Startup Grind Honolulu (Powered by Google for Startups‪)‬ Startup Grind Honolulu (powered by Google for Startups)

Mahina Paishon-Duarte is co-founder and chief executive officer of Waiwai Collective, a regenerative urban oasis, a kīpuka, for creatively growing community, culture, and commerce.

As a social entrepreneur who has also led several educational and cultural organizations, her vision and mission are one and the same––to catalyze positive, lasting change for Hawaii in one generation. Most notably, Mahina is the founding executive director of Paepae o Heʻeia, the first modern Hawaiian fishpond that created ground-breaking ʻāina-based education programming for students from preschool through post-doctoral levels. She gained public sector experience as a policy program manager with NOAAs Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, as well as head of school for both Hālau Kū Māna and Kanu o ka ʻĀina public charter schools. Today, Mahina is a part of the ʻĀina Aloha Economic Futures movement to address long-standing socio-economic inequities that the COVID-19 pandemic underscored; and to bring to life a resilient economy through our core value of ʻāina aloha—a deep and abiding love for Hawaiʻi’s communities and natural environments.


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Stuart Coleman is a writer, environmental advocate and social entrepreneur. He is the author of three books, including the award-winning biography Eddie Would Go. As the Hawaii Manager of the Surfrider Foundation, he led efforts to pass landmark plastic pollution bills that were some of the first in the nation. In 2019, he started a new non-profit called WAI: Wastewater Alternatives & Innovations. As Executive Director of WAI, Coleman and his team are dedicated to improving water quality, introducing new sanitation technology, and making Hawaii a leader in innovative waste management. Stuart was a speaker on the final panel of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundations' Reinvented Toilet Expo in Beijing.


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Quinn Vittum is the Executive Director of Re-use Hawaiʻi. He co-founded the organization in 2006 after founding a Habitat for Humanity ReStore and Olympia Salvage, an independent non-profit, both in Washington State. Quinn’s life mission is to create a more sustainable world by helping create innovative solutions to the demolition and disposal paradigm.

With a talented staff of 37 people, Quinn oversees Re-use Hawaiʻi’s Deconstruction and Material Redistribution Programs, including a recent expansion to Hawaiʻi Island.

Quinn studied Fine Art and Sustainability at SUNY New Paltz, University of New Hampshire, and Evergreen State College.

As an Omidyar Fellow and through his work with the Hawai’i Leadership Forum, Quinn aims to help Hawai’i navigate its waste management challenges and develop a more robust circular economy in the State.

Quinn sits on the Board of Directors of HEMIC Insurance as the chairperson of the Government Affairs Committee. He lives in Maunalani Heights with his wife, Kara, and three-year-old son, Skylar.


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In 2009, Amanda launched her first solo business venture, Under My Umbrella (UMU) Inc. Just a decade later, UMU has become one of the premier communications and event production companies in Hawai`i. Though UMU continues to garner distinguished clients and national acclaim, it remains dedicated to elevating the work of community-based organizations who seek to make the world a little bit better every day.

In 2013, Amanda founded Pili Group LLC with life and business partner Chef Mark Noguchi. Pili Group is dedicated to creating a world of food with integrity. The diverse community of farmers, fishermen and other food artisans that Amanda is gathering together with her husband has earned Pili Group national attention for its role in preserving and uplifting native Hawaiian culture and providing support to community organizations. Pili Group’s newest project, Chef Hui, is helping to connect the culinary world with their community and has been on the front lines of feeding people and connecting them with resources during the pandemic. What started as a grassroots network in 2017 as a way to deepen connections between the culinary world and the community, is now operating as a full blown non-profit serving communities statewide. While Chef Hui focuses heavily on the types of projects this group was founded on, such asFarm-To-Table month, Sustainable Seafood Month and championing canoe crops such as ʻulu and kalo, their COVID-19 rapid response programs are what is most impressive right now.

Currently they are producing over 2500 meal kits per week (feeding 10K people each week) in our Feed the People program and serving over 5000 meals weekly prepared by local restaurants who are being paid to create these meals.

Amanda and her team have also trained numerous organizations to carry out similar programs on neighbor islands. To date, this nimble group has raised nearly $3 million in less than 10 months to support COVID relief community efforts with a focus on purchasing local ingredients, employing workers from the hospitality industry and uplifting community leaders.

In addition to their community efforts through Chef Hui, Amanda and her team at UMU have been instrumental in assisting their clients in pivoting during the pandemic and strategizing for the future of marketing, events and community outreach.

Despite the national attention her work has garnered, Amanda maintains that her most important role is being a mother. In her free time, Amanda can be found in the garden, at the beach, or exploring with her daughters Elee and Aki and her husband Mark.


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