Founder & CEO of Piko Provisions.
Building resilient regional food systems through local and indigenous crops, regenerative agriculture, and the processing infrastructure that connects farmers to families.
Experience
Through working with the land, an abundance of healthy foods became his family’s catalyst to heal their surrounding communities and start a conversation around bettering the health of our land, animals, and people as a whole.
https://civileats.com/2019/02/06/a-common-food-policy-offers-a-guide-to-a-more-sustainable-food-system-in-europe-could-it-be-a-model-for-the-u-s/
CEO & Founder
2020-Present
A Public Benefit Corporation making shelf-stable foods for every stage of life from Hawaii-grown ingredients and indigenous crops: Stage 1–3 purées, freeze-dried Banana Bites, and Smoothie Melts, with a juice line in development.
Sold in over 200 retail doors across Hawaii, including Walmart, Foodland, Times, KTA, Longs/CVS, 7-Eleven and military commissaries. WIC-approved, with its first stores in the continental U.S. Runs its own FDA-inspected facility in Waipahu, which also processes local crops as ingredients for other food makers.
Hawaii Seal of Quality, Made in Hawaii with Aloha, WISEcode Non-UPF Verified, and a 1% for the Planet member.
Channel Manager
2017-2019
Over two years of managing the growth of an award-winning, regenerative agricultural startup in Hawaii.
Conceptualized and implemented a results oriented SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely) Company Sales Plan.
Responsible for key account acquisition and retention — grew revenues by over 10X in my tenure at Kunoa.
Worked to get local beef onto school menus and purchased cattle from more than 80 Hawaii family ranches.
Partnered with chefs, community organizations and policymakers to make local food affordable and accessible.
Prepared and reviewed contracts for private and public partners including DOE, DeCA, Retailers & Distributors.
Performed cost-of-goods and sales margin analyses based on market insight, analysis and projections.
Created and implemented internal sales tools, systems, processes, and communication protocols.
Monitored inventory and acted as liaison between the CEO, COO, CFO and production teams on product pipelines.
Developed, managed, and executed a branding and marketing strategy, aligned with CMO direction and public relations initiatives.
Developed value added products and managed logistics around these programs including channel distribution and go-to-market strategy
Organic Dairy & Produce farm operations in Maine and Rhode Island
1990 - Present
20+ years of organic dairy and produce farm management, operations, farm planning, business development, and good old-fashioned elbow grease.
Account executive
2017
NMG Network is an award-winning cloud-based broadcasting company producing and aggregating original content including shows, films, music, and events. We utilize online, in-room hotel, resort, and luxury residential distribution channels to reach our audiences.
My time with Nella Media Group was spent:
Consulting with company officials, sales departments, and advertising agencies to develop promotional plans.
Attending sales meetings, industry trade shows, and training seminars to gather information, promote products, expand network of contacts, and increase knowledge.
Obtaining and studying information about clients' products, needs, problems, advertising history, and business practices to offer effective sales presentations and appropriate product assistance.
Preparing promotional plans, sales literature, media kits, and sales contracts, to protect and increase customer base.
Chaminade University of Honolulu
Enrollment Content Specialist
2014-2017
Responsible for developing, maintaining, and expanding the digital assets of Chaminade University’s Enrollment Management Department.
In addition to writing and editing site content, email campaigns and social media campaigns, I also worked with the University’s technical team to maintain site standards with regards to new development initiatives and recruitment strategies.
Responsible for growing annual revenue of $1.2MM through public facing assets and recruitment strategies.
Certifications & Programs
It has become his life’s work to connect the components of our global food systems and create sustainable business models in order to promote regenerative and diversified agriculture.
