Board of Directors

President Rob Shelton

Rob is from Washington State, and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from the University of Washington in 1978. He has 14 years of experience at the Kapalua Bay Hotel with roles in many operations including Food and Beverage, Rooms, and Purchasing and Retail. He has been with the Kapalua Land Company since 1995. He has worked as the Group Coordinator of Golf Operations, Club Manager of The Kapalua Club, General Manager of The Kapalua Club and Villas, and is currently with Sotheby's International Realty. He is married to Louisa (van der Linden) Shelton, LHS class of 1973, and his children, Jeff and Kelvie, are alumni of Lahainaluna High School, class of 1999 and 2002, respectively.

Rob has been serving as the Lahainaluna High School Foundation President since its inception. He is also the Founder and Tournament Chairman for the Kapalua Clambake Pro-Am, the largest Golf Pro-Am in the State of Hawaii. The tournament raises money for Maui Special Olympics, the Lahainaluna High School Golf Team, and the Hawaii State Junior Golf Association. He is also the former LHS Assistant Golf Coach, and former AYSO youth soccer coach. He also served as PTSA President for the King Kamehameha III Elementary school from 1989-1991. Rob enjoys travel, golf, coaching, and watching his favorite teams.

Vice President - Secretary Nancy Cross

After graduating from Whittier College, Nancy taught 2nd and 3rd grade in El Monte, California for three years. However, she had always wanted to visit Hawaii as several members of her family had grown up on Molokai and Oahu. After spending summers in Maui with her sister, Sallie, she finally made the move in 1976. Nancy was employed by Kapalua Land Company since 1982 – 2010 ending her tenure with them as VP/Events Management and Tournament Director for the Mercedes-Benz Championship. Nancy continued to be involved in the world of golf as Tournament Director for the 2011 and 2012 Hyundai Tournament of Champions and is now employed by the PGA TOUR. Since this event moved to Maui in 1999, it has raised over $4 million for charitable organizations in our community. 

Nancy and her husband, Bill Cross, have two daughters; Candace (2003 LHS graduate) and Kendall (2008 LHS graduate). Throughout their school years, Nancy was active as a PTG Board Member at both King Kamehameha III and Sacred Hearts School, and was Vice-Chairman of Project Graduation Lahaina 2003. Se also served on the board of the Maui United Way for several years.

Treasurer Ivy (Shimomura) Huerter

A Napili native and 1977 Lahainaluna High School graduate Ivy is proud to be an LHS alumnae and on the staff at her Alma Mater. She attended the University of San Francisco and lived in the Bay area until her move back to Maui in 1988. She is the current school Account Clerk, a position she has held since 1993. She remains active with various volunteer work within the community through a number of organizations and a host of school-related projects. She is also an accomplished seamstress and volunteers to sew many a costume for the annual “David Malo Day” ho’olaule’a.

She has two grown daughters. Oldest daughter Samantha graduated in 2004 and served as student body president. Sam is currently an on-premise sales rep for Pacific Wine and Spirits in Bakersfield, California. Younger daughter Caitlin was also active in student council and served as president for the Class of 2008. It was Caitlin’s class that started a new tradition at Lahainaluna in the repainting and redesigning of the picnic tables and benches in Banyan Courtyard, sometimes affectionately called “Boarders” or “Senior” tables. She is currently a fitness administrator at Sports Club LA in San Francisco.

Ivy believes in service and giving back to the community who helped raise her and her daughters. She is the daughter of Kenji and Mabel Shimomura who still reside in Napili.

 Scholarship Chair Andrew Kutsunai

Andrew was born in Lahaina, Maui, attended Kamehameha III and Kahului Elementary School, and graduated from Baldwin High School. He is married to Mildred Haruguchi Kutsunai, who was born and raised in Lahaina and graduated from Lahainaluna High School. Both attended University of Hawaii and graduated with Bachelor of Education degrees.

The Kutsunais have three children--David, Paul and Tom-- all of whom attended Lahainaluna.

Andrew taught social studies at Lahainaluna for 34 years and was also the senior class advisor and social studies department chair for that entire time. He is retired from the Lahainaluna High School in 1995 and taught part-time at Lahaina Intermediate School from 1996 to 2003, on the special motivation team working with at-risk students.

