Chamber Team

Licia Hill manages the Chamber’s overall operations and several of the organization’s program initiatives, and  is responsible for communication and administrative duties with the Chamber’s board of directors. She also serves as Public Health Fund administrator. She brings more than 20 years of executive support and development experience to the Chamber.

She previously served as executive assistant with the Hawaii Community Foundation providing support in board and client relations, annual budget planning, meeting and event logistics, and communications. Licia has also worked at Castle Medical Center and Hawaii Pacific Health in executive administrative positions.

In her spare time she enjoys cooking, yoga and spending time with family and friends.  She also volunteers for several community nonprofits.

As Associate Vice President of Membership Services, Tyler Hunt is responsible for new membership sales and retention, and for developing strategic initiatives and partnerships to meet membership growth and revenue objectives.

Tyler has held business development and marketing positions in the HR outsourcing, healthcare and tourism industries in Hawaii, and is committed to helping the local business community thrive.

In his spare time, Tyler enjoys sailing and surfing.

Eliza’s background includes state and local government work as well as advocacy and community engagement for notable companies in the private sector including Ko Olina Resort, Hawaii Public Policy Advocates and Hitachi Rail. She also served as Chief of Staff for the West Oahu City Council District.

In 2022, Eliza was appointed by Mayor Rick Blangiardi to serve on the newly formed Economic Revitalization Commission for the City and County of Honolulu. She is a former Board Member of the Kapolei Chamber of Commerce and in 2021, she founded and became Chair of the Business Revitalization Task Force of West Oahu. In 2021, she was recognized by Pacific Business News as “40 under 40” and “Who and What to Watch in 2022”. Eliza received an undergraduate degree from the University of Southern California. She earned a Juris Doctor from the William S. Richardson School of Law and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Hawaii.

As Vice President of Communications & Marketing, Melanie Joseph is responsible for the Chamber’s communications, brand, and marketing strategies and initiatives.

Melanie is an accomplished marketing and communications professional with extensive experience in consumer and brand marketing, advertising, media and public relations, corporate communications and social responsibility, and strategic partnership marketing and business development.

Prior to joining the Chamber, Melanie worked for companies in a variety of industries including P&C Insurance (Farmers Insurance Hawaii, AIG Hawaii), Media (Hawaii News Now), Non-Profit (Catholic Charities Hawaii), and High-Tech Semiconductor (RF Micro Devices), managing both B2B and B2C marketing and communications campaigns. She is most proud of her work in helping Hawaii businesses grow, perpetuating the history and culture of Hawaii, and giving back to Hawaii’s communities. Having shared interests, Melanie joined the Chamber to help amplify its mission as the voice of business in Hawaii and to help Hawaii’s economy and communities thrive.   

Melanie graduated from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration – Management and Marketing. She enjoys spending time with her husband, two children, and two golden retrievers. Melanie also loves dancing hula, going to the beach, and is an avid traveler and foodie.

As Vice President of Education & Workforce Development and Executive Director of Sector Partnerships, Keala Peters is responsible for the Chamber’s education-related strategic initiatives that help bridge business with education in support of a strong talent pipeline for Hawaii.

Through Sector Partnerships, Keala helps to convene industry executives and solve for Hawaii’s complex workforce development and economic development issues. Keala and her team also support the strategic efforts of Hawaii’s educators by coordinating high quality work-based learning opportunities that prepare students for college and career readiness in an innovation economy.

Keala has extensive experience as a community builder, collaborator and communications executive in both the private and non-profit sectors on the mainland and here at home in Hawaii. She brings her experience at Nike, Inc., Microsoft, Hawaii Pacific Health and The Queen’s Health Systems to the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii.

As a Native Hawaiian woman born and raised in Honolulu, Keala is a strong advocate for Hawaii families and believes that everyone should have access to a high quality education and that education is the foundation for success. She is actively involved in supporting the HEC CHANGE initiative’s higher education sector and serves on the boards of the Institute for Human Services and the YWCA of Oahu.

