Driving the Future of Food Innovation
Event Speakers
Quick Links: ʻĀnela Akana, Michael Burke, Lou Cooperhouse, Pat Loui, Jared Nakama, Amanda Shaw, Brian Suzuki, Nina Ann Tanabe, Jina Wye
ʻĀnela Akana
Panelist in Plenary #1
ʻĀnela Akana serves as the Manager of the new Food & Product Innovation Network (FPIN), supporting Hawaiʻi entrepreneurs in developing and scaling innovative locally made products. With over 25 years of experience in sales, marketing, wholesale purchasing, inventory management, E-commerce management, retail and warehouse operations, ʻĀnela brings a deep understanding of both business strategy, hands-on execution, and product development.
Michael Burke
Panelist in Plenary #3
Michael Burke serves as the Program Manager for the Department of Health’s Food and Drug Branch. Since the branch was reestablished in 2019, he has led efforts to build the program from the ground up, including developing a food manufacturing oversight system that supports local producers in creating safe food products for export. Michael has spent nearly twenty years with the Department in roles focused on improving watershed health, addressing solid waste challenges, and now ensuring the safety of foods, drugs, and cosmetics. Though he is currently a townie, he grew up in Waiʻanae, Oʻahu, and still makes regular trips back to visit family.
Lou Cooperhouse
Panelist in Plenary #4
Lou Cooperhouse is widely recognized as a global authority in food innovation and technology commercialization. His 40-year career in the food industry includes extensive entrepreneurial expertise leading cross-functional teams at numerous startups, as well as at multinational corporations including Nestlé, ConAgra, and Campbell’s. He is the Founder & CEO of BlueNalu, which is producing bluefin tuna toro in a brand-new way – one that is healthy, humane, sustainable, and consistently delicious. He previously founded and led the Rutgers Food Innovation Center, and has spent considerable time in the State of Hawaiʻi, where he’s consulted for the University of Hawaiʻi on the design and development of industry best practices to support our startup food ʻohana.
Pat Loui
Panelist in Plenary #6
The Honorable Pat Loui is an international business executive. President Obama nominated, and the U.S. Senate confirmed her, for the full-time board of U.S. Export-Import Bank which finances Made in America products. Loui led initiatives to grow American exports to Asia and a U.S. small business delegation to APEC 2015. On APEC 2011 Leaders Week executive committee and a United Nations planner, Loui chairs Omnitrak, a consultancy founded after serving as Bank of Hawaiʻi’s Chief Marketing Officer. Besides Hawaiʻi, Loui has exported branding services to Asia, serving Disney, General Motors, and luxury brands. A Northwestern and University of Hawaiʻi graduate and East West Center grantee, she has served as Treasurer of the 18-country Asia Foundation, PLUS ATM System, EWC’s Alumni Association, UH Foundation, and Chamber of Commerce.
Jared Nakama
Panelist in Plenary #7
Jared Nakama is the Director of Logistics at Hawaiʻi Foodservice Alliance, where HFA supports ocean, air and truck transportation across California, Oʻahu, Maui, Kauaʻi, and Hawaiʻi Island. Based in Honolulu, Jared works closely with retailers, carrier partners and 90+ local companies to tackle the realities of island supply chains—balancing cost and reliability across ocean lanes and trucking. On this panel, he brings a hands‑on perspective from the day‑to‑day work of scaling logistics networks, managing disruption, and building practical solutions that keep Hawaiʻi moving.
Amanda Shaw
Panelist in Plenary #5
Dr. Amanda Shaw serves as Hawaiʻi Statewide Food Systems Coordinator through a public private partnership with the State of Hawaiʻi and Agriculture Stewardship Hawaiʻi. She was raised on the Kanaka Maoli lands of Hunānāniho, Waimānalo on the island of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi. Amanda’s work over the past 18 years has focused on food, agriculture and economic systems in Hawaiʻi and beyond. Amanda still lives in Hunānāniho and traces her family roots to the UK and Western Europe and to Saponi, Delaware, Shawnee and Caddo lands in West Virginia and Arkansas, respectively.
Brian Suzuki
Panelist in Plenary #7
Nina Ann Tanabe
Panelist in Plenary #3
Nina Ann Tanabe is an experienced Certified Food Scientist. She has worked in industry, academia, and government. As the owner of Pacific Food Technology, LLC, a food consulting company, she works on product development, regulatory compliance (primarily U.S. food labeling), and Nutrition Facts labels. In addition, she also analyzes products for pH, water activity, brix, and more. She serves on the Boards of the Hawaiʻi Food Manufacturers Association, and the Maui Food Technology Center, where she serves as the food scientist.
Jina Wye
Panelist in Plenary #2
Jina Wye is the founder of Okonokai Sea Snacks, an Oahu-based brand on a mission to make seaweed part of our everyday diets. Drawing on more than 15 years of CPG marketing experience launching and scaling national food and beverage brands, Jina channeled her deep love for seaweed and its remarkable health benefits into building Okonokai from the ground up. In less than two years since its founding, Okonokai is carried in over 50 retailers, including Foodland, Down to Earth, Dean & DeLuca, and Farmlink. Jina was named a 2025 Startup to Watch by Pacific Business News and nominated as CPG Entrepreneur of the Year by the HVCA in 2026.