Greater Good Radio

John Komeiji went from a self-described C student who planned to be an auto mechanic to a 30-year trial lawyer, president of Hawaiian Telcom, general counsel at Kamehameha Schools, and now the first volunteer chair of the Mauna Kea Stewardship Oversight Authority — the toughest job of his life. Sitting down with Evan Leong, he traces the mentors who redirected his path (Uncle Keiji Kawakami, Wesle...

Professional surfer Jack Ho grew up in Waikiki chasing waves after every school day at Punahou, envious of the homeschool kids who surfed dawn to dusk. Years later, holding a Duke Kahanamoku scholarship to UH Manoa, he walked away from the conventional path to build his "Jack From Town" brand and chase swells across Fiji, Indonesia, France, and beyond. He and Evan Leong dig into the unglamorous re...

Chenoa Farnsworth, managing partner of Blue Startups, sits down with Evan Leong for a wide-ranging conversation that moves from Hawaii's startup ecosystem to the inner life of the people who build it. She traces her winding path from a Big Island macadamia nut farm to health policy in Washington, D.C., to founding Hawaii Angels, Kolohala Ventures, and Blue Startups — and why she turned down a Sili...

Long before Washington, D.C., Ed Case was a kid from Hilo who describes his childhood as "Norman Rockwell, but Hawaii" — the only haole in his class, surfing after school and never once thinking about race or ethnicity. In this wide-ranging conversation, Ed traces the unlikely path from a small-town upbringing on Hawaii Island to the U.S. Congress: the family that left a Kansas law firm generation...

From the deadliest mass shooting in American history to the most devastating wildfire tragedy in modern U.S. history, Chief John Pelletier has spent his career leading through the unthinkable. As incident commander during the 2017 Mandalay Bay shooting in Las Vegas and now Chief of the Maui Police Department during the catastrophic 2023 wildfires, Pelletier opens up about what it actually takes to...

Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami sits down with Evan Leong for a rare, unfiltered conversation about leadership, loss, and legacy. From surviving Hurricane Iniki as a teenager to losing his mother, father, and brother within eighteen months, Derek opens up about grief, mental health, and why he refuses to stay silent about his brother's suicide. He shares how his wife Monica's wisdom shaped his run for...

Steve Sawyer grew up in a home where silence was the deadliest weapon — and rage could erupt without warning. As founder of the Developmental Trauma Training Institute, Steve draws on his own childhood wounds to reveal how unhealed trauma shapes every relationship, addiction, and behavior we carry into adulthood. From the neuroscience of the nervous system and the four core survival wounds identif...

What if the key to healing trauma, anxiety, and depression has been misunderstood for decades — and the answer lies in a medicine most of us were taught to fear? Mike DeMattos, Chair of the Bachelor of Social Work Program at the University of Hawaii, joins Evan Leong for a deeply honest and wide-ranging conversation about psychedelic-assisted therapy, the roots of self-rejection, and what it truly...

Brad Yates spent six decades coaching elite athletes, leaders, and even legendary college football head coach Bill Curry — and his hardest lesson came from looking inward at his own unprocessed anger. At 84, the former Punahou School educator and high-performance coach sits down with Evan Leong to unpack "Accept Love," his framework for elite performance, why most of what we call passion is actual...

Scott Simon walked away from a high-paying executive career to become a leadership coach — and the journey that led him there is anything but ordinary. From playing D3 volleyball at Santa Clara after turning down Princeton, to navigating corporate law and a company bankruptcy, to ultimately trading a corporate paycheck for the freedom to build something on his own terms, Scott brings a rare depth...

Pal Eldredge has lived one of Hawaii’s most extraordinary sporting lives — from a three-sport athlete at Punahou and a College World Series competitor at BYU, to decades coaching baseball, scouting for Major League Baseball, and teaching fifth grade to a boy the world would come to know as Barack Obama. Evan Leong sits down with Coach Pal for an unflinching conversation about aging, legacy, physic...

What if a tech CEO isn’t self-made—but community-made? In this powerful conversation, Forest Frizzell shares his raw, deeply personal journey from a troubled childhood marked by learning struggles, self-doubt, and survival, to becoming the co-founder of a globally recognized clean energy company. This episode goes beyond entrepreneurship—it’s about being “Hānai’d” (nourished and lifted) by people...

