Our Special Partners & Friends
We connect clients to genius—the most distinguished writers, creatives, digital marketers, podcast and video producers and others in the fields of travel, beauty/health/wellness and real estate.
Joyce Okano
Joyce Okano is a luxury retail, special events and fine arts consultant based in Hawai’i. She introduced CHANEL boutiques to the United States, opening their first free-standing store in Honolulu to expand the iconic French fashion house across the country. Joyce retired after 31 years as CHANEL’s West Coast Vice President (California, Hawai’i and Guam). Her passion for the visual arts has led her to launch many high-profile endeavors, during her years at CHANEL, including the French Festival of Hawai’i. In addition to organizing art exhibits at the Halekulani Gallery, Luxury Row and The Hawai’i State Art Museum’s ground floor space. She spearheaded converting the 3rd floor CHANEL Waikiki into a temporary art gallery with a series of exhibits featuring artists from France, California and Hawai’i. A native of Tokyo, Japan, Joyce speaks fluent Japanese and brings great artistic and cultural depth to her clients.
Paul Theroux
Author
Theroux is the author of dozens of highly-acclaimed travel books, novels, and shortstory collections, including The Great Railway Bazaar (1975), The Mosquito Coast (1981), Deep South: Four Seasons on Back Roads (2015) and his latest, On The Plain of Snakes: A Mexican Journey (2019). He is a recipient of the Royal Geographical Society’s Patron’s Medal and a past winner of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters Award for literature. He has also received the James Tait Black Award and the Whitbread Prize. Theroux lives in Hawaii and on Cape Cod.
Steve McCurry
Photographer
Steve McCurry has been one of the most iconic voices in contemporary photography for more than 30 years, with scores of magazine and book covers, more than a dozen books, and countless exhibitions around the world to his name. Born in a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, McCurry studied film at Pennsylvania State University before going on to work for a local newspaper. After several years of freelance work, McCurry made his first of what would become many trips to India. Traveling with little more than a bag of clothes and a roll of film, he made his way across the subcontinent, exploring the country with his camera.
Tatyanna Wright
Videographer
Executive Producer Tatyanna Wright has worked with renowned media companies to dynamic startups and brings years of expertise and experience as a showrunner, producer, director and writer. She specializes in conscious media, specifically in the fields of lifestyle, yoga and wellness productions. Tatyanna has filmed on locations all over the world. Her productions have aired on A&E, MTV, Style Channel, Bravo, Food Network & Fine Living Channel and most recently at Gaia TV and Conscious Good where she had the privilege of executive producing some of the biggest names in the yoga and transformational space. For more information, click here.
Catherine St. Germans
Festivals & Special Events
Cathy is an organizer and writer. She was co-founder and director of the Port Eliot Festival for 13 years, which mixed literature, fashion, film, music and food into a new style of gathering that changed the festival scene in the UK. Catherine worked with artists such as Gloria Steinem, Martin Scorsese and Grayson Perry and brands such as Hermès, Chloe, Mac, Bumble and Bumble and Fortnum & Mason. She studied fashion at St Martins School of Art in London and has written for many publications including Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, The Guardian, The Observer, The Sunday Times, Porter. She lives in Cornwall and Hawaii and is the Chair of the Programming Committee for the Merwin Conservancy, a nonprofit in Hawaii, and organizes gatherings.
Kathy YL Chan
Restaurants & Tea
Kathy YL Chan is an advisor in the culinary and tea industry. She has worked with companies including Lady M Confections, Peninsula Hotels, Eleven Madison Park, Michael Mina, Lipton, Pepsi, and Mighty Leaf Tea. Kathy's work is tailored to each client and ranges from menus and service to sourcing, tea etiquette, and retail product development. Her work has been featured in publications including The New York Times, NPR, and Business Insider. Kathy lives in NYC, San Francisco, and Hawaii.
FreeTime
Podcasts
FreeTime is a full-service production company creating business-to-consumer podcasts about culture and travel, enhancing experience through custom audio content.
Pauline Yoshihashi
Business/Crisis Communications
Pauline Yoshihashi advises clients on strategic, corporate and financial communications, public affairs and crisis management. She draws on her experience as a journalist at The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal and as an investment banker with clients in travel, leisure, consumer, real estate development, technology and gaming. As an advisor to senior management, Pauline brings her strategic thinking and agile execution to clients involved in development, financings, launches, litigations, M&A, special situations and reputation management.
Kenna Reed
Photographer
Kenna Reed is a freelance photographer based in Honolulu, Hawaii. Focused primarily on product and fashion photography, Kenna's photography has a strong emphasis on color and composition. Growing up, she spent her summers playing on her family flower farm in Japan, traveling the world with her dad, and attending fashion weeks in New York and Paris with her mom. As a result, Kenna was able to develop a global understanding of the world around her at a young age. She spent time in schools in Massachusetts and Oakland, absorbing energy from the passions of those around her, and growing her appreciation of art and music. Kenna’s part time work as a florist has inspired her to keep her photography simple and include elements of nature whenever possible. “More flowers, less everything else.”