Aloha Ceremony 2022

Juanita Budiao
Custodian

For over four decades, Juanita’s sunny presence was felt in the athletic facilities where she diligently kept the area, including the offices and locker rooms, clean and ready for students, faculty and staff to use. She enjoyed watching students develop their athletic talents, especially in basketball, when someone made a three-point shot.

Juanita will miss working with fellow custodian Amelita Aquino, who she grew close with in over 40 years of working together. In her retirement she will enjoy spending time with her husband, children and grandchildren, and tending to her desert rose plants.

Lee Couillard
Assistant Tennis Director

Lee has been sharing his enthusiasm for tennis with students since 1988, in the era before computers were on campus, only typewriters. Last year alone, he introduced over 1,000 students to the sport through PE. Teaching the younger grades has especially been a joy.

Lee coached the Punahou ILH intermediate girls and boys tennis teams for over 20 years. Lee has also served for USPTA Hawaii division, certifying dozens of USPTA Hawaii pros over the past 25 years, and conducted several ages 10-and-under tennis workshops at public schools and facilities.

In his retirement, Lee will continue to play and teach tennis, proving that it’s a sport for life. He is also an avid bicyclist, outdoorsman and enjoys gardening with wife Trudy. He looks forward to brushing up on his cooking skills.

Paula Crabb
Academy Faculty – PE

“Take care of your body, it is the only place you have to live” is Paula’s motto in life, which she has shared with the Punahou community for nearly 50 years, inspired by her passion for leading an active, balanced lifestyle. Recognizing that passion and the importance of mind-body awareness, Paula created yoga courses to give students skills to navigate challenges and find peace of mind in this high-tech world.

In addition to teaching Academy physical education classes, she served as PE department head, After School PE director, ILH gymnastics coach for 23 years and developer and director of the K – 4 Elements of Movement program for 20 years. She introduced such activities as windsurfing and kayaking to the PE program, led a yoga, mindfulness and Hawaiian culture retreat on Moloka’i for G-Term, worked with the Sustainability Initiative to promote healthier food choices in the cafeteria and was advisor of the well-being club.

She will remain active in retirement – she has crossed the Kaiwi Channel over 60 times in outrigger canoe competitions – and will continue to support her two sons, Trevor ’08 and Taylor ’10, both professional beach volleyball players.

She is appreciative of the opportunities and support at Punahou that allowed her to grow further as a teacher. She feels blessed to be a part of the Punahou ‘ohana, working with dedicated colleagues, the Physical Plant team and all the students who brought her joy. She will truly miss Punahou, but one thing she won’t miss is having to think what cycle day it is.

Stacy Fontenot
Academy Faculty – Spanish Language

Punahou has been a large part of Stacy’s life for almost 30 years, where she shared her enthusiasm for la cultura hispana with students through music, film, literature and lively conversation. She was passionate about sharing what she gleaned from trips abroad with Punahou – one to Costa Rica, where she learned about sustainable agricultural practices, and the other to Cuba. Stacy was also known for her love of cats, and Punahou has her to thank for a 20-plus year effort to care for and reduce the campus’ feral cat colony from over 50 down to just a handful.

Although Stacy will miss the friends and collegiality at Punahou, she won’t miss the commute from Mililani. She looks forward to sleeping in, more time for swimming and paddling, and seeing what comes next in retirement.

Kimberly Garner
Food Service Worker

Ever since fifth grade, Kim wanted to be a part of the fast-paced environment of working in a cafeteria. The California native moved to Hawai‘i after graduating high school. She then studied hotel operations and food services at Kapi‘olani Community College before joining the team at Punahou.

Kim enjoyed working with her cafeteria “family” for 35 years, and they appreciated her as the go-to person to fill any position. At Punahou, Kim experienced all areas of the cafeteria, from making sandwiches to working special functions, her favorite being Aloha Ceremony, Carnival and Alumni Luau. In her retirement, she will continue to enjoy her preferred hobby, which is crafting prayer beads, rosaries and earrings.

