Speakers, Moderators & Panelist Bios

James Oliver Horton (HMA Keynote speaker) is the Benjamin Banneker Professor of American Studies and History at George Washington University, Historian Emeritus at the Smithsonian Institution, and Visiting Professor of American Studies at the University of Hawai‘i at M?noa. He has been Senior Fulbright Professor at the University of Munich and Fulbright Distinguished John Adams Chair in American History at the University of Leiden. Dr. Horton was President of the Organization of American Historians in 2004-2005 and has held several presidential appointments including service on the White House Millennium Council and the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission. He has published ten books including Landmarks of African American History (2005).

Dr. Horton’s contributions to history scholarship, where his focus is slavery and African-American history, extends far beyond the classroom where he has become a respected public historian. He served as historical advisor to several museums in the United States and abroad, including the Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, OH, the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, TN, Colonial Williamsburg, Monticello, and the New York Historical Society. He has been historical consultant to numerous film and video productions including those seen on ABC, PBS, the Discovery Channel, C-Span TV, and the History Channel. He was a consultant for the WNET PBS Series "Slavery and the Making of America" (2005) and wrote the companion book of the same name with Lois Horton (Oxford University Press, 2004). He has made numerous television appearances on PBS and the History Channel programs and was the subject of an episode in the latter’s series "Great Minds in American History." In 2006 he published Slavery and Public History: The Tough Stuff of American Memory, co-edited, with Lois Horton.

Dr. Horton is also the recipient of numerous awards. Most recently, he was awarded the George Washington University President’s Medal. Previous recipients of this medal were Mikhail Gorbachev, Walter Cronkite, and former Israeli Prime Minister and Nobel Laureate Simon Peres.
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Susan Sayre Batton is Deputy Director, Honolulu Academy of Arts. After undergraduate studies at Denison University and Oxford, she pursued graduate work in visual art and book/paper conservation at Princeton University. She began her affiliation with HAA by developing conservation and exhibition standards for Japanese woodblock prints in 1993. Ms. Batton has worked at the Art Institute of Chicago, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, L.A County Museum of Art, and Princeton University Library; and is co-author of Nineteenth Century Art in the Norton Simon Museum, Volume 1 (Yale, 2006).
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DeSoto Brown is the Collections Manager of Bishop Museum Archives in Honolulu, where he has been employed since 1987. In addition to the responsibility for the management of the various archives’ collections (art, maps, manuscripts, audio recordings, photos, and film and videotape), he is the author of a number of books on Hawaiian history, especially pertaining to the promotion and advertising of Hawai‘i for tourism.
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Stuart W. H. Ching, curator at ‘Iolani Palace, was born and raised in Hawai‘i. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Kenyon College. Over the past 23 years, Mr. Ching has held various positions including research associate and education coordinator at ‘Iolani Palace, collection manager of art and archivist at Bishop Museum, and curator/registrar and interim executive director at Mission Houses Museum. With his return to ‘Iolani Palace, he has come full circle in his museum career.
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June Noelani Cleghorn has been the Cultural Resources Manager at Marine Corps Base Hawai‘i for over a decade.  She ensures that the Marine Corps complies with all historic preservation laws and regulations regarding the protection and management of traditional Hawaiian archaeological sites, ancestral Hawaiian human remains, and numerous historic buildings and structures. As a consultant to the National Park Service before her years at the Marine base, she completed NAGPRA inventories of human remains for all of the national parks in Hawai‘i.
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Agnes Conrad, is the first recipient of HMA's Ka Lama Award. If you are a member of Hawaii's museum community, Agnes Conrad has touched your life. You may have worked with her. She might have mentored an associate. She might have written your organization's bylaws, or at the very least reviewed them. She's undoubtedly mentioned in the acknowledgements of your favorite local history book. Agnes' contributions to our profession and organizations are endless.

In 1955 Agnes Conrad became Hawaii's Territorial archivist, inheriting an amazing collection of records including papers of Hawaii's chiefs and monarchs. She quickly set policies in place to ensure these collections would be organized according to professional archival standards, modernizing Hawaii's records management program. Her work has been invaluable to Hawaii's museums and historic preservation organizations.

