaison; Hawaii Deep Ocean Enterprises Advisor; National Center for Higher Education Management Systems Senior Associate; JAIMS retired President; UH President’s Office Special Assistant; UH at Manoa School of Business Associate Dean, Associate Professor; Order of Rising Sun Gold Rays with Rosette.

Former Vice President of Community Relations for Outrigger Hotels Hawaii; Former Board Chair and Current Director of the Japan-America Society of Hawaii; Hawaii Opera Theatre Vice President; Chaminade University Regent; Pacific Asian Affairs Council Vice President; and numerous other non- profit organizations. Recipient of the Order of Rising Sun with Gold Rays and Rosette Imperial decoration.

Retired Audit Partner, KPMG Hawaii and KPMG Japan; Certified Public Accountant; Member – American Institute of CPAs and Hawaii Society of CPAs.

Deidre Tegarden is Executive Director of the Nisei Veterans Memorial Center in Maui, a position she has held since 2016. As a young woman she spent many years studying and working in Japan and China, an experience that shaped her deep respect for the contributions Asian cultures have made to Hawaii. She has extensive experience in non-profit and public sector administration and prior to joining the NVMC, she served as Chief of Protocol for the State of Hawaii in the administrations of Governors Neil Abercrombie and David Ige. She serves on the board of the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii and is a member of the U.S. – Japan Council, as well as an honorary member of the Alpha Delta Kappa Maui Chapter. Deidre also serves as the Maui County Field Representative for U.S. Representative Jill Tokuda.

Stephen Ueda is the President, CEO, and Chairman of Suisan Company, Limited in Hilo, Hawai‘i. Suisan was established in 1907 as a fresh fish auction market by a group of Japanese immigrant fishermen and fish peddlers that included Stephen’s great grandfather, Kamezo Matsuno.
Stephen earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa and a MS in Mechanical Engineering from MIT before working throughout the United States and United Kingdom as a product and systems engineer for companies such as Ford, Visteon and Altia Automotive. After earning an MBA from University of California Irvine, Stephen returned to Hawai‘i to join Suisan in 2007 and held numerous positions including distributor sales representative, buyer, sales manager for the company’s retail market segment, and vice president of sales.
Active in the community, Stephen sits on the boards of The Food Basket (Hawai‘i Island’s food bank), the Japanese Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Hawai‘i, the Family Business Center of Hawai‘i, the Historic Hawai‘i Foundation, and Junior Achievement of Hawai‘i Island.

Former CPASF Scholar; Professor and Former Chair of Anthropology Department at  University of Hawaii at Manoa; Publications include “Tears of Longing, Crowning the Nice Girl,” “Airborne Dreams: Nisei Stewardesses and Pan American World Airways,” and “Pink Globalization: Hello Kitty’s Trek Across the Pacific”; Served as Curator for the Japanese American National Museum exhibit on “Hello! Exploring the Super Cute World of Hello Kitty.”