Sherry Menor, President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, sits down with Evan Leong for one of the most candid conversations about leadership, identity, and personal growth you'll hear from a Hawaii executive. Born in Tokyo and raised in Hilo in a strict Japanese-Filipino household, Sherry's path to becoming the first female CEO in the Chamber's 175-year history was anything but linear...

What does it really mean to lead with Aloha in business? In this episode of Greater Good Radio, Pacific Business News Publisher Lei Pedro shares how her Hawaiian heritage, family legacy, and life experiences shaped her approach to leadership, connection, and community. From growing up in a family of traditional lei makers to becoming one of Hawaiʻi’s most influential business media leaders, Lei ex...

In this powerful and deeply personal episode, Evan Leong sits down with Christine Camp — Korean immigrant, single mother, runaway teen, and founder & CEO of Avalon Group — for a raw, unfiltered conversation about survival, identity, healing, and what it truly takes to build something meaningful in Hawaiʻi. Christine opens up about leaving Korea as a child, losing her father shortly after arri...

In this deeply personal and inspiring episode, Johnny Chankhamany joins Evan Leong to share his remarkable journey from growing up in a low-income immigrant household to becoming a respected finance leader, venture capital connector, and mentor helping others break into Wall Street and beyond. Johnny opens up about watching his parents sacrifice everything, the mindset shifts that pulled him out o...

In this powerful episode, Evan Leong sits down with Ian Kitajima for a deeply personal conversation that traces Ian’s journey from a childhood shaped by freedom, curiosity, and trust to a career defined by courage, innovation, and purpose-driven leadership. Ian reflects on how early life experiences influenced his willingness to take risks, challenge conventional paths, and step into uncertainty—b...

In this deeply honest and emotionally powerful episode, Evan Leong sits down with Corey Campbell, CEO and Founder of Akamai Training & Consulting and a Hoffman Process teacher, for a raw conversation on pain, grief, shame, and the lifelong work of emotional freedom. Corey opens up about childhood conditioning, identity, racial awareness, imposter syndrome, losing his brother, becoming a fathe...

In this deeply personal and vulnerable episode, Nolan Hong sits down with Evan Leong to unpack a lifetime of self-doubt, fear of failure, and abandonment—and the long, courageous journey toward self-love and wholeness. Nolan opens up about growing up with shame and anxiety, navigating ADHD, perfectionism, and fear-driven success, and how storytelling, healing work, and honest emotional connection...

In this powerful conversation, Josh Green sits down with host Evan Leong to share the deeply human journey that shaped his path from physician to Governor of Hawaiʻi—one defined by service, lived experience, and a commitment to bringing people together. Drawing from childhood health challenges, medical missions in India, Africa, and Samoa, years as a community doctor in Kaʻū, and leadership throug...

In this powerful and deeply personal conversation, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi opens up about the defining moments of his life—his parents’ sacrifices, the pain of loss, the challenges of fatherhood, the guilt and growth that shaped him, and the enduring love that guided every major decision he made. Rick reveals vulnerable stories about raising his children from afar, rebuilding after heartbre...

In this powerful and emotional episode, Mano Nguyen opens up about his family’s escape from Vietnam, the challenges of growing up as a refugee, the sacrifices behind his parents’ strength, and the deep sense of duty and resilience that shaped him into a veteran, entrepreneur, and community leader. This conversation dives into identity, gratitude, cultural values, family legacy, and how community s...

In this heartfelt episode of Greater Good Radio, Monty Pereira, General Manager and Sales & Marketing Director of Watanabe Floral, shares the most difficult experience of his life — his daughter’s devastating concussion and the lessons it taught him about faith, patience, and letting go. From his Hawaiian roots in Hilo to his 29-year journey leading one of Hawaiʻi’s most beloved floral compan...

Dive into an inspiring, no-ego masterclass with longtime Shidler College of Business dean Vance Roley, as he shares the leadership habits that powered two decades of growth at UH Mānoa: putting faculty first, building a culture of transparency, and partnering closely with alumni and donors to expand scholarships, endowments, and global opportunities. In this candid conversation, Vance talks recrui...

From a college apartment startup to a $700 million acquisition, Brett Brewer’s journey is the real story behind MySpace, Intermix Media, and the early internet boom. In this inspiring conversation, Brett shares how luck, hustle, and relentless belief turned failure into one of tech’s biggest success stories. He reveals the lessons from 150 investor rejections, the origins of “fake it ’til you make...