MEET OUR TEAM
Aloha and welcome to the Commission staff page. Our office is made up of four teams. Please review the information below to see which Team could best help you.
The Achievement Team provides each charter schools with guidance and support to execute their mission and vision. The Achievement Team is made up of 3 teams; Guidance & Innovation, Federal Programs, and Early Learning.
The Operations Team provides high level fiscal services to public charter schools that are customer-focused and which uphold state and federal fiduciary requirements and regulations and generally accepted accounting principles.
The Performance Team monitors school compliance with the charter contract through communication and assessment of data. The Performance Team also deals with contract renewals and the applications process for new charter schools.
The Services Team was created to assist Hawaiʻi Public Charter Schools. Fondly identified as the "customer service" branch of the office, the Services Team provides charter schools with information and resources on day-to-day school operations. The Services Team also deals with complaints. If you have a complaint, please visit the complaints page which explains the process but if you have an urgent matter please call (808)586-3775 to speak to someone immediately.
Interim Executive Director
Finance & Operations Director
Executive Assistant to the Executive Director
Services and Communications Team Chair
Accountant/Operations Team
Payroll and Human Resources Specialist/Operations Team
Office Manager/Fiscal Specialist/ Operations Team
Performance Specialist/Performance Team
Performance Specialist/Performance Team
Early Learning Program Director/Achievement Team
Early Learning Specialist/Achievement Team
Early Learning Instructional Coach/Achievement Team
Early Learning Instructional Coach/ Achievement Team
Early Learning Instructional Coach
Early Learning Administrative Assistant/Achievement Team
Innovation, Impact, and Improvement Advisor/Achievement Team
Federal Programs Manager
Federal Programs Fiscal Manager/Federal Programs/Achievement Team
Education Specialist/Federal Programs Team
Equity and Compliance Specialist
Performance Specialist/Performance Team- Data Focus
Federal Programs Coordination Specialist

PJ brings to the Commission twenty-eight years of education experience as a classroom teacher, school administrator and consultant. He began his career as an elementary teacher and then moved on to secondary for a short period. He taught in California public schools and in Saipan as well. As an administrator, PJ served pre-K, elementary and secondary schools as both principal and assistant principal. Most of his career was spent in California public schools where he developed his skills in working with Title I schools and under-served populations. Recently PJ has been consulting, delivering professional development and coaching to schools in the areas of effective communication, 21st Century teaching, and leadership skills. He brings a passion for public education and in particular, supporting practices that ensure all children have a great school experience.
Danny Vasconcellos
Finance & Operations Director

Danny is a graduate of Iolani School with a B.A. in Political Science and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He worked with the State Office of the Auditor for 6 years and has also worked with the Hawaii State Legislature. He previously served as the Commission's Organizational Performance Specialist.
Jannelle Watson
Executive Assistant to the Executive Director

Jannelle is a public school graduate from Castle High School with her B.S. in Human Service Counseling from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Sheryl Turbeville
Services and Communications Team Chair

Sheryl is a graduate of Waiʻanae High School and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa where she earned a B.A. in Journalism with a minor in Political Science. Sheryl was a career journalist working at KHON2 News for 25 years. Sheryl was the Assignment Manager and also worked as a general assignment reporter, covering the police beat, courts, Action Line, elections, education, and politics.

Sora is a graduate of California State University Northridge where she received a B.A. in Finance. She received her associates degree in Business Administration at El Camino College. Sora worked at a Public Accounting firm for five years.
Mary Jane Munoz
Payroll and Human Resources Specialist/Operations Team

Mary Jane is a public school graduate from Waipahu High School with her B.A. in Accounting from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She also has a Certificate in Human Resources Management from Hawaiʻi Pacific University and has been with the CSAO and SPCSC since 2005.
Gina Shinagawa
Office Manager/Fiscal Specialist/ Operations Team