Becky Hara
Executive Assistant to the Vice President and Treasurer

Becky’s dedication to Punahou stems back to the early ’90s as a parent volunteer. Since 2003, she has worked in various roles at the School, including with the PFA and the development office, settling in the Vice President and Treasurer’s office in 2006, where she served John Field ’72 and Sunny Donenfeld. Becky is known for going above and beyond in her duties, earning an award for that very characteristic from the PFA.

She is grateful to Punahou for the opportunities provided to her and her family and is especially appreciative of the people who guided and befriended her along the way. In her retirement, she hopes to continue serving the School in some way, spending more time with family and friends, including husband Darryl, son Dru ’06 and daughter-in-law Gabi, and taking a cruise through Alaska and Southeast Asia.

Jill Kawano
Director of Financial Services and Audit

As Director of Financial Services and Audit and previously Assistant Treasurer and Controller, Jill oversaw the School finances and about a dozen employees in the business office, bookstore, mailing room and central supply. For Jill, a high point of working at Punahou for nearly 30 years was being a part of the work that supports faculty and staff in making Punahou the wonderful school it is.

She’s also grateful to have been able to watch her three children, Mike ’08, Brad ’13 and Katey ’18, grow through their years at Punahou. While she will miss her colleagues at the School, she is looking forward to traveling, spending time with family and overseeing home renovations.

Sharon Komatsubara
Administrative Assistant II

As the public face and voice of the Wo International Center, Sharon was often the first person visitors would meet at the Wo Center. For Sharon, meeting people from different countries was a perk of the job, as well as supporting the Center’s expansion of global learning initiatives and programs over the years. She is grateful for the friendships and connections formed after over two decades with colleagues, students and families both at Punahou and abroad. 

Sharon is devoted to her family – all Punahou grads: husband Kerry ’72 and children Kristin ’00, Kimberly ’02 and Kurt ’06. In her retirement, she looks forward to spending time with family, traveling, staying active in her garden, experimenting in the kitchen, and making haku lei and baked goods for family and friends. 

Lisa Kuba
Human Resources Assistant

Since 2004, Lisa has been invested in the well-being of faculty and staff as a Human Resources assistant, associate and part of the life quality programs, supporting the department’s efforts to promote a culture of healthy mind, body and spirit. She was the friendly face who welcomed and onboarded new faculty and staff and a caring colleague who lent crucial support.

She treasured her time at Punahou School and is grateful for the friendships, opportunities and experiences. She will miss being part of the Punahou ‘ohana and daily interactions on campus, yet she is excited about living life to the fullest in her retirement, crossing items off her bucket list, and spending more time with husband Gary and daughters Jillian ’16 and Julia ’19.

Bernadette Morales 
Custodian

Berna had the task of taking care of the girls’ locker room and the training room as a custodian in the Athletic Department. A former basketball and volleyball player herself, she enjoyed the energy of working in that area of campus and was known for her great attitude.

After 20 years, she will miss the friendships she’s built at Punahou, including with longtime co-worker custodian Violet Dahilig, attending school functions like the annual Trustee Dinner, working with other departments like Physical Plant, and learning how to fix things. She will enjoy spending her retirement with her grandchildren and following her interests in music, dancing, painting and cars.

Laura Sayama ’77 Nishiyama
Administrative Assistant II, Academy Attendance

Laura was responsible for keeping track of the attendance of 1,700-plus Academy students. Before joining the attendance office, she worked in advancement and in college counseling. Over her 20-plus years at Punahou, she also supported the Punahou Christian Athletes club, participated in a faculty and staff prayer group, and enjoyed exercising regularly with colleagues.

She feels blessed for the many positive interactions with coworkers she now calls friends, students who now know her as aunty and parents – all have inspired her to grow in knowledge, grace and compassion. She awaits the next season of her life which will include more time to serve her community and lots of joy and laughter with her family – husband Curtis, son Sean, daughters Lani, Sammy ’15 and Danie ’22, son-in-law Bryan, and grandkids Jack and Ke‘ala.

