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Governing School Board
Dr. Eric D. Hieger
Treasurer
Eric is a business executive and leader with 20+ years of diverse entrepreneurial, nonprofit, and global fortune corporate experience. During his career, he has specialized in the areas of peak performance, leadership, strategy, teamwork, executive development, change leadership and acceleration, communications, human resources, and organizational design and development.
Eric is the CEO and Managing Partner of TransformX Partners, LLC, a Hawaiʻi-based management consulting/advisory practice delivering a full spectrum of People, Culture, and Organizational Development services and solutions.
Eric earned his Doctoral Degree in psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in San Francisco and a B.A. in psychology from Adelphi University in NY.
Dr. Ku’ulei Serna
Board Member
Dr. Kuʻulei Serna is a Professor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UHM), College of Education, School of Teacher Education. Born on the island of Oʻahu, raised in Halawa Heights, Dr. Serna has lived in ‘Ewa since 2004 where she has raised three daughters who are proud alumni of Holomua Elementary School.
Dr. Serna formerly directed and now teaches in the undergraduate elementary education teacher preparation program in the UHM, College of Education. Since 2003 until 2017, Dr. Serna coordinated and supervised student teachers who completed classroom practicum in several Ewa Hawai‘i Department of Education (HIDOE) elementary schools.
In addition to her role as teacher educator, Dr. Serna engages in research that intersects the areas of Native Hawaiian Advancement in education, health, and social well-being, social/cultural contexts for learning, and school health programming. Her scholarship has included collaborative work with the State of Hawaiʻi Departments of Health and Education, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) supporting positive health behaviors of school-aged children.
Dr. Serna also serves as an UHM graduate faculty member, mentoring master's degree and doctoral students.
Prior to her work at UHM, Dr. Serna was a math teacher and Peer Education Coordinator at Waipahu Intermediate School. She later became a HIDOE State Resource Teacher that directed a CDC HIV prevention education grant, which led to her work with the State's Healthy Hawaiʻi Initiative to promote healthy behaviors for Hawaiʻi's youth.
Karen Linda 'Ululani Victor
Board Member
ʻUlulani taught 7-12 math and science for 16 years at a Hawaiian immersion charter school on Oʻahu before moving to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She is currently a project manager for KĀʻEO, the Kaiapuni Assessment of Educational Outcomes, the only federally recognized Indigenous assessment. Her interests include multilingual education, Hawaiian language revitalization, conservation, and sustainable agriculture.
Ka’inoa Kea
Board Member
Ka'inoa Kea calls Ma'ili, O'ahu, home. Service to others and community have been the pillars of her upbringing, rooting her to grandparents, her parents, and laying the foundation for her sons, Harry and Jacob.
"School" has been her constant companion- the youngest of an Early Childhood Educator mother and surrounded by countless aunts in the Teaching profession- and her earliest memories have been those of being in a classroom filled with wonder and adventure!
Both a blessing (and a challenge), her involvement with DreamHouse in 2019 didn't stop as a parent volunteer-she became an Educational Assistant in 2023-2024 then an Instructional Coach from 2024-2025 then morphed into an Operations Support role, teaching and advising alongside her sons/students as they traversed campuses (from UH West O'ahu, the Carpenter's Union in Kapolei, and finally, DreamHouse Center.)
"Dum spiro, spero" ("While I breathe, I hope") guides her as she blends her quirky experiences and "old school" education when working with DreamHouse Student Leaders, offering them an ear or a cheerleader to support them where ever they may want to go after High School, holding the space she wished someone had filled when she was in High School.
Ka'inoa holds a Bachelor's degree in Business from Chaminade University and a high school diploma from Kamehameha Schools, yet prizes her DreamHouse ID above all.
Shaylan Arneho
Chair
Email: sarneho01@gmail.com
Shaylan Arneho is a lifetime resident of ‘Ewa Beach and a young woman who strives to see the youth excel in academics and community contribution. As a graduate of the Hawaiian Studies program at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, she feels that recognizing Native identity is important for the future of Hawaiʻi. She firmly lives by the Hawaiian proverb, "E mālama ʻia nā pono o ka ʻāina e nā ʻōpio. The traditions of the land are perpetuated by its youth." In this saying, she is positive that the DreamHouse ‘Ewa Beach project will develop skilled leaders who will empower Hawaiʻi and its people.
Non-Profit Board
JACOB NOH
Chair
Born and raised in Honolulu, Jacob Noh is a HR Consultant at SimplicityHR by ALTRES. Since 2011, Jacob has been serving small to large businesses throughout the state with his experience and expertise in providing knowledge-based solutions for employer related topics and issues. He has been a trusted resource for over 7 years advising organizations on the complexities in employee benefits, payroll, human resources, risk management, and safety. In 2019, Jacob was named to the “40 Under 40” list by Pacific Business News.
Jacob currently serves as a board of director for Catholic Charities Hawaii; one of the largest social services agencies in Hawaii with over 30 programs statewide assisting over 40,000 children, families, seniors, and immigrants. Also serving as the new Chair for the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii Young Professionals Program and board member for the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii, Jacob is the voice for the next generation of leaders in Hawaii. He looks to push the movement further for the young professional demographic to become more impactful individuals in bettering the success of their future and the sustainability of our business community.
