Board Members
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Michael Bonahan, President
Michael Bonahan grew up in Hawaii, went to the Kansas City Art Institute and the University of Missouri in KC - where he studied theatre and film production, and moved back to the Big Island in 1986. He co-owned and operated a film & TV company for 10 years, worked for Universal Pictures in production management, served as President of the Big Island Film & Video Association and eventually as the Hawaii County Film Commissioner. He now works as a Developer and General Contractor, owns several small businesses, and volunteers in his community. Michael is the Co-Founder of Boys to Men Hawaii Mentoring Network, currently serves as President Emeritus of Halalai Ohana Foundation, sits on the NHCH Community Advisory Board, and is the Outreach Coordinator for the Hawaii Council of the ManKind Project.
Frederick Marx, Creative Director & Founder
Frederick Marx is most known as a Producer, Director, Writer, and Editor with 35 years in the film and television business. His latest film Journey from Zanskar, called “Heartbreaking… [It] shines a light on a place and a way of life that are rapidly changing,” by the NY Times, is now in worldwide distribution. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Hoop Dreams – also named “Best Documentary of All Time” by the Intl. Documentary Association and “Best Film of the 1990s” by Roger Ebert. Having premiered three of his films at the New York Film Festival, Marx has screened his films at the world’s most prestigious festivals and venues and garnered many international awards, including Chicago Tribune Artist of the Year, Village Voice Sports Journalist of the Year, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a Robert F. Kennedy Special Achievement Award.
David Scinto, Treasurer
David is a Certified Public Accountant and the founding Partner of Scinto Graziano, LLP, a Certified Public Accounting firm located in the Sierra foothills of Northern California. His passion is in counseling entrepreneurs in building sustainable and profitable businesses. David has served on the Boards of Directors for many non-profit entities over the past 20 years including Nevada Joint Union High School District Foundation, Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Coalition, Nevada County Chamber of Commerce, Miners Foundry Cultural Preservation Trust, and the Underground Gold Miners' Museum of California. David is also the founding Partner of Strategic Growth Network (an outsourced CFO service), PayPartner Inc. (a payroll services company), and Digital Direct (a business invoicing company). A father of three, David has been active in youth sports and the Boy Scouts of America.
Kwame Scruggs
G. Kwame Scruggs is Founder and Executive Director of Alchemy, Inc., a non-profit organization in Akron, Ohio. Since its inception in 2004 Alchemy has worked with over 1,750 male youth in a group setting. 26 of 28 from their core group (having been with the program 4-7 years) enrolled in college. In 2012 Alchemy was one of 12 programs to receive the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award by the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, the nation’s highest honor for after-school and out-of-school programs. Kwame has over 20 years experience using myth with urban male youth and holds a Ph.D. and MA in Mythological Studies with an emphasis in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, California. Kwame also holds a MS degree in Technical Education with an emphasis in Guidance and Counseling from the University of Akron where he also completed all coursework for a masters degree in Community Counseling. He has conducted numerous workshops on the use of myth to engage urban youth and is also a Certified Facilitator of the Akan System of Life Cycle Development (African-based rites of passage).
Arley Marley
Former aeronautics engineer with Boeing and co-patent holder for the first automated landing system in the world. Founder, Info-Scan Technologies, Inc., providing software, equipment, labels, and consulting for bar coding. Rotarian since 2000 and “Rotarian of the Year” in 2001. Passionate creator and instructor for Rotary Enterprise Leadership Conference, an entrepreneural experience for high school juniors. Represents Rotary on local community Challenge Teams for at-risk youth. Sunnyvale Rotary Club President in 2006-2007, holding key positions within Rotary including serving as District Governor from 2011-2012. Past Chair of the Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and recipient of the Murphy Award. Recipient of Outstanding Volunteer award in 2005 from Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Most recently, a recipient of the Sunnyvale Mayor’s Award of Excellence.
Gareth Higgins
Gareth Higgins was born in Belfast in 1975, grew up during the northern Ireland Troubles, and lives in North Carolina. He writes and speaks about connection to the earth, cinema and the power of dreams, peace and making justice, and how to take life seriously without believing your own propaganda. In northern Ireland he co-founded a non-profit organization focused on promoting peace and social justice activism and organising culturally engaged activist events; more recently serving as founding director of the Wild Goose Festival, organizing national events at the intersection of justice, spirituality and art. He is the author of 'Cinematic States', published in 2013 by Burnside Books.
