The Learning Coalition

About The Learning Coalition

We are a group of concerned citizens committed to working with others throughout the community to improve public education in Hawaii.

The Learning Coalition was started by Deborah Berger and William Reeves, who are actively engaged in philanthropy through their family foundation, Unbound Philanthropy (www.unboundphilanthropy.org). Bill and Debbie were born and educated in Hawaii and reside here.

The Learning Coalition Advisory Board:

• Keith Amemiya, An attorney by training and a graduate of the William S Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaii, in 1998 Keith was appointed executive director of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association. In his role as executive director of HHSAA Keith has had an immeasurable impact on athletics in Hawaii, creating a second division in high school sports to accommodate many of the State’s smaller schools and championing women’s athletics. In 2008 Keith was appointed to the Honolulu Police Commission in the role of vice-chairman.

• Andrew Aoki, a director of Kanu Hawaii which engages and organizes people to improve the economic, educational, environmental, community, and cultural well-being of Hawaii. Prior to working for Kanu Hawaii, he co-founded the public-interest consulting and research firm 3Point, where he wrote and advocated on issues such as economic development and technology, school reform, and asset building. Andrew also co-founded the educational nonprofit College Connections Hawaii; directed youth and teen programs in communities across the state as a program director for the YMCA of Honolulu; counseled and tutored students in Honolulu and in East Palo Alto; and has engaged in various other public service activities in Hawaii. He has degrees from Stanford University, the University of Michigan Law School, and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He grew up in Moanalua Valley and now lives in Kailua with his wife and two young children. http://www.kanuhawaii.org/

• Salevaa (Sale) Atisanoe, who wrestled as Konishiki at the highest ranks of sumo in Japan and became the first non-Japanese wrestler to achieve the title of “Ozeki”. Having retired from Sumo in 1998, Sale founded the Konishiki Kids Foundation that has broadened the horizons of Leeward Coast children through trips to Japan and has expanded his vision to enhance innovation in the classrooms by providing educational tools for the schools in his community. Sale is an active force in the Leeward Coast community, and in March 2008, he received a commendation from the State House for his fundraising efforts to support Leeward elementary schools. http://www.konishikikids.com/

• Debbie Berger (chair), co-founder of TLC with husband Bill Reeves, Hawaii residents with a long-standing interest in public education. After a career that ranged from Wall Street to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Ms. Berger founded Unbound Philanthropy, which “aims to support charitable operations in fields that promote self-determination by working to equalize the distribution of opportunities available to those who wish to help themselves and their families.” http://www.unboundphilanthropy.org/

• Alan Oshima, is an attorney and business consultant. He currently serves as a director of and senior advisor to Hawaiian Telcom and as a director of Hawaiian Electric Company. Alan was chair of the YMCA of Honolulu and continues to serve as a director of that organization. He is also vice president of Hawaii 3Rs, a non-profit organization that facilitates government, business, community and school partnerships to repair, remodel and restore public schools. Alan has been elected as one of America’s Best Lawyers and is a recipient of the Hawaii State Bar Association’s Pro Bono Service Award for his volunteer legal work in the community.

• Terry George, Vice President and Executive Director of the Harold K.L Castle Foundation whose mission it is to close the achievement gap in public education so that all of Hawaii’s children have access to and benefit from high-quality education to prepare them for a successful future. From 1989 to early 1998, Terry served as program officer for human rights and governance for the Ford Foundation in the Philippines and subsequently lived in New Delhi where he managed the Ford Foundation’s portfolios in governance and international cooperation in South Asia. In 1998 Terry returned to Hawaii to join the Consuelo Foundation as Chief Program Officer. He has been with the Castle Foundation since 2003. Terry was the founding co-chair of the Keiki Funders Network which focuses on outcomes for children up to 5yrs of age, serves on several other nonprofit advisory boards, as well as sits on the boards of the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Hawaii and the National Kidney Foundation of Hawaii. http://www.castlefoundation.org/

• Tammi Oyadomari-Chun – Executive Director of Hawaii P-20 Partnerships for Education, a statewide partnership led by the University of Hawaii System, the State of Hawaii Department of Education and the Good Beginnings Alliance to improve educational outcomes for Hawaii. Oyadomari-Chun directs P-20’s strategic projects. Previously, Oyadomari-Chun conducted research on social policy and education at the RAND Corporation and the Consortium for Policy Research in Education at the University of Pennsylvania. She also worked at the Los Angeles Educational Alliance for Restructuring Now (LEARN) facilitating school reform in the nation’s second largest school district. Chun has been involved in numerous community organizations including Envision Hawai‘i and the Kaka‘ako Christian Fellowship Church where she serves as a member of the management team. She has a Master in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and a Bachelor of Arts from Pomona College, and is currentlypursuing an Ed.D. at the University of Southern California http://www.p20hawaii.org

Contact us at contact@thelearningcoalition.org

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