EDWARD CORDASCO
Treasurer
Edward Cordasco III was born in Yuma, Arizona. Growing up in a Marine Corps family, he has been able to live and learn from cultures all around the world. He is currently an MBA candidate at Chaminade University and is focusing on science and technology innovation that aims to connect his biomedical research background to his future business endeavors. Edward has helped build Practical Biotechnology, an immuno-therapy cancer start-up and has co-founded Altext, an education-tech start-up that plans to reduce the cost of textbooks thus making quality education more accessible. Edward is a Business Development Manager for Makai HR, an HR tech start-up that serves our small business community by aggregating this HR processes. Through these experiences, he plans on giving back to the islands by creating jobs that will stimulate our economy and build home-grown leaders that will want to inspire, innovate, and impact our islands.
DR. ROGER KIYOMURA
Board Member
Dr. Roger Kiyomura is the Director of Education at Hawai‘i Pacific University. He has over 18 years of experience in secondary and higher education. Dr. Kiyomura earned his Doctorate in Education at University of Southern California, specializing in Educational Leadership. Dr. Kiyomura is an instructor of Teacher Education at Hawaii Pacific University in the School of Education. In this program, he equips and empowers future teachers with new technologies and strategies to impact academic excellence in the classrooms. He is also an instructor at the East-West Center in the Leadership Certificate Program, where he teaches global leadership to graduate degree fellows from various Asian countries. Roger previously spent 9 years teaching biology and coaching basketball in Los Angeles Unified School District.
BROOK EMANUEL
Board Member
Brook Emanuel is an experienced executive and entrepreneur who is committed to improving the lives of O’ahu residents, families, and children. A former college athlete at San Diego State University and MBA graduate of Oklahoma State University, Brook holds FINRA licenses (Series 7, 66), serves on multiple local boards, and has numerous companies. He is an active and current co-founder and key member of Hele Fitness, Activiter, and Kai Capital Group, three companies that serve Hawai’i’s fitness, hospitality, and business communities, respectively. Brook brings a deep background in entrepreneurship, consulting, and innovation that will support the growth and impact of DREAMHOUSE, INC. and DreamHouse ‘Ewa Beach Public Charter School for years to come.
100% of Governing School Board and Non-Profit Board Members contribute financially.
We are grateful for the time, energy, vision, and heart from past board members:
Meilan Akaka Manfre (2012-2020)
Jane Henzerling (2015-2021)
Jacob Karasik (2014-2017)
Edward Kaukani (2014-2018)
Michelle Mak (2017)
Cynthia Quinn (2017-2020)
Lissette Roman (2014-2016)
Will Yeh (2018-2020)
Dr. Deb Zuercher (2012-2021)
Aimee Curre (2017-2022)
Dr. Tammy Jones (2018-2024)
Dr. Dale Fryxell (2020 - 2025)
Dr. Amy Bumatai (2023-2025)
ZACHARY DIIONNO, J.D.
Board Member
Zach is a part of the original Founding Team of DreamHouse ‘Ewa Beach and a former public school teacher. Zach taught 7th and 8th grade special education inclusion at Ilima Intermediate in ‘Ewa Beach. Inspired buy his teaching experience, Zach began having conversations with Alex Teece and Meilan Akaka in 2012 about starting a charter school in ‘Ewa Beach, which led to creation of the nonprofit DreamHouse, Inc. From 2014 to 2019, Zach served as the founding President of DreamHouse, Inc. through the approval of the school before the Hawaii State Public Charter School Commission in 2017. He is honored to once again serve on the nonprofit’s Board of Directors.
Zach graduated from John Hopkins University with a B.A. in Political Science and led the team as quarterback to four conference championship seasons and the schools first ever NCAA berth. He obtained his Master’s in Education from the University of Hawai’i at Manoa and his juris doctorate from the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa graduating with a Native Hawaiian Law Certificate and numerous awards in Native American Moot Court.
Currently, Zach is a practicing attorney and business strategist and, alongside his wife Kira co-founded Candela Hawai’i, a one-stop shop for small-to-midsize businesses, startups, entrepreneurs, and nonprofits that offers services ranging from legal work, public relations, business strategy, and event curation and production. Zach represents clients in the food and beverage, nonprofit, agribusiness, retail, startup, and travel & tourism sectors.
An avid surfer and cross-disciplinary athlete, Zach also serves as the Managing Director of the Big Wave Risk Assessment Group, a consortium of he worlds best watermen and waterwomen, big-wave surfers, and ocean athletes that provides surf safety training and knowledge to people all over the globe.
Zach is co-founder and Event Director of Festa Italiana, Hawai’i’s first and only Italian street festival that celebrates Cialoha - where ciao meets aloha - through food, music and art.
Zach brings to the DreamHouse, Inc. Board of Directors his experience as a public educator, his involvement in numerous community initiatives, and his skillset as an attorney and entrepreneur that will serve DreamHouse ‘Ewa Beach Public Charter School and its growth.