Luana Kai Board

Ms. Stephanie Marshall, RN, MSN, FAAN was the Director for Community Partnerships and tenured faculty for the School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene at the University of Hawaii at Manoa from 2006 until she retired in 2016. She was responsible for developing and managing strategic educational and practice efforts with external constituents including health care systems, long-term care organizations, government entities and community health settings. She led the successful building of a $10 million Translational Health Science Simulation Center at the school.

Ms. Marshall retired from a distinguished, 32-year military career with the rank of colonel. She last served as Chief Nurse Executive and Deputy Commander for Nursing, Tripler Army Medical Center from 2001–2005. Her assignments during her military career included numerous clinical, staff and executive positions within the continental US and Europe.

Ms. Marshall earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and her master’s degree with a specialty in oncology nursing from the University of California, San Francisco. She is also a graduate of the U.S. Army War College and of the Wharton Fellows Program in Management for Nurse Executives in Health Care Management.

She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, member of the American Organization of Nurse Leaders, Oncology Nursing Society, Sigma Theta Tau. Her recognition and honors include selection as Mana’olana, the State of Hawaii’s Oncology Nurse of the Year and recipient of the Anita Newcomb McGee Award as the Outstanding Army Nurse of the Year.  Her military awards include the Humanitarian Service Medal, Army Achievement Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, and Legion of Merit.

She currently serves as a member of the John A Burns School of Medicine Advisory Council. Previously, she served as Vice Chair, Board of Directors, Oahu region, Hawaii Health Systems Corporation for five years and on the board of American Cancer Society, Hawaii. She also served on the Hawaii State Workforce Committee and the Hawaii Action Coalition for State Center for Nursing for five years.

Ms. Marshall and her husband Chuck are long-time residents of Honolulu, Hawaii.

Dr. David McEwan, MD retired in 2015 from an impressive, 50-year medical career. He served as Chief of Family Medicine at Honolulu Medical Group, in Honolulu, Hawaii, and had an active clinic practice there from 1977–2010. In the last five years of his career, he opened a private practice and then joined Straub Clinic & Hospital as a full-time family practitioner before retiring.

Dr. McEwan earned both his bachelor’s degree and medical degree from the University of Manitoba, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Following his internship at Toronto General Hospital and The Hospital for Sick Children, in Toronto, Ontario, he did his residency at the Department of Family Practice, University of Manitoba. He earned board certification from the College of Family Medicine of Canada.

His professional affiliations include the College of Family Physicians of Canada, Hawaii Medical Association, Honolulu County Medical Society, International AIDS Society, Physicians Assoc. for AIDS Care, Hawaii Academy of Family Practice, Bay Area Association of Physicians for Human Rights (BAAPHR), American Association of Physicians for Human Rights (AAPHR), and Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GALMA).

In the early 1980s, Dr. McEwan diagnosed Hawaii’s first case of AIDS. He then co-founded The Life Foundation (the AIDS Foundation of Hawaii, now known as Hawaii Health & Harm Reduction Center) and began a life of service and advocacy on behalf of the HIV-AIDS community. Dr. McEwan has earned recognition for his extraordinary efforts over the years, from the mayor proclaiming “Dr. David McEwan Day” in 1989, to the ACLU of Hawaii awarding him the Allan E. Saunders Award for Civil Liberties in 1991, to the Hawaii Department of Health awarding him the prestigious “Suzanne Richard-Crum Award” at the 2020 annual World AIDS Day ceremony.

Dr. McEwan has been a board member and frequent chair of Hawaiian organizations advocating for marriage equality rights for the LGBT community, including: Marriage Project Hawaii (MPH); Hawaii Organization for Political Empowerment (HOPE); Hawaii Equal Rights Marriage Project (HERMP); Civil Unions-Civil Rights (CU-CR); Protect Our Constitution (POC); and Equality Hawaii (advisory council). For 25 years, he served as a member of the University of Hawaii’s “Hawaii AIDS Research Consortium.”

Even in his retirement, Dr. McEwan has remained deeply involved in this community. He has been working with University of Hawaii at Mānoa to create and support the Hamilton Library’s “AIDS & Same-Sex Marriage in Hawaii Archives,” which include the “AIDS & Same Gender Marriage Papers of Dr David McEwan & Dr Thomas Ramsey” as a core piece. In 2021, he was appointed by Governor David lge to the Hawaii “Judicial Selection Commission,” to interview and select candidates for appointments for all judicial openings in the state. Since 2020, he has served on the Luana Kai Board, working to bring a new senior living community to East Honolulu.