As Associate Vice President of Workforce Development, Vanessa Rogers is responsible for increasing the local talent pipeline by connecting Hawaii employers to qualified jobseekers. Through her work managing talent pipelines and supporting Sector Partnerships, she plays a key role in preparing and connecting Hawaii’s residents to in demand, family sustaining careers allowing kamaaina to thrive in Hawaii.   

Driven by a passion for educational equity and professional development, Vanessa has spent her career in educational leadership, program management, staffing, and workforce development consultancy. Prior to joining the Chamber, Vanessa spent nearly a decade working at a national workforce development non-profit, Year Up, where she held positions as a Business Communications Instructor, Associate Director of Admissions and Director of Academics. 

Vanessa grew up in Seattle, Washington and received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Oregon. She loves adventure and travel and spent a few years teaching English abroad in the Czech Republic and Japan before landing in New York City where she worked professionally for 10 years. In 2020, she decided to relocate her family to Hawaii and make this their home.

She currently lives in Mililani and loves to spend time outside with her three little boys.

As the Director of Work-Based Learning, Lord Ryan Lizardo is responsible for connecting schools and businesses together for seamless workforce development opportunities for Hawaii’s youth. As intermediary, Lord Ryan creates access to partnerships, resources, internship opportunities and virtual/in-person connections to develop a pipeline from middle school to high school to post-secondary in order to nurture Hawaii’s future workforce.

Lord Ryan grew up in Ewa Beach and earned his undergraduate degree in integrated educational studies at Chapman University and master’s degree in secondary education at Johns Hopkins University. He brings to the Chamber over six years of experience as a teacher. During that time, he served as the academy of public and human services lead developing the identity and development of the culinary, education, and travel/tourism pathways and advised the Class of 2020 and Rainbow Sabers club. He also has four years of experience working with Teach for America coaching teachers in diversity, equity and inclusion and culturally relevant instruction. As a deep believer in equity and social justice in education to dismantle systemic oppression, Lord Ryan hopes to bring his wealth of knowledge to advocate for Hawaii’s youth.

In his free time, he spends quality time with friends and family.

As the Work-Based Learning (WBL) Coordinator, Sophia is responsible for working in partnership with the Chamber’s Director of WBL in support of career exploration and workforce development for students at select Hawaii Department of Education schools. These WBL engagements include but are not limited to virtual career fairs, job site visits, project-based learning activities, guest speakers, and securing in-person/virtual internships.

Sophia grew up on a farm in north central Iowa. She earned her undergraduate degree in elementary education from Iowa State University. Sophia joined Teach for America Hawaii in 2018 and was placed at Maili Elementary in Waianae, where she taught third grade for four years. Sophia is passionate about all students receiving an excellent education, despite their zip code. She is excited to help students pave a way towards a bright future with work-based learning opportunities.

Sophia earned her Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Biblical Studies from Colorado Christian University. In her free time she enjoys any outdoor activity, reading, and spending quality time with friends and family.

Tricia Fetui is Vice President of Events & Programs at the Chamber, and Executive Director of the Young Professionals Program. In her role, Fetui oversees the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii’s events and programs, along with the YP Program. She previously worked at the Aloha Council Boy Scouts Hawaii, Guam and America Samoa, March of Dimes Hawaii, The Queen’s Health Systems, The Madden Corporation and Central Pacific Bank.

Fetui received her BS in Business Administration and Management from Hope International University in Fullerton, CA, where she played women’s collegiate volleyball.

Marisa Pangan-Hosokawa is the Events & Special Projects Manager at the Chamber. In her role Marisa assists with the planning and coordination of the Chamber’s activities along with assisting with the content and graphic creation for digital marketing and social media. Marisa previously worked for Inception Design as an Account Manager and Raynor Hawaii Overhead Doors and Gates Inc. as a Marketing Intern.

Marisa is a recent college graduate, receiving her BBA in Marketing & International Business and MS in Marketing Management from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Shidler College of Business. She is inspired by good works, passion and the ability to grow from any situation.