Lissa Lam ’72 Schiff
Director of Advancement Operations

For 16 years, Lissa was a leader within the Advancement office, continually striving to improve processes to benefit the School and its donor and alumni communities. During her tenure, she steered annual fundraising, donor relations, events, gifts and operations. Her team’s work included supporting and organizing Punahou’s 175th anniversary celebration; the Ku’u Punahou campaign; and Buff ’n Blue Forever, where 2,000 alumni and friends celebrated former President Jim Scott’s ’70 tenure in 2019.

Experiencing Punahou as a student, parent, volunteer and employee has been an honor and privilege for Lissa, with the highlight being the feeling of contributing to something greater than herself. She looks forward to a new chapter of traveling, spending time with family and getting involved in conservation efforts.

Kevin Scullion
Operations Supervisor

Kevin’s introduction to Punahou was helping with the breakdown of Alumni Luau in June of 1992. Fast forward to today, as Operations Supervisor, Kevin led the team responsible for event set-up and breakdown and numerous behind-the-scenes operations that keep campus running. Prior to that, Kevin was a bus driver, shuttling students to excursions and sporting events, joining them on hikes and cheering them on at games.

The 1974 graduate of Damien Memorial High School has enjoyed the camaraderie among his Punahou colleagues and is grateful for all the hard work his associates put in. He has also enjoyed watching students grow into remarkable people, including daughter Kealoha ’18 and nephews Kaneali‘i ’22 and Koa ’27. His wife, Kehau Kealoha-Scullion ’80 is director of Punahou’s PUEO program. In his retirement, he looks forward to more time for baking breads and scones, a hobby he picked up from working at Waioli Tea Room, and body surfing.

Terry Yamamoto-Edwards
College Counselor, Academy Faculty – Science

Terry is grateful to have had the chance to teach such positive, respectful and talented students in a variety of courses and contexts for over three decades at Punahou and to work with thoughtful and passionate teachers and staff across campus.

Highlights of her time at Punahou include developing an interdisciplinary curriculum that connected biology, English and social studies, serving as Assistant Director at the Luke Center for Public Service for 10 years, traveling with colleagues to Japan, Morocco, Ghana and New Zealand, spending a transformative year in Spain for her 2017 – 2018 sabbatical, and dancing at Holokū over the many years.

Now she looks forward to future adventures with husband Chris and sons Khalil ’17 and Noah ’21, moving to Portland, Oregon, learning new things and exploring new places.

Beryl Yanagi-Fujita
Co-Curricular Faculty – Punahou Music School

Since 1982, Beryl has been sharing the gift of music with generations of families at Punahou through her wonderful talents on the piano. A piano teacher and accompanist within the Punahou Music School and Music Department, she helped shape piano curriculum and also served as the Royal Conservatory of Music Center Representative for Hawai‘i.

A highlight of her time at Punahou was collaborating and creating beautiful music with colleagues and students in Montague Hall, her second home. In her retirement, she looks forward to spending more time with family, renovating her house, traveling, learning a new language, having her children teach her how to swim, and hopes to continue sharing her talents at the piano with kūpuna in care homes.

Luana Meyer ’81 Yee
Junior School Faculty – Grade 3

Having taught first, second and third grade, Luana has loved working alongside dedicated and joyful teachers and experiencing students’ journeys through the younger grades. Raising money with first graders to purchase a yak for a Mongolian village, the grade 2 holiday music program and the third grade lū’au are memories she won’t soon forget.

She will miss the friendships and connections made over her 22 years at Punahou. She met her husband, Ian ’81, who was her classmate when she was 14, and they have been married 37 years and have two children, Keolamau ’10 and Noa ’12. In her retirement, she looks forward to traveling with Ian and seeing friends and family in the years to come, all over the world.

Loren Abiva
Helen “Elaine” Blitman
Wallace Chang
Peter Cole
Judith Sheehan ’57 Dawson 
Joan Wood ’52 Fleming
Rodrigo Galingana

Tibbie Lynch
Danelle “Ipo” Olivieri
Joan Pratt ’47
Randall Shaw
Richard Simons
Dorothy Steele

Kiyoko Toma
Jonathon Tribbey
Victoria Van Wagner
Nancy Williamson
Trudy Wyatt
Jonathan Yorck