DeWayne McMullin, CPA, brings over 40 years of experience in the senior living industry. He has held management positions with Southern California Presbyterian Homes, Presbyterian Homes of New Jersey, and United Methodist Homes of New Jersey. Earlier in his career, he worked for Ernst & Whinney (now Ernst & Young), in the firm’s national retirement living industry consulting practice. Over his career, he has worked as a consultant where he specialized in troubled debt restructuring, new community development, master planning, and similar engagements for senior living focused entities. Most recently, he is on the faculty in the graduate gerontology program at the University of Southern California. He is also in the process of completing a Doctorate of Longevity Arts and Science Degree at the University of Southern California.

Mr. McMullin began his education with a bachelor’s degree in business management from University of Maine, followed by a master’s in business administration from Syracuse University. He later received a master’s degree in gerontology from the University of Southern California, and he became a certified Retirement Housing Professional Fellow (LeadingAge, 1989). He is licensed as a certified public accountant in California.

Mr. McMullin volunteers on several Board of Directors that focus on older adult care and services. He also serves as a Captain in the Civil Air Patrol, an entity that focuses on emergency services as part of the United States Air Force.

David Hudson retired after more than 40 years in the financial services industry. As the Executive Vice President, Retail Markets, of Central Pacific Bank, Mr. Hudson oversaw the bank’s entire branch network throughout the State of Hawaii, the Customer Contact Center, Consumer Lending, and Retail Product Management, including ATMs and Electronic Banking.

Mr. Hudson started his banking career in international, corporate and commercial real estate lending with Crocker National Bank and First Nationwide Bank. More recently, his career has focused on retail and branch banking.

Prior to joining Central Pacific Bank in 2009, he spent six years as Senior Vice President of the consumer and business banking division of Hawaii-based American Savings Bank. In addition, Mr. Hudson served at Honfed Bank and Bank of America in Hawaii and California in various positions from process design executive to consumer region executive.

Mr. Hudson currently serves on the boards as treasurer of Emerald Heights, Heron’s Key, Luana Kai and Emerald Communities and is a volunteer for Hawaii Public Radio and AARP-Hawaii.  He previously served on the boards of The Boys and Girls Club of Hawaii, Kapiolani Health Foundation, Kahi-Mohala Behavioral Health Hospital, Positive Coaching Alliance and Epiphany School.

Kamani Kuala’au is a Senior Vice President with Atalanta Sosnoff, a New York-based, SEC-registered investment advisor firm. His responsibilities include the Western Pacific Region, Hawaii and Western United States. Prior to joining Atalanta Sosnoff in 2010, Mr. Kuala’au held positions with Bank of Hawaii’s Investment Services Group and Public Financial Management, Inc.

A graduate of the Kamehameha Schools, Mr. Kuala‘au went on to study at Princeton University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree.

Today Mr. Kuala‘au is very active serving the Hawaiian community. In addition to his role with Luana Kai, he serves as: Trustee for the Queen’s Health Systems, Director for the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation, and other community boards. He previously served as Trustee for the King Lunalilo Trust and as a Director for PBS Hawaii and Goodwill Industries of Hawaii.

Dwight Whiting retired in 2024 from his position as Financial Advisor and Partner at Auxano Advisors, LLC, a private wealth management firm in Bellevue, Washington. He offered clients comprehensive financial, tax, estate, retirement and lifecycle planning. His specialties include high net worth planning, business succession planning, estate planning, multigenerational family wealth education, retirement income planning, portfolio management and philanthropic planning.

Prior to joining Auxano Advisors in 2014, Mr. Whiting was a wealth advisor at Morgan Stanley and a financial advisor at UBS Financial Services. Earlier in his career, he managed the development and marketing of advanced technology alternative fuel systems at IMPCO Technologies, Inc. and worked as Director of Marketing at Dynalco Controls, a unit of Crane Co.

Mr. Whiting earned bachelor’s degrees in management science and systems science from the University of California, San Diego, followed by a master’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics from Stanford University.

Mr. Whiting currently serves as the Chair of the Emerald Communities, Emerald Heights and Heron’s Key Boards of Directors. 