Currently he is a member of the board for Lahaina Restoration Foundation where he serves as the chair of the Community Edication Committee. He also serves on the Lahainaluna Historical Preservation Committee, is a member of the Advisory Committee for UH-Maui College Lahaina Education Center and serves as a substitute tutor for the "Lahaina Complex After School Tutor Project".

Perfoming Arts Chair Darcel Gilbert, MD

Darcel is from Oahu, and graduated from Punahou High School. She attended Northwestern University and Northwestern Medical School in Chicago, Illinois. Darcel completed her Family Practice Residency at Good Samaritan Hospital and St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. In 1980, she moved to Lahaina, Maui. From 1980-2000, she practiced Medicine with the Maui Medical Group. In 2000 she moved to Kaiser Permanente, where she is currently practicing Medicine. Darcel enjoys tennis, travel, music, family and friends and life. Her son Ryan currently resides in San Francisco, California.  When time permits, Darcel also enjoys yoga and hula.

Finance Chair Walter Vierra

Walter is a 1985 graduate of Lahainaluna High School. He earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Accounting from the University of Oregon in 1989 and a law degree from the University of Hawaii, William H. Richardson School of Law in 1998. He is in private practice as an attorney, with an emphasis in criminal defense.

Athletics Chair Mark Tillman

Mark is from Toledo, Ohio, and attended the University of Toledo. He spent 13 ½ years working for Conrail, the former New York Central and Pennsylvania Railroads, and his last position held was Field Supervisor for a rail recovery program. He is married to Claire (Petot) Tillman, and is the father of 5 children: Drew-25, Sam-23, Laura-21, Brett-18 and Anna-16. In 1987, Mark moved his family here to Maui to establish TCBY Yogurt franchise, which lasted for 18 years. Mark is currently an Account Executive with Williams & Associates, and has been there since 1997.
 

Some of the organizations that Mark has served on as a board member, advisor, or president include the LahainaTown Action Committee, Lahaina Intermediate School PTSA, Lahainaluna High School PTSA, King Kamehameha III School SCBM, Theater Theater Maui, and Kumulani Chapel Board of Directors. Mark is currently a member of the Kumulani Chapel Elder Board. Additionally, he has coached most of the sports his kids were involved in, including soccer, baseball, basketball and wrestling.

History & Cultural Preservation Chair & Grants (Stand-In) Chair Susan Yap

Susan Yap is from Berkeley, California, and graduated from the University of Nevada/Reno in 1966. She attended San Francisco State University in 1969, and then moved to Maui in 1970 from the halls of Haight-Ashbury, as her first stop on a venture around the world. However, she met the local boy (Harry), and they were married and had two sons. S. Kainoa Yap is serving in the U.S. Coast Guard presently stationed in Kodiak, Alaska, and Kirk K. Yap currently works at the Kapalua Golf Course. Susan has two grandsons, and they also live on Maui.

After “Mom” years of soccer, tennis, PTSA, SCBM, plus 16 years as bookkeeper at Hobie Sports, she found her way up to Lahainaluna in 1996 with the Boarding Department. Susan says it is an honor to work at this school as her two sons, husband, his mother and grandfather (1918 Boarder) all are proud alumni of Lahainaluna.
Susan enjoys going to the beach, watching her husband Harry, as he fishes, and loves to read a good book under a tree in the shade. Susan is presently on the Lahainaluna Archive Committee, which she finds rewarding because of the importance in preserving the cherished history of our Lahainaluna High School.

Lester Nakamoto

Lester is a 1984 graduate of Lahainaluna. He attended the University of California at Los Angeles and received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He is also a graduate of the Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington in Seattle. Lester’s career in the financial services industry included nearly seven years in the western Pacific region with posts in the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. He is the Branch Manager of the Kihei Branch of Bank of Hawaii and also serves on the boards of directors of the Maui Chamber of Commerce and the Maui Visitors Bureau. Lester and his wife Della have three children, Brittany, Keola, and Kekai.

Lanny Tihada

Lanny, a 1966 graduate, has made his mark on football field of Lahainaluna. He began as the Lahainaluna Assistant JV Coach from 1969-1974, became the Assistant Varsity Coach in 1975, was the head Varsity Coach from 1977-1988 and spent 1989-2007 as the Assistant Varsity Coach.