Agnes' knowledge of our state's history has been a boon to the museum community. She has shared her expertise with many. In the 1950's, she was involved with early historic preservation efforts including the preservation of Diamond Head. She was instrumental in founding the Hawai'i Museums Association and was involved in the restoration of 'Iolani Palace and served in many capacities on its Friends group. The individuals and institutions she has helped are too numerous to count but her dedication to her profession and willingness to share her knowledge and time has made a lasting impact on Hawaii's cultural resources and institutions.
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Marilyn Cristofori has been Chief Executive Officer of Hawai‘i Arts Alliance since 1994. Previously she directed national summer Arts Festivals, produced award-winning PBS documentaries, and earned degrees in Education (Stanford University), Dance/Theater (California State University), and an Executive MBA (UHM). She is Professor Emeritus, California State University, on the Affiliate Graduate Faculty at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, and now serves on the National Leadership for the Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network.
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Sanna Deutsch. 2007 marks Ms. Deutsch’s 40th year in Hawaii, and 33rd as Registrar at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, keeping its collections records. Her art studies began as a studio major at the High School of Music and Art in New York City. She earned degrees in European and Western art history at Harvard, and in Asian and Pacific arts at the University of Hawaii, Manoa. Her major research projects have been concerned with women as artists.
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Peter Van Dyke has been manager of the 15-acre Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in Kona since 1993. His academic background is in anthropology (B.A., UCSB 1970) and education (M.A. ESL UH Manoa, 1981). At Amy B.H. Greenwell Garden, he has worked as a native plant propagator and collections manager. As manager, he has focused on developing the Garden's infrastructure and interpretive programs.
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Eric Enos is co-founder and Executive Director of the Cultural Learning Center at Ka‘ala Farm, Inc., which began in 1978 as a youth program restoring water rights and re-building pre-contact lo‘i kalo in Wai‘anae Valley. He has been instrumental in developing Ka‘ala’s many programs including Hawaiian Studies Programs at both Wai‘anae and Nanakuli High Schools. Most recently he helped establish Mohala I Ka Wai, a community group addressing urgent watershed issues in Makaha and Wai‘anae Valley.
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Wei Fang has 10 years of experience in cultural organizations. She managed education and artist residency programs at Harvard University Art Museums and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. From 2002-2005, she was Curator of Education at The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu. She recently developed business projects for Artforum International magazine and Phillips de Pury auction house. Ms. Fang has an MA in Education (Harvard University) and will complete her MBA (Columbia University) in May.
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Linda Lee K. “Cissy” Farm, a partner in the law firm of Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel, received her J.D. from the University of Hawai‘i School of Law. She concentrates her practice in the area of litigation. She has handled business and commercial disputes, personal injury and wrongful death claims, products liability, and employment practices. Ms. Farm has been the lead attorney in recent court cases involving NAGPRA, and is active in the area of Native Hawaiian Rights advocacy.
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Larry Gates graduated from the University of Alabama in Life Sciences. For 25 years he worked for Fisher Scientific Co., last serving as Vice President of Sales and Customer Service. He is president/owner of Metal Edge Inc., an archival and preservation materials company.
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Alan Hong, Hanauma Bay manager, oversees all the coastal parks from Sandy Beach to ‘Aina Haina. He became Hanauma Bay's first manager when the City and County's Department of Parks and Recreation created the position in 1990. While a University of Hawai‘i student in the early 1970s, he conducted snorkeling tours at Hanauma Bay. Eventually he became a scuba guide in the private sector, and later an Ocean Recreation Specialist with the Parks Department.
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Gloria Chun Hoo is the Marketing and Public Relations Manager at the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawai‘i. Born and raised in Honolulu, Gloria moved east to attend Boston University. After graduating with a degree in journalism, she started a nonprofit newspaper for Boston’s Chinese community. Before returning to Hawai‘i, Gloria moved to Northern California and worked for the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, and then the Campbell Historic Museum in the City of Campbell.
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Dr. Ku Kahakalau is the founder and director of Kanu o ka ‘Aina New Century Public Charter School (KANU). In 1992, after working with native students in the DOE, Ku and a small group of Hawaiian educators initiated an action research project. The project culminated with establishment of KANU, Hawaii’s first native designed and controlled public charter school, developed to empower all students to reach their highest potential and walk comfortably in two worlds.