Jill Guernsey brings to the board a deep expertise on regional politics, land-use planning and law.  Ms. Guernsey served as mayor of the City of Gig Harbor — the home of Heron’s Key — from 2014 to 2017. Earlier she served on the City Council and was a long-time member of the city’s Planning Commission. 

Professionally, Ms. Guernsey’s three-decade career in law included serving as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Civil Division. She held that position for more than 25 years, before her retirement in 2016. Earlier in her career, she served as Legal Counsel to the Pierce County Executive and as Chief Civil Deputy in the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department.

She was a member of the Washington State Bar Association for 37 years and was President of the Environmental and Land Use Section. She also served on the National Board of Trustees of American Inns of Court and was president of the Tacoma Chapter of the American Inns of Court. Her extensive community service includes serving on the boards of Peninsula School District, Gig Harbor Waterfront Alliance and Tacoma-Pierce County Economic Development Board. She is an active member of Rotary Club of Gig Harbor and serves on the board of Cars4Change. 

Ms. Guernsey earned her bachelor’s degree from University of California, Irvine, and her law degree from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

Ms. Guernsey currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Emerald Communities, Emerald Heights and Heron’s Key Boards of Directors.

Daphne Schneider is Principal and Owner of Daphne R. Schneider and Associates, a Seattle-based consulting firm providing assistance with difficult people and systems issues in the workplace. Services include investigation of allegations of harassment, discrimination and employee misconduct, executive/ leadership/employee coaching, team development, mediation, human resources consulting, facilitation of meetings and retreats, and related training. She has conducted hundreds of workplace investigations, consulted with many public, private and not- for-profit clients, and presented at numerous professional conferences.

Ms. Schneider earned her Bachelor Degree from the University of Washington, and her Master of Science in Organization Development from Central Washington University.

Ms. Schneider also has more than 40 years of organizational leadership experience, having held senior human resources, business and support services management positions, as well as not-for-profit board leadership positions. She currently serves as the Secretary of the Emerald Communities, Emerald Heights, and Heron’s Key Boards of Directors.

Mr. Oswald Stender, affectionately known as Oz, served as a founding board member of Luana Kai A LifePlan Community, and brought a lifetime of wisdom and good governance to the organization. He died at the age of 90 in February 2022.

He was a well-known and respected leader with deep roots in the community.

Mr. Stender, who was born in Hau‘ula in 1931 and orphaned at the age of 2, attended the Kamehameha School for Boys on a scholarship. Following his graduation in 1950, Mr. Stender joined the Marine Corps and served during the Korean War from 1951 to 1954.

Upon his return, he earned his bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Hawaii at Mānoa and launched his career as an assistant property manager of the Estate of James Campbell. Over the next 32 years, he took on increasing responsibilities there and eventually became chief executive officer for more than a decade. Later he served as a senior advisor to the Campbell board of trustees.

In 1990, Mr. Stender was appointed to the board of trustees for the Bishop Estate — the largest landholder in Hawaii and one of the richest charitable trusts in the nation. Though the trust’s mission was to educate Native Hawaiian children —through the very same school system he himself had attended — Mr. Stender became alarmed at the lack of focus on this mission, lax internal controls and possible conflicts of interest among the well-paid trustees.

After a seven-year effort to correct these problems internally, Mr. Stender sought outside counsel, helped expose the mismanagement and cooperated with external investigators. Eventually, all the trustees – including Mr. Stender – were forced to resign, and multiple reforms were put in place. As a result, there was a renewed focus on the trust’s original mission, and many more children from around the state benefitted from an education in the Kamehameha Schools programs. Mr. Stender went on to serve as a trustee for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs for 14 years, until his retirement in 2014.

Throughout his lifetime, Mr. Stender was deeply involved in community service, serving on the boards of numerous organizations — from Aloha United Way and Helping Hands Hawaii to the Kawaihae Church Advisory Board and Lanikai School Board. In addition, he worked tirelessly to restore land and dignity to Native Hawaiians through the Broken Promises working group. He co-founded a Hawaiian language immersion school and even helped produce a solo album for singer Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole.

Mr. Stender received recognition for his lifetime of service to the Hawaiian community. In 2009, Mr. Stender received the Honolulu Forever Young Award, which recognizes “dynamic leaders who, through selfless giving, have found the secret to being forever young.” In 2019, the Hawaiian state legislature passed a resolution honoring him for his dedication to the betterment of the native Hawaiians.