Our staff

The Center for Tomorrow's Leaders, under the primary direction of Katie Chang, is led by an outstanding network of professionals, educators and volunteers.  

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Katie Chang
Executive Director

Katie Chang is the Executive Director of the Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders, an organization dedicated to engaging, equipping and empowering a new generation of leaders in Hawaii. Katie is a proud alumnus of the very first class of CTL Fellows. Since her appointment in 2011, Katie has expanded the CTL from its flagship Fellows program to include the innovative Schools program which offers leadership development directly to Hawaii’s high schools. She is a certified presenter of the nationally-acclaimed Student Leadership Challenge which is the foundation of the program. Prior to joining the CTL, Katie worked as an advisor for the US/UK Fulbright Commission in London, UK.  She also served as an intern in the Hawaii State Legislature and Governor’s Office.  She is a summa cum laude graduate of Pepperdine University.

 

April Nakamura
Ambassadors Program Advisor

April Nakamura served on a year-long special assignment to the CTL. She has a passion to empower the voices of our student leaders. Specifically, she is working to expand and develop the CTL Schools program. Ms. Nakamura came to CTL as the Student Activities Coordinator of McKinley High School. She is an experienced educator having taught in the Hawaii Department of Education for 18 years. She is a graduate of the College of Education at the University of Hawaii.

Jen May Pastores
Student Leadership Facilitator

Jen May Pastores is a Student Leadership Facilitator for CTL's Ambassadors Program. She is a proud graduate of Moanalua High School, and attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa before transferring and graduating from California State University of Northridge with a degree in Journalism. Her teaching background includes leading high school classes in the Los Angeles Unified School District and managing an after school program for several high schools as Director of Leadership Development in Visalia, CA. She is an awardee of Youth Engagement and Development for her innovative work with youth in Tulare County and she is recognized for her work with youth in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. She is also a documentary photographer and writer, and is an artist-in-residence in the Chinatown Artists Lofts in Honolulu. 

 

Lahela Manning
Student Leadership Facilitator

Lahela Manning was born and raised in Honolulu and is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools. She moved to the mainland in 2007 for voluntary church service and decided to return to work towards her bachelors degree.  She attended UNLV for a year and then transferred to Dixie State University in Saint George, Utah, where she earned a Bachelors of Art in Psychology.  After graduating, Lahela continued on as an event and academic advisor for DSU’s Multicultural/Diversity center leadership program.  She has also had the opportunity to work in mental health with at risk youth in the Washington County area of Southern Utah.  Lahela has been fortunate to work with several students that came from Hawai’i to the mainland for college and she is excited to work with our youth here at home and help them envision and see their potential in cultivating success here in their own communities.


Our board

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Garrett Sullivan, Chair
Garrett Sullivan is the President of Sullivan & Associates, Inc., a Hawaii-based business management consultancy firm that he founded early in 2011 after a 34-yearlong successful career in Hawaii’s Construction industry. Sullivan & Associates, Inc. specializes in improving the business process for the closely-held business as well as confidential C-Level executive coaching. Mr. Sullivan holds an undergraduate degree in Finance from the University of Hawaii and a Masters in Business Administration from Chaminade University. He is a Past President of the General Contractors Association of Hawaii, Past President of the Hawaii Chapter of the Construction Financial Management Association, and was the 2010 US Small Business Administration Person of the Year for the island of Oahu, Hawaii.

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Caroline Wong, Vice Chair
Caroline Wong retired from the DOE after 38 years of service as a teacher, school and state level administrator.  Ms. Wong was Principal at Moanalua Middle School for 18 years, where she provided leadership for middle school implementation within the school, district and state.  Wong was recognized as the 2005 Hawaii Middle School Principal of the Year, and received the Public Schools of Hawaii Foundation Masuyuki Tokioka Excellence in School Leadership Award in 2008.  She served three terms as President of the Hawaii Association of Secondary School Principals, and also was appointed to the Teachers Standards Board and the Board of Education.  Wong is a graduate of Wheaton College (BS) , Michigan State University (MA),  and the University of Hawaii (MED).    She presently serves as an educational consultant and school leadership coach.

Benjamin Akana
Ben Akana was born and raised in Makiki, Honolulu, HI.  He graduated Kamehameha Schools, then the College of Idaho (BA Econ).    He is currently the Senior Vice President of First Hawaiian Bank's Dealer Division.  He has been at First Hawaiian Bank since 1982, primarily in commercial lending.  Managed the Main Branch FHB from 2008 to 2014.  He is married to Momi, and they have 4 children, including CTL alumnus Axton.  He is active in his church, and the YMCA of Honolulu Metro Board.  He loves tennis, water sports, all kinds of music.

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Ty Aldinger
From the military wardroom and the executive boardroom to the family living   room, Ty Aldinger has devoted his career to “leading leaders”.   With a focus on identifying progressive, “3rd Alternative” strategies that create lasting relationships among and between the stakeholders in today’s vibrant and fast-paced society, Ty moves executive coaching from business management to “life leadership”.  

As President and Owner of AldiPro Consulting in Hawaii, he brings more than 30 years of leadership coaching, counseling, and consulting experience to the local community. Retiring from the Navy with the rank of Captain, Ty moved into corporate leadership and has recently served as the senior executive for both Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems in Hawaii.

Melissa Ardo
Melissa Ardo graduated from the CTL fellows program in 2007.  She received an undergraduate degree in Political Science from Santa Clara University and a law degree from Pepperdine University School of Law.  Melissa was admitted to the Hawaii State Bar in 2014 and is currently a law clerk at the Hawaii Supreme Court.

 

 

Roderick Saunders
Roderick Saunders is Vice President, Servco Pacific Inc., currently in charge of Subaru vehicle distribution and sales throughout Hawaii.  His past 35 years in Hawaii  include Sales and General Management with broad functional experience in manufacturing including processed foods and home furnishings, foreign and domestic sales, retail and wholesale expansion, agribusiness development , auto retail, and finance.  Mr. Saunders began his business career as a CPA with Deloitte, Haskins & Sells, receiving his Bachelor Business Administration degree from the University of Southern California.