Jason Chung, vice president of military affairs, Chamber of Commerce Hawaii, moderated the panel discussion
A photo of Jennifer Goto Sabas, co-Chair of CyberHawaii
A photo of Pono Chong

Aloha,

We would like to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves, we are the Hawaii Defense Alliance (Alliance). We are contracted by the State of Hawaii Department of Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT) through a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC, previously, Office of Economic Adjustment). Our mission is to grow a more robust and sustainable defense sector in Hawaii with a priority focus on ship repair and ship building, engineering services and IT/cyber security/data analytics.

The Alliance officially launched in May 2021 and is actively working to bring together industry, government, educational institutions and community resource partners to help increase local business opportunities. We have established an executive steering committee of experienced business and community leaders who are volunteering countless hours of their time to provide insight and guidance, along with four working groups – small business support, business ecosystem support, workforce development, and market resiliency and innovation. Mahalo to all who have dedicated their time to the Alliance and for investing in Hawaii’s future!

As we move forward executing our strategy and achieving our project goals, the Alliance’s e-newsletter, along with our soon to be launched website and social media channels, will help us keep you and other members of our community informed. We are excited about this project and look forward to sharing more with you in the coming months.

Mahalo,

Jason Chung:  Vice President of the Military Affairs Council
Jennifer Sabas:  Co-Director of CyberHawaii
Pono Chong:  Program Manager of the Hawaii Defense Alliance