Gina is a graduate of Farrington High School and Hawaiʻi Business College. She previously worked with Royal State Insurance for 18 years and with HGEA for 10 years.
Martha Evans
Performance Specialist/Performance Team

Jackie Bersson
Performance Specialist/Performance Team

Deanne Goya
Early Learning Program Director/Achievement Team

Deanne has been involved in the early childhood community for almost 30 years, serving most recently in the Office of the Governor Executive Office on Early Learning, promoting and implementing high quality preschool programs. Her early childhood education background also includes work in both the private sector and Head Start program as early childhood educator and program manager. She received her Baccalaureate of Science degree in Human Development with an emphasis on early childhood development and education from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
Kathi Takakuwa
Early Learning Specialist/Achievement Team

Kathi has 15+ years of experience as a preschool teacher and teacher coach. The majority of her experience has been with Kamehameha Preschools as a teacher on Oʻahu in Wai’anae and He’eia and as a coach serving classrooms across the paeʻāina. She’s taught in community programs and also served briefly with the Executive Office on Early Learning. Kathi received her Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood Education from Boston University and her Master of Arts in Human Development from Pacific Oaks College. She brings a commitment to equity and aloha, an ethic of excellence and service, and a passion for the education of young children.
Puhala Kamalamalama
Early Learning Instructional Coach/Achievement Team
Aloha mai kakou! 'O Puhala Kamalamalama ko'u inoa. No Hilo mai au. I have been blessed to work in the ECE field for the past 15 years for the Institute for Native Pacific Education and Culture also known as INPEACE as an Aide, Site Coordinator, Island Coordinator and Mentor Coach. Received my Associates in ECE from Hawaii Community College, BA in Social Sciences in ECE from UH West Oahu, and Masters of Education, Curriculum and Instruction in ECE from Liberty University. Born and raised on a 20 acre farm, my parents Howard and Charlene Pe'a blessed me with strong work ethics and values which have helped me thrive both personally and professionally. As the Early Learning Instructional Coach, I look forward to building pilina with kumu and keiki. Mahalo nui.
Caitlin Kryss
Early Learning Instructional Coach/ Achievement Team

Caitlin has 10+ years in early childhood education and care in Hawaiʻi, and was most recently a preschool teacher at a public charter school in Puna, Hawaiʻi. She is also a lecturer for the Early Childhood Education Department at Hawaiʻi Community College in Hilo. She graduated from the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and received a Masterʻs in Education, specializing in Early Childhood Education from Northcentral University. She lives on Hawaiʻi Island in ʻŌlaʻa (Puna) with her husband and two daughters.
Miya Nishio
Early Learning Instructional Coach

Miya has been in the field of early childhood education(ECE) for about 10 years. The majority of her experience has been with Parents and Children Together, as a Head Start teacher and most recently, an ECE Coach. She graduated from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Master of Education in Early Childhood Education. She values equity and social justice, and is committed to providing access to high quality ECE experiences to all young children and their families.
Monica Chapman
Early Learning Administrative Assistant/Achievement Team

Monica Chapman previously worked for a Hawaiʻi Congressman in the United States House of Representatives and for the State of Hawaii in the Office of the Governor. She is a graduate of Waimea High School on the island of Kauaʻi and attended Seattle Central Community College and graduated from Napa Valley Cooking school in Culinary Arts.
Pua Kaʻai
Innovation, Impact, and Improvement Advisor/Achievement Team

Pua Kaʻai is an Innovation, Impact, and Improvement Advisor on the Federal Programs Team. Our team is staffed by advisors who work collaboratively with our educational specialists and fiscal management to meet the needs of our charter schools. We provide school improvement and technical assistance to identified schools. Federal funds are used to support Title 1, Comprehensive Support Improvement (CSI), and Targeted Support Improvement (TSI) plans for charter schools. Contact Pua Kaʻai for CSI/TSI assistance.
A range of support by our team provides improvement strategies and guidance as schools design and implement their plans. Professional development is offered to support the dynamic needs of the schools through workshops, coaching, individual designed and collaborative programs. Specific support is provided in the areas of fiscal design and implementation, and in alignment of plans to school mission and vision. The goal is for schools to attain confidence and the autonomy to carry out their work well for their respective communities, framed in compliance with applicable Federal spending guidelines.

