Slavica Hansbrough, President

Slavi is an Owner and Principal Consultant at Empowered People Consulting. Her mission is to help organizations increase productivity and effectiveness by nurturing human systems, organizational culture, and every individual. Every person deserves to enjoy work and feel fulfilled at the end of the day. Previously, Slavi worked in the fields of journalism, marketing, and event planning. Her recently found passion for organization development led her to earn a Masters of Arts degree from Hawai‘i Pacific University in Organization Development and Change. Slavi was born and raised in Serbia and has lived in Hawaii for the last 15 years. Also a longtime military spouse, her career led her to work in the government, corporate, and non-profit sectors. Her distinct background gives a diverse perspective on  organization culture, conflict management, performance management, effective communication, and more.

Gwen Navarrete Klapperich, M.Ed., CPTD®, Past President

Gwen is Chief Learning Consultant of Klapperich International Training Associates (KITA) LLC, a talent development consulting firm that specializes in employee training & development, diversity & inclusion initiatives, performance consulting, and American Red Cross health & safety training.. She holds over 20 years of experience in training & development, customer service supervision, and quality assurance initiatives, and has worked in various industries such as retail, call centers, healthcare, government, hospitality, nonprofits, and continuing education. Gwen earned her CPTD® (Certified Professional in Talent Development, formerly Certified Professional in Learning and Performance) from the Association of Talent Development and holds a master’s degree in education specializing in Training & Performance Improvement from Capella University. 

Sarah Kalicki-Nakamura, VP of Strategic Partnerships

Sarah is the co-founder of TH!NK® LLC, an award-winning talent development company that has partnered with more than 300 companies since 2000 to deliver workplace solutions that are helping businesses achieve their goals while keeping employees engaged, productive and happy.  Passionate about lifelong education and learning, Sarah serves as an instructor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa Shidler College of Business, teaching graduate-level courses focusing on Organizational Behavior and Learning and Development. Sarah holds a Master's Degree in Organizational Management from the University of Phoenix and a Bachelor’s in Broadcast Journalism from Arizona State University.  She has earned multiple certifications including Everything DiSC Facilitator®, Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team Facilitator™, PXT Select, and the New World Kirkpatrick Model Bronze Level.  Sarah is also passionate about helping Hawaii families thrive as aNu’uanu YMCA Board Member.

Brian Madamba, VP Technology

Brian Madamba is a Talent Development Specialist at HawaiiUSA FCU. He works with the company to produce materials needed for learning plans and internal projects. He is heavily versed in the financial industry with a focus in economics, stock markets, and real estate. On the side, he has multiple businesses built all across Asia, the United States, and Canada. His hobbies include watching the news, traveling, trying new foods and restaurants, going to concerts, and shopping. Brian is also experienced in the retail industry having completing certificates is fashion styling, retail management, and business essentials form multiple educational institutions around the US. He also serves as Secretary on the FEAH Board (Financial Education of Hawaii).

Julianne Odo, VP of Finance

Julianne Odo is an Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity Consultant with Kaiser Permanente, one of the nation’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Her work is focused on creating a more equitable, socially just, inclusive, and diverse healthcare system, workforce and community. Julianne has over 12 years of experience in the Learning and Organizational Development field; prior to working in health care, Julianne worked in the hospitality, banking, and retail sectors.  Her contributions include leading organization-wide internal cultural rebranding initiatives; developing and facilitating programs for various levels of the organization, from front-line staff to the C-suite; and administering leadership and talent reviews.  Julianne has an MBA from the University of Hawai’i, a BS in Communication from Southern Oregon University, and holds PHR and SHRM-CP certifications.

Sookie Kang, VP of Records

Christy Matsushige, VP of Membership

Christy has experience in a wide range of sectors including information technology, start-ups, green tech, insurance, healthcare, non-profits, and government. Her Computer Science degree and innate organizational and problem solving skills have been best utilized in Information Technology, Project Management, Leadership, Account Management, and Training and Development positions. Personal accomplishment highlights are completing the Waikiki Roughwater Swim, Na Wahine O Ke Kai, and several marathons in her heyday.

Ricardo “Ric” Xavier, VP of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Ricardo (Ric for short) is originally from Brazil and started his professional journey as a language teacher, moving on to teacher trainer a few years later. After 10+ years in education, he wanted to see what else was out there. Ric got a business degree and further education in HR. The highlight of his career was when he could merge both the educational and corporate worlds: he learned about ATD in 2017, became a member, and dove into Learning & Development. Ric has been a facilitator since his years in education and added instructional design to his portfolio last year. He is currently a Learning Experience Designer for Studio 5 Learning, a consulting company in the L&D space.