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Noelle M.K.Y. Kahanu was born, raised, and educated in Honolulu, and has been with Bishop Museum since 1999. Ms. Kahanu has overseen the development of over a dozen exhibits that celebrate Hawaiian culture, including “Hui Panala‘au: Hawaiian Colonists, American Citizens” and the Vestibule gallery series, which feature the works of contemporary native artists along side those from the Museum’s collections. She is currently a member of a task force which is leading the effort to envision a revitalized and restored Hawaiian Hall.
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Betty Lou Kam (HMA President) is currently Bishop Museum’s Vice President of Cultural Resources, and has been a part of the museum profession since 1980. She previously served as Collections Manager in the Archives and the Cultural Collections, as Archives Chair, and as Project Manager for several exhibitions, publications and contract projects. She is a strong supporter of museum internships and mentoring programs to inspire and motivate a new generation of museum professionals.
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Dr. Akemi Kikumura-Yano is Senior Vice President at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) and the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy in Los Angeles, and Director of the International Nikkei Research Project (JANM). She has curated exhibits including “Issei Pioneers: Hawai‘i and the Mainland, 1885-1924,” and “The Kona Coffee Story: Along the Hawai‘i Belt Road.” Author of several books, and co-editor of anthologies on the Nikkei experience, her most recent publication is Common Ground: The Japanese American National Museum and the Culture of Collaborations (2005).
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Karen K. Kosasa is the Director of the Museum Studies Graduate Certificate Program in Museum Studies and Assistant Professor of American Studies at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. Her research areas are in Museum Studies, visual culture, critical pedagogy, and postcolonial studies. She has written on art and museum studies pedagogies within the context of settler colonialism. She has an MFA (University of Hawai‘i), and an MA and PhD in Visual and Cultural Studies (University of Rochester).
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Georgianna Lagoria has been the Director of The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, since 1995. Before moving to Hawai‘i, she was Director of the Palo Alto Art Center, Director of the de Saisset Museum at Santa Clara University, and on the staff of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. Ms. Lagoria has a graduate degree in Museum Studies from the University of San Francisco, and an undergraduate degree in Philosophy from Santa Clara University.
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Lani Ma‘a Lapilio is an attorney and Principal of Ku‘iwalu, a Native Hawaiian woman-owned business specializing in cultural resource compliance, community outreach, and public affairs. Her former positions include executive director of the Judiciary History Center and legal counsel for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Native Hawaiian Historic Preservation Council. Ms. Lapilio currently serves as the Hawai‘i Advisor to the National Trust for Historic Preservation and is the at-large member on the National Trust’s Executive Committee.
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Kilikina Mahi is Executive Administrator for Ka‘ala Farm, Inc., a nonprofit Cultural Learning Center and educational program provider. Her work experience ranges from private sector investment management to nonprofit finance and administration. Previously, she was a portfolio manager and investments analyst on the mainland and at Bank of Hawai‘i. At 3Point, a local public interest research and consulting firm, she worked in nonprofit business planning. Kina received her MBA from the University of California at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.
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Kai Markel is Director of Native Rights, Land, and Culture, at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. As lead advocate for this division, Mr. Markel overseas advocacy efforts for Native Hawaiians related to the protection and perpetuation of Hawaiian natural, historical, and cultural resources. Prior to working for OHA, he was burial sites program director for the State Historic Preservation Department. His experience at both agencies allows Mr. Markel considerable experience and expertise in working with the Native American and Grave Repatriation.
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Daniel A. Martinez is Park Historian at the USS Arizona Memorial. He worked at Little Big Horn Battlefield, spent six years as an interpretive trainer with the National Park Service, and has been a National Park Service historian since 1989. He has lectured and published widely on Pearl Harbor, the Pacific War, and American history subjects. He recently coauthored Kimmel and Short and Pearl Harbor (2005). Martinez has appeared on various television channels and is currently the host and historian-in-residence for the Discovery Channel’s “Unsolved History.”
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Matt Mattice is the Executive Director of the King Kamehameha V Judiciary History Center. He joined the Center in 1993 as education specialist. Matt also taught social studies at Farrington High, and worked as Education Coordinator for the Friends of ‘Iolani Palace. He has a master’s degree in Education from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, and an undergraduate degree in Communications from the University of Southern California.