David Woolley
David R. Woolley has been a pioneer in online social media since before that term existed. In the early 1970s he created PLATO Notes, an online message board system that was the basis for the world’s first online community and the direct progenitor of Lotus Notes. He was also the co-creator of the world’s first online chat room, Talkomatic. He has designed online conferencing facilities for many applications and built authoring tools for computer-based training. He was a founding board member of E-Democracy.org, an internationally renowned organization that uses internet technology to engage citizens in local political discussions and neighborhood issues forums, and has held top leadership positions in several other organizations including the Twin Cities Free-Net and Friends for a Non-Violent World. In recent years he has been a consultant in the field of web conferencing and social media software.
Bryan Balch
Bryan M. Balch, Business Consultant, Author, and certified Life Coach, has over 25 years experience at the executive level working with organizations serving various disadvantaged populations. His diverse experience includes serving the elderly, individuals with disabilities, at-risk youth, low-risk offenders, substance abusers, parolees, and entire socially and economically disadvantaged communities. As an entrepreneur, he has founded five companies in four different industries. He has led expansion of two bay area companies into national companies. Bryan recently published “How to Create Value First and Other Lessons: Helping Organizations Go From Surviving to Thriving”, a book designed to help non-profits and small businesses create a foundation for sustainability and develop their respective leaders.
Laura Flaxman
Laura Flaxman brings twenty-five years of experience in urban education to her current role of doctoral candidate at Harvard University and "resident" at Mills College. In addition to various consulting roles, Laura is also working on developing a new model of higher education. Laura was the co-founder, co-principal and Executive Director of ARISE High School, as well as the co-director of the Reach Teacher Incentive Fund Consortium. Laura co-founded the Oakland New Small Autonomous Schools Foundation, now the Oakland Education Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and strengthening public schools in Oakland. She is also the co-author of Small Schools, Big Ideas: The Essential Guide to School. Laura holds two Master’s degrees: one in Educational Leadership from Harvard University and the other in English from the Bread Loaf School of English. She earned her Bachelor’s at Wesleyan University and her high school diploma at the Bronx High School of Science.
Linda Alvarez
The first twenty years of Linda Alvarez’s professional life were spent pursuing a successful career in the Arts. Trained in theatre, she and her husband produced and managed theatrical and media productions across the United States. In the mid-1990’s Linda reentered the academic world earning her law degree, magna cum laude, in 1997. She entered private practice in the large firm environment — including Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (Palo Alto) and Vinson & Elkins (Houston). Beginning with her engagement as a member of the team successfully defending the first mp3 player to come to market, Linda has remained active on the frontier where digital technology pushes the boundaries of legal concepts designed for the analog and print-based era. In 2012, Linda was recognized by the American Bar Association as a “Legal Rebel” for her work in bringing change to the legal system.
Katharine Krueger
Katharine Krueger is Founder and Director of Journey of Young Women, whose mission is to empower girls, educate parents, and train women online to mentor girls, lead Girls’ Circles and offer Coming of Age to girls. In Coming of Age Circles, girls learn to take responsibility for their physical, emotional, social, spiritual and sexual well-being. This work is transformative for the girls, their families and the mentors. Katharine’s past roles include mechanical engineer, industrial engineer, strategic planner, facilitator, co-founder of a Waldorf-inspired homeschool coop, Director of Youth Practice at a zen center, and co-catalyzer of a local boys mentorship initiative. She parents with joy and respect two awesome young adults. Camping and growing her own food are her passions. She serves many girls and women on the educational Facebook pages Journey of Young Women and OccupyMenstruation.
Jerry Ostrander
Jerry Ostrander, MBA, AAMS, is a BS Mechanical Engineer from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA from Golden Gate University. He spent about 30 years in high tech manufacturing including a time as CEO of a $40 mil aerospace company manufacturing airplane parts and satellite structures. More recently, he has had a second career as a Financial Advisor for Edward Jones Investments. He and his wife live in Oakland; they have a son and a daughter and 5 grandsons. His passions are spiritual growth, family, and giving back to others in some small way. He also loves teaching and bike riding.