piia aarma

board member

Piia M. Aarma is the founder and president of Pineapple Tweed Public Relations and Marketing, offering services ranging from media relations to advertising. She has been involved in communications for more than 30 years. Her experience includes corporate and issue communications, marketing, digital communications, national-level lobbying and PR, newspaper reporting and editing and magazine writing. She has broad industry and functional expertise with specialties in image and positioning, content creation, media relations and crisis management.

Aarma serves on numerous nonprofit boards and is deeply involved in the entrepreneurial community. She is a mentor at Blue Startups and Mana Up where she is also a sponsor, and a Professional in Residence for the Pacific Asia Center for Entrepreneurship (PACE) at University of Hawaii and a member of its advisory board. She serves on the boards of Hawaii Nature Center (past president), KCAA Preschools of Hawai‘i, and Hawai‘i Green Growth (past president), and is a federally appointed member of the Hawai‘i-Pacific Export Council and is a sponsor of the Hawai‘i Venture Capital Association. She was the 2016 president of The Pacific Club, the oldest business and social club west of the Mississippi. She has been a member of the board since 2018.

kristen chan

board member

Kristen Chan brings more than 20 years of experience in the arts and culture community in Honolulu, as well as a passion for the potential of contemporary art to speak to multiple generations in compelling ways. As an art collector and champion of Hawai‘i’s diverse arts ecosystem, she joined the Hawai‘i Contemporary Board in 2016 and has since endeavored with the belief that Honolulu can be an international city renowned for its visual arts.

With a strong background in financial consulting, Chan also serves on the boards of the Hawai‘i International Film Festival and Joyful Heart Foundation, and has served on the Hawai‘i Opera Theatre board in the past. She has chaired numerous fundraising efforts, including campaigns for The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu; Hawai‘i International Film Festival; Hawai‘i Opera Theatre; and Punahou School. She has been a member of the Hawai‘i Contemporary board since 2015.

PAUL FRIEDMAN

Board Member

Paul Friedman has been a partner in a global law firm, Morrison Foerster, for almost 40 years. Businesses across a wide range of industries and regions regularly seek Paul’s advice for the strategic resolution of their most complex legal challenges and to mitigate business risk. He has over 40 years of experience with cross-border disputes, investigations and compliance.

One of Paul’s passions was his work as a member of the board, and then chair (1997–2014) of The Morrison & Foerster Foundation. The Foundation, one of the first law firm foundations, grants millions of dollars annually with a core focus on legal services for the poor and programs to benefit disadvantaged children.

Paul was chair of the United States Court of Appeals Judicial Conference in Kauai (the last time it was held in Hawai‘i). He is a former chair of the Ninth Circuit Advisory Board, a group of senior lawyers appointed from throughout the Ninth Circuit by the chief judge.

Jason Lazzerini

treasurer

Jason Lazzerini has held leadership roles in the banking sector for most of his career. In his current role at Central Pacific Bank (CPB), he serves as executive vice president and chief digital officer. Prior to joining CPB, Lazzerini was a management consultant and served as president and CEO of Locations, one of the largest real estate services companies in Hawai‘i. At American Savings Bank, Lazzerini was the director of Home Loans, led the Investment Services Division and Business Banking group. He was also the Director of Learning and Development and a Regional Executive at ASB. Jason has held leadership roles in consumer banking and wholesale lending at Deutsche Bank, U.S. Bancorp, and the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. 

A recovering professional musician, Jason is still active in the arts and the community. He served on the executive board of Aloha Medical Missions and as an advisor on various nonprofit committees. Jason has been faculty at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business’ Pacific Coast Banking School since 2017. 

Patricia Chang Moad

chair

Patricia Chang Moad leads as Vice President of Operations for Continental Assets Management, a boutique family real estate investment company with headquarters in Los Angeles and Honolulu, with more than $150 million in launches across a diverse range of asset classes including: hospitality, commercial, retail, multi-use and land development in California, Hawai‘i, Texas, and parts of the Midwest. Moad is one of the few female executive developers in the US to single-handedly helm such portfolio of growth from concept to construction and operation — all with sustained success.

In addition to managing Continental Assets Management’s vast assets, Moad has led numerous high-profile hotel renovations, successfully navigating projects through mergers, reimagined brand standards, and progressive style innovations, all within a volatile trade economy. Her most recent hotel reveal is AC Hotel by Marriott Honolulu located in downtown Honolulu’s central business district. The 112-key project is an adaptive reuse of an office/retail building with historic and cultural significance, all of which were an integral priority of the final product. Moad has transformed its presence into a flagship AC hotel that offers three curated food and beverage experiences, a wellness center, and curated art collection having opened in December 2023 with more than 90% occupancy — leading as the preferred choice for the modern, business traveler.

Amid portfolio developments and voluntary advisory boards, Moad can be found enjoying a round of golf or cheering on her two daughters on the soccer or baseball field, while always making time to experience the newest restaurant with her chef husband.

Chloe Seto Hartwell

vice chair

Chloe Seto Hartwell is the Network Coordinator for Hawai‘i Investment Ready (HIR), a 501(c)3 impact intermediary working at the nexus of business, purpose, and culture to restore regenerative abundance to Hawai‘i’s economy. Hartwell manages HIR’s community programs and external affairs, including the flagship HIR Accelerator. At HIR, Hartwell also coaches and consults with nonprofit and for-profit enterprises, leveraging her 15 years of experience in nonprofit development, business strategy, marketing and communications, events, and community-driven philanthropy. Before joining HIR in 2020, she was with Hawai‘i Public Radio in nonprofit development and helped launch the community resourcing platform Kūkulu Switchboard before serving as its first Operator. She is actively engaged in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors — serving on boards, fellowships, and pro bono partnerships that focus on reduced inequalities, health equity, culture and arts, and building just, peaceful, and inclusive societies.

Hartwell is a budding collector and avid supporter of Hawai‘i’s arts and artists and has volunteered with arts and culture institutions, organizations, and artists across Hawaiʻi to support fundraising, strategy, and installation.

Kaʻiulani Sodaro

board member

Kaʻiulani Sodaro is the Senior Vice President of Planning and Development at Howard Hughes Holdings, and oversees strategic forward planning efforts, regulatory agency coordination, infrastructure development, community engagement and government relations at Ward Village. From new town and commercial projects to multimillion dollar renovations of resort properties and sustainability planning, she has more than 20 years of experience in real estate development. Born in Honolulu, Kaʻiulani attended Punahou School, received a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University, and holds a Master of Planning from the University of Southern California. She is member to the American Institute of Certified Planners and serves on the boards of Child & Family Service, the Trust for Public Land Hawaii, and Hawai‘i Contemporary.