Current Certifications
PCQI (Preventive Controls Qualified Individual), HACCP, Better Process Control School, and DOBE
Recent Programs
Climate Collaborative — Regenerative Transition Community of Practice (2026)
Awards & Recognition
NEXTY Award, People-Forward Product, for Lūʻau Stew, Natural Products Expo West (2026)
U.S. Chamber of Commerce CO—100: America's Top 100 Small Businesses (2024)
Pacific Business News, Hawaii's Fastest Growing Companies (2024)
Pacific Business News, Consumer Packaged Goods Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist (2024)
Mahiʻai Match-Up Winner, Kamehameha Schools and Ulupono Initiative (2023)
Pacific Business News, 40 Under 40 (2022)
Pacific Business News, Inno Fire Award, Food Independence & Agriculture
Hawaii Children's Action Network, Champions for Children Innovator of the Year Finalist (2021)
Clean Label Project Purity Award
Pacific Edge Young Professional of the Year (2020)
Wells Fargo Responsible Business Accelerator
The Wells Fargo Responsible Business Accelerator is designed as a six-course interactive, virtual program designed to jump-start the DOBE responsible business journey covering topics including: Foundation to Sustainability, Implementing ESG (Environmental/Social/Governance) Strategies to Meet Changing Market Needs, Accessibility, Digital Presence and Strategy, Building Personal Brand and Storytelling, Financial Health
Feeding the World
University of Pennsylvania
May 2019
This course explored the concepts driving current food production science (population growth, urbanization, emerging affluence, resource constraints, and underlying biological limits) with the main focus on livestock production. Each of the major food animal species (dairy, swine, beef, and poultry) were looked at in terms of their universal life cycles, constraints to production and emerging societal issues.
Child Nutrition and Cooking
Stanford University School of Medicine
November 2019
Eating patterns that begin in childhood affect health and well-being across the lifespan. In the USA, we are in the midst of a childhood obesity epidemic that threatens to leave our children with a shorter life expectancy than their parents. As processed foods become more readily available around the world, other developed nations are beginning to follow suit. This course examines contemporary child nutrition in America from the individual decisions made by each family to the widespread food marketing targeting our children.
HIR Hawaii Food Systems Accelerator — Enterprise Cohort
The HIR Hawaii Food Systems Accelerator is made up of two complementary cohorts, including the Enterprise Cohort and the Funder Cohort. The cohorts will represent "high-potential innovators" across the food system value chain, as well as funders from government, philanthropic, and private sectors.
The new Food Systems Accelerator represents HIR’s evolution to better target systems-level challenges and opportunities. In particular, food supply chain vulnerabilities daylighted by the global Covid-19 pandemic have elevated an urgency to invest in the State’s goal to double local food production.
Quote source:
- Olivia Peterkin, Pacific Business News
Lean Management
CREDENTIAL ID: 200963
August 2016
This course teaches the core concepts of Lean management to help more efficiently increase value for customers, identify (and remove) ineffective activities, and continuously improve processes by systematically implementing small changes.
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt
CREDENTIAL ID: 205687
September 2016
My Lean Six Sigma Green Belt provided an overview of Six Sigma and the DMAIC methodology and is aligned to the leading Green Belt certifications at ASQ and IASSC. There was a concentration on how to measure current performance to identify process issues and how to formulate solutions.
KūHana Cohort – Food Systems Edition Graduate
ABOUT KŪ HANA
As a resilient people, we lean on the ʻike and wisdom of our kūpuna as we navigate our way forward. I ka wā ma mua, ka wā ma hope – the future is the past.
The Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement is launching the next KūHana Cohort – Food Systems Edition. This cohort is focused on serving any business that supports the food system economy here in Hawaiʻi. As the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us many lessons, food security and resilience is imperative now more than ever.
The KūHana program provides business training & best practices, technical assistance services, and business tools that address economic development across our food system.
preX Virtual Investment Readiness Program — Inaugural Cohort Member
The XLR8HI preX program is a virtual 4-week investment readiness and training program arming Hawaii entrepreneurs with critical knowledge, tools, and guidance for business success. The program, backed by Hawaii Technology Development Corporation (HTDC) and Sultan Ventures, is designed for Hawai’i founders, startups, small-business owners, entrepreneurs, and side-gig workers looking for training and mentorship to evaluate an idea, launch a new company, or grow their existing business.
Social Enterprise Program — Inaugural Cohort Member
This program provides technical, social, and monetary support for entrepreneurial ventures creating jobs for vulnerable populations and revitalizing the community.