During those years, he was recognized by the National Football Foundation, Hawaii High School Athletic Association, the Hawaii Sports Network, the Honolulu Advertiser and the Maui News, with awards recognizing his dedication and contributions to high school football.

Lanny continues to impact the sport still, through his work with Friends of Lahainaluna Football, a non-profit organization, and assisting the Lahainaluna High School Foundation with the Lahainaluna Stadium Project.

Steven Raymond
 

Born on Oahu and raised in Lahaina, Steven attended Kamehameha III, LIS and Lahainaluna; then left the West Side to board at The Kamehameha Schools – Kapalama, graduating in 1985. He earned a B.S. degree in Business Administration from Old Dominion University in Virginia.

Upon leaving university, he returned to Maui and entered the hotel industry with the Hyatt Regency in Kaanapali where he met his future wife, Puanani. Shortly thereafter, he went to work for Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. where he remained for 15 years. He is presently the Director of Winery Operations at Tedeschi Vineyards, Ltd. in Ulupalakua.

Steven and Puanani, have two children; Kana‘ina, (a 2011 graduate of LHS – 4 yr boarder) and Emma (an 8th grade Hawaiian Immersion student at Kalama Intermediate). They all reside in Kula.
 

 STAFF

Development Coordinator Jeff Rogers

After serving on the Athletic Committee, Jeff was brought on as the Development Coordinator in July 2008. He has helped coordinate fund raising activities for the stadium project and has also worked with the contractors, planners, and government officials in the construction process. Prior to working with LHSF, Jeff has served on several local PTA/PTSA boards and served for 4 years on the Hawaii State PTSA Board. His other non-profit experience includes paid and volunteer positions with the Maui March of Dimes, Maui County Commission on Culture & the Arts, and Kihei Youth Center. Jeff and his wife Jan have three sons, all Lahainaluna graduates ('04, '07, '11).

Richard "Noosh" Nishihara, Executive Director

Richard "Noosh" Nishihara went to Makawao Elementary, graduated from Lahainaluna High School in 1962k, attended the University of Hawaii, and graduated from the California State Polytechnic University with a B.S. in Agriculture in 1971.

Noosh has served as a US Peace Corps Volunteer 1962-64 in the first Peace Corps group to Nepal, was the Associate Chief of Party Rural Development of the International Voluntary Service from 1964-1966, and was an Agriculture Officer for the US Peace Corps in Jamaica and Barbados from 1972-1977. In addition, he served in the US Agency for International Development as a Foreign Service Officer/Agriculture 1979-1998 (Nepal, Fiii, Indonesia, Sri Lanka). From 1999 to present he is active as a Shore to Shore Realty Realtor Broker.

Noosh is Vice President of the Lahaina Hongwanji, serves on the Lahaina Restoration Foundation Board of Directors, and volunteers for the Lahaina Tutor Program.

Matthew Erickson, Deputy Executive Director

 Matthew is a 1996 graduate of Lahainaluna High School.

Advisory Board

The following people are members of the Advisory Board:

• Henry "Bruno" Ariyoshi
• Roz Baker
• Brian Blundell
• Walter Chihara
• Charles Fox, III
• Sam Kadotani
• Robert Kawaguchi
• Karen Pruitt (formerly Ancheta)
• Betty Sakamoto

Strategic Planning Consultant

Strategic Planning Consultant, Mark LeDoux, has begun to work with the Lahainaluna High School Foundation on long range planning, succession planning, and development.

For over 25 years, Mark LeDoux has helped organizations -- both companies and especially not-for-profits -- to change and grow. A native of Massachusetts, he has lived mostly in the Northeast while serving clients all over the country. He holds an undergraduate degree in geological sciences from Harvard, and a master's in management from M.I.T. Three years ago, he and his partner of 18 years, (the Rev.) Bill Albinger were called to Holy Innocents Church in Lahaina, where Bill serves as priest-in-charge.

Sign Up for Committees

To sign up for a committee, please email or call the Lahainaluna High School Foundation and indicate that you would like to sign up for a committee. Contact information is available on our Contact page.