Kim Le Bas is an Innovation, Impact, and Improvement Advisor on the Federal Programs Team. Our team is staffed by advisors who work collaboratively with our educational specialists and fiscal management to meet the needs of our charter schools. We provide school improvement and technical assistance to identified schools. Federal funds are used to support Title 1, Comprehensive Support Improvement (CSI), and Targeted Support Improvement (TSI) plans for charter schools. Contact Kim Le Bas for CSI/TSI assistance.
A range of support by our team provides improvement strategies and guidance as schools design and implement their plans. Professional development is offered to support the dynamic needs of the schools through workshops, coaching, individual designed and collaborative programs. Specific support is provided in the areas of fiscal design and implementation, and in alignment of plans to school mission and vision. The goal is for schools to attain confidence and the autonomy to carry out their work well for their respective communities, framed in compliance with applicable Federal spending guidelines.
Kaleo Iwasaki
Federal Programs Fiscal Manager/Federal Programs/Achievement Team

Kaleo Iwasaki is a fiscal manager on the Federal Programs Team. Our team is staffed by a fiscal manager who works collaboratively with our school improvement specialists and educational specialists to meet the needs of our charter schools. We provide school improvement and technical assistance to identified schools. Federal funds are used to support Title 1, Comprehensive Support Improvement (CSI), and Targeted Support Improvement (TSI) plans for charter schools. Contact Kaleo Iawasaki for Fiscal Management
A range of support provides improvement strategies and guidance as schools design and implement their plans. Professional development is offered to support the dynamic needs of the schools through workshops, coaching, individual designed and collaborative programs. Specific support is provided in the areas of fiscal design and implementation, and in alignment of plans to school mission and vision. The goal is for schools to attain confidence and the autonomy to carry out their work well for their respective communities, framed in compliance with applicable Federal spending guidelines. The team is staffed by school improvement specialists, educational specialists, and a fiscal manager who work collaboratively to meet the needs of our charter schools.
Crissi Doyle
Education Specialist/Federal Programs Team

Crissi comes to the Commission with 20 years of experience in education as a social studies teacher and curriculum specialist. Crissi also served in the capacity of account manager helping implement a supplemental literacy program statewide. Crissi is a graduate of Saint Louis School with a B.A. in political science from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa and a M.ED in Educational Leadership from Chaminade University.

Nina was born and raised in Kuliʻouʻou on the island of Oʻahu and graduated from Kamehameha Kapālama. She received her undergraduate degree from Lewis and Clark College before getting her Juris Doctorate from the University of Hawaiʻi Richardson School of Law, and Masters in Business Administration from the University of Hawaiʻi Shidler College of Business. Previously, Nina served as the law clerk to the Honorable Judge Faʻauuga L. Toʻotoʻo and Public Policy Advocate at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. In her free time, Nina enjoys dancing hula for her Kumu, Keawe and Tracie Lopes, and is currently preparing to welcome her first keiki due in April. Nina is excited to support Hawaiʻi's Charter Schools and continue to serve the keiki of Hawaiʻi as a part of the Commission.
Michael Clark
Performance Specialist/Performance Team- Data Focus

Michael Clark has a Masters of Education degree from Western Governors University and from Utah State University. He started his career teaching chemistry at an early college charter high school in Cedar City, Utah. Michael has vast experience leading charter schools in various capacities as an assistant director, director and executive director. Michael led the performance oversight team for Utahʻs charter schools, and developed Utahʻs charter school accountability framework.
Tess Tavita
Federal Programs Coordination Specialist

Tess Tavita joins the Federal Programs Team as the new Coordination Specialist working collaboratively with Complex Area Initiatives (CAI).