THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
HPBEC's Board of Directors are composed of individuals who are experienced and seasoned business people in their field of expertise. The board directes the strategic goals and policy of HPBEC. They serve as great assets to HPBEC.
Harry L. Alonso
Mr. Alonso owns several business enterprises, namely VWH Investments LLC, The AMP Group/Pacific Expos, and Akamai Amusements. He also practices real estate with the firm Newmark Grubb specializing in Sales, Leasing, Business Opportunities, and Tenant Representation. Mr. Alonso was a former president of the Filipino Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii in addition to serving as a commissioner for the state community-based economic development commission.
halonso1@gmail.com
Belinda Aquino, Ph.D.
An internationally recognized authority on contemporary Philippine affairs, Dr. Belinda A. Aquino received her Ph.D. in Political Science from Cornell University as a Ford Foundation fellow, M.A. in Political Science and Public Administration from the University of Hawaii as an East-West Center scholar, and B.A. in English from the University of the Philippines. She wrote her doctoral dissertation on local autonomy and development in the Philippines. She is the past Director of the Center for Philippine Studies at the University of Hawaii at Manoa (1975-2009), where she is also Professor of Political Science and Asian Studies.
lyndy@hawaii.edu
Rose Cruz Churma
Churma heads DesignLab, her own architectural firm, and was most recently a contract administrator at the Hawaii Public Housing Authority. She served as President of the Filipino Community Center. Churma was instrumental in shepherding the Center's building process, acting as project manager and overall administrator for public and private grants that provided the majority of construction funding. She has served as a member of the FilCom board, as past president of the Filipino Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii and chaired several trade missions to the Philippines. She also serves as the volunteer executive director of the Hawaii-Philippines Business & Economic Council, an affiliate of the Filipino Chamber. She was recently elected to serve on the board of the Filipino Association of University Women.
rosechurma@mac.com
Melga Gendrano
Melga Gendrano serves as the treasurer for HPBEC. She came to Hawaii in 1969 on a scholarship grant from the East West Center. She completed her Masters Degree in Education in 1971. Melg's real estate career started in 1974 and she became a broker in 1981. Today, Melga focuses on property management. Melga has served as a Police Commissioner for the City and County of Honolulu and has been awarded numerous awards of recognition for her active leadership and volunteerism in the community.
melga@kfgpropertiesinc.com
Rosemarie Mendoza
Rose Mendoza serves as Vice President of HPBEC. She is currently the Employee Labor & Relations Manager for FCH Enterprises, Inc., one of Hawaii's largest restaurant chain. Ms. Mendoza was a former President of the Filipino Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii and has chaired several trade missions to the Philippines. She also serves as a director for Kalihi-Palama Health Center.
rmendoza808@aol.com
Elias Beniga
Board Member
Florencio Suela, Jr.
Board Member