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Dr. C. Timothy McKeown is the senior program coordinator with the National NAGPRA Program, National Park Service, and the designated federal official to the NAGPRA Review Committee. Dr. McKeown drafted the NAGPRA regulations and is responsible for the regulations on reserved sections involving the future applicability of NAGPRA and disposition of culturally unidentified human remains. He has provided over 15 years of NAGPRA training, and has published extensively on the subject.
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Jonathan Kuahiwi Moniz was born and raised on the Wai'anae Coast. He is grounded in the Hawaiian culture, history, language, and politics, and studied at the Kamakaküokalani, Center for Hawaiian Studies, University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. He has been with Nanaikapono Elementary School for the past 13 years where he serves as Museum Program Coordinator and Curator at the Nanaikapono Community School Museum, the only entity of its kind in the State of Hawai‘i.
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Brian Niiya is the Resource Center Director at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawai'i. He previously served as the collection manager and as an exhibition curator at the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles.
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Richard Osicka, former President and Owner of General Graphics Exhibits, San Francisco, brings more than 30 years of experience to the graphics and museum industries in particular, and to the creative communities in general. Well-known for museum projects in Hawai‘i and elsewhere, Osicka has provided leadership within the graphic production industry. His wealth of knowledge and expertise has been shared with others through countless hands-on presentations and workshops.
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Betsy Robb holds an MA in Asian Art history (University of Hawai‘i at Manoa) and a BA in ceramics, photography, and Western Art history (DePauw University). She became Curator of Education at the Honolulu Academy of Arts in 2006, following many years as a Docent, Docent Trainer, Curatorial Assistant, and Assistant Curator. Her contributions include implementing the two-year docent training program, and the Ambassador and Life in the Pacific Outreach Programs.
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Robert Saarnio is the Associate Director and Historic Property Manager of Shangri La. In 2005-2006, he was the National Endowment for the Arts Rome Prize Fellow in Historic Preservation at the American Academy in Rome, Italy. He served as Director of Historic Houses and Curator of University Collections, Johns Hopkins University (2002-2005); and the Curator and Collections Manager for Cultural Properties, Cranbrook Educational Community in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan (1999-2002). He received an M.S. in Historic Preservation (University of Pennsylvania) after doing undergraduate work in architectural history (Harvard University).
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Susan Shaner has worked for the state for thirty years serving in various positions at the Hawai‘i State Archives, the Judiciary History Center, and is currently the State Archivist. A proponent of public access, she is committed to making the records of the archives more widely accessible through the internet. She has a master’s degree in Library and Information Science from the University of Hawai‘i, where she also has taught archives administration.
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Anne Marie Smoke has a reputation for leading successful special projects promoting museums, arts, and culture. Clients include Shangri La, Hawai‘i State Art Museum, The Contemporary Museum, Korean Centennial Commission, University of Hawai‘i Art Gallery, and Hawaii Museums Association. Ms. Smoke is a founding member of Arts With Aloha, on the board of the Hawaii Ecotour Association, and served as marketing chair for the Hawai‘i Capital Cultural District. She received an MS degree with honors in sustainable tourism management.
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Dr. Michael B. Thomas, Acting Collections Manager of the UH Herbarium, is a botanist working to integrate digital technologies and standards with both living (botanical gardens) and non-living (herbaria) collections. He is currently developing partnerships for implementing shared data hosting between local herbaria collections with a larger vision of unifying institutional taxonomic data for web delivery (e-floras) within Hawai‘i and the Pacific region. Dr. Thomas has worked on projects in the Pacific, Europe, Asia, and Central and South America.
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Inger Tully is Curator of Education at The Contemporary Museum in Honolulu. Previously, she was Program Director at Hui No'eau Visual Arts Center, Maui. She received a BFA in Photography (University of Hawai‘i at Manoa) and an MFA in Museum Exhibition Planning and Design (Philadelphia College of Design at The University of the Arts). She taught art and design in Tokyo for four years, and served on the boards of the Hawai‘i Museums Association and the Western Museums Association.
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Dr. Yaguchi, is Associate Professor at the University of Tokyo and received his MA and PhD from the College of William and Mary in the United States. He has published widely on his research of Japanese visitors to Pearl Harbor including “War Memories Across the Pacific: Japanese Visitors at the Arizona Memorial” (Comparative American Studies, 2005). Dr. Yaguchi also researches Japanese interest in hula and the pursuit of “alternative” or “real” Hawaiian experiences.
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