Vance Kalani Makanui

Chair Ho`oilina Foundation
Vance Makanui, Sr. was born in Honolulu and raised in Pukoʻo, island of Molokai, along with his 4 brothers and 2 sisters. Many of his summer days during his youth were spent on the island of Kauai working in the family Salt Patch as his mother’s family hails from Kauai. He also worked a summer job at the Molokai Taro Patch. He attended Lahainaluna High School on Maui.

Upon graduation, he enlisted into the United States Air Force. His last military assignment was to Andrews AFB, where he spent 16 years, as a flight attendant on Air Force One. Upon his retirement from the military, he began his career with Boeing as a Supply Chain Logistics Representative providing support to Air Force One. Retired from Boeing, he is currently employed by L3 Harris as Senior Field Service Engineer, also on Andrews AB and in support of Air Force One.

Dawn Buzzel

Vice-Chair Ho`oilina Foundation

Progressive Leader and Award-Winning CFO with a proven record of driving positive change and efficiencies for organizational growth. Recognized as a dynamic leader with tremendous financial acumen guiding the organization to exceed their organizational and financial objectives. Consistently recognized for unwavering motivation, servant leadership, tremendous analytical skills, and adaptability to meet challenging goals as well as innovation to develop solutions for complex business needs.

More than 25 years in senior leadership roles across multiple service industries, including significant experience in acquisitions, integrations, turnarounds, crisis management situations, established and trained two national sales forces, developed and enhanced a Shared Services Model for a $100 Million dollar organization. Described by her team as motivated, focused, courageous, adaptable and innovative.

Dawn’s differentiators include Operational Strategist, along with Financial, Strategic and Organizational Leadership. She is an accomplished Leader in uniting strategy and execution to achieve strategic goals. Tripled profitability through identifying, solutioning and implementing business process improvements including operational Financial Wellness Metrics aligned with Strategic Plan. She was integral in leading a highly successful Tribally owned 8(a) Government Contracting Holding Company with 8 subsidiary companies with over 500 employees, 100+ CONUS and OCONUS locations and multiple service lines. Her ability to drive sustainable quality revenue growth, and scale profitable operations allowed her to deliver results in alignment with the strategic vision. She created Program Finance Department to guide Operations with program financial management, utilization tracking and contract profitability metrics, along with designing organizational shared services creating efficiencies and saving over $2 Million per year. Buzzell pioneered organizational agility, optimized business processes, and empowered the team to achieve strategic goals through strong communication, team building skills, and being focused, courageous and adaptable.

Frederic La’llu Alcain

Secretary Ho`oilina Foundation

Frederick Alcain was born, raised, and resides on the island of Oahu. A Kamehameha Schools graduate, Frederick holds

Bachelor of Arts Degrees from the University of Hawaii in Hawaiian Studies and Music. Frederick is the Extension (Community Outreach) Director of New Hope 0’ahu, a 401c3 Christian Church based in Honolulu, Hawaii. New Hope Oahu is listed as one of the Top 10 most innovative churches in America with Outreach Magazine listing them as one of the “top five churches to learn from.” New Hope is known for redeeming the arts and technology with thousands attending services each week between their 6 Campuses and via the Internet. As a recipient of Ke Ali’ Bernice Pauahi Bishop’s legacy through her founding of the Kamehameha Schools, Frederick is passionate and purposed to further this legacy by serving the Native Hawaiian community. Along with his work at New Hope, Frederick also serves on the Board of Directors at New Hope Christian School and 24/7 Danceforce.

Charles (Charley) John Keli’ikauaopakomaka Hall, Jr.

Director Ho`oilina Foundation

Charley was born in Honolulu and raised on the leeward side, in what was a small town of Makakilo (now commonly known as Kapolei).  He grew up there with his 3 brothers and 1 sister, who were all highly active in various sports.

Charley attended St. Louis High School in Honolulu, played football and, during his senior year, worked as a stock clerk at Daiei in Pearl City.  Upon graduation, he enlisted in the United States Air Force as a Security Policeman for 12 years, where he provided resource and aircraft security, culminating in providing Personal Security for the Chief of Staff, United States Air Force at the Pentagon.  For his final 10 years, Charley retrained out of Security Police and into the Diagnostic Imaging (Radiology) career field where he performed medical imaging and managed an imaging department prior to his retirement from the Air Force.  Upon retirement, he has been working for a local healthcare system for 25 years, performing routine x-ray, Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), and supervisory and management roles.

Daniel Pacleb, Jr

Chief Executive Officer

With over 30 years of IT knowledge and experience, Dan began his professional career as a computer operator in the US Air Force. Following ‘distinguished 20-year military career, he spent 14 years in the private sector in senior management positions and was recognized for delivering creative IT operations and support solutions. This reputation carried him into multiple fields including city government, health care, public utilities, office equipment and heavy equipment manufacturing.

Born into a large family and raised in Hawaii, cultural richness became loved and valued. Raising a large family of his own while abroad in the military, he shared the richness of their cultural heritage wherever they went, living and gifting this legacy to others.

Dan holds the Mission of Ho`oilina Foundation close to his heart and will be the guiding spirit of the organization.

Donald MacDonald

Chief Growth Officer

Don brings over 25 years of experience as a strategic growth and business development leader in the government technology sector. For the past 15 years, he has held executive roles focused on scaling small businesses, with the last decade dedicated to the Native Enterprise, Super 8(a), environments. As president, Don has successfully led multiple subsidiaries, fostering team development and driving growth within the Native Enterprise framework. He has personally secured over $200 million in contract value and has guided teams to generate hundreds of millions more. His strategic efforts have also contributed to the development of billions in contract capacity, including significant wins on contracts such as IMCS IV, CATTS, SITE III, DISA DES, and CIO-SP4. Don prioritizes team building based on two key attributes: attitude and aptitude, the rest can be taught.

Stephen Chvala

Chief Strategy Officer

Stephen is a seasoned leader with over 15 years of experience in organizational leadership, strategy, and business development. He specializes in corporate team building, partnership engagement, and capture activities, having successfully secured, and implemented dozens of technology driven contracts with various government agencies. As the Chief Strategy Officer, he is focused on guiding the organization’s strategic direction and ensuring that its mission aligns with the needs of the community it serves.

A U.S. Navy veteran, Stephen served for eight years in active duty, including a four-year overseas tour. This is where he discovered his passion for mentorship, career counseling and volunteering within his respective community.

In addition to his professional endeavors, Stephen is passionate about youth sports. He coaches baseball, basketball, and flag football, teaching young athletes the importance of teamwork, sportsmanship, and leadership.

Paul Patel

President Shearwater

Paul is the president and co-founder of Summit Technologies, Inc., leading us since 1997. He’s gathered 25 plus years of hands-on experience in establishing, operating, and managing federal government projects, as well as commercial information technology solutions and service companies. Paul is responsible for transforming disparate systems into unified, streamlined platforms that reduce operational costs, increase profitability and provide scaling capacity. With broad experience in the DoD and Civilian Federal Government, Healthcare and Insurance sectors, Paul is an entrepreneur at heart who brings a comprehensive understanding of strategic decision making, risk management and business development.

Paul received a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Connecticut and a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Connecticut.