Chamber Weeks 2026: State of Economy presented by Hawaii Pacific Health

Chamber Week(s) presented by Alaska Airlines & Hawaiian Airlines is a multi-week series of events and programming that coincides with the opening of the Hawaii State Legislature to connect members and the business community with legislators and engage them in the legislative process. 

Join the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii for the State of the Economy to gain timely insights into Hawaii’s economic outlook. Hear from representatives from the state and national level for an in-depth discussion on trends shaping our state’s economic future amongst fellow  business leaders and policymakers.

Hear the Chamber's legislative priorities for the 2026 session and from political leaders who will share their visions for Hawaii's economy, government and politics for the year ahead.

AGENDA:

7:45 - 8:20 AM: Registration and Breakfast

8:20 AM: Welcome Remarks

8:35 AM: State of Economy Keynote from the Governor 
Governor Josh Green, State of Hawaii

9:20 State Legislative Leadership Fireside Chat
Senate President Ronald Kouchi, Hawaii State Legislature
Speaker of the House Nadine Nakamura, Hawaii State Legislature

Director James Kunane Tokioka, Department of Development and Tourism (DBEDT), State of Hawaii

10:00 AM: Virtual - America's Top State of Business
Scott Cohn, CNBC

10:30 AM: Hawaii Economic Forecast for 2026
Dr. Carl Bonham, University of Hawaii

11:00 AM: Blueprint Hawaii 2030 Update
Sherry Menor, President & CEO, Chamber of Commerce Hawaii

11:30 AM: Closing Remarks and Networking

Marketing opportunities are available to promote your company during Chamber Week. Please click here ​for more information.

CLICK HERE to watch our 2026 PSA to learn more about Chamber Week.

MEET THE SPEAKERS:


Governor Josh Green, M.D.
State of Hawaii

Governor Josh Green is a proud husband, father, and physician. For the past 20 years, Governor Green cared for Big Island families as a doctor. He served in the State House of Representatives and the State Senate from 2004 to 2018. As chair of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, he passed “Luke’s Law,” which provides care for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, as well as tobacco and e-cigarette regulations, which increased the legal age for purchasing tobacco and e-cigarettes to 21.

Passionate about housing solutions, Governor Green helped create “Kauhale” communities to get unsheltered veterans, kūpuna, and others into safe housing options. These efforts are ongoing and will continue to be one of his top priorities as Governor. Governor Green expanded the role of Lieutenant Governor by spearheading the largest healthcare response in state history during the COVID pandemic. These critical emergency efforts resulted in Hawaiʻi having the nation’s lowest COVID-19 fatality rate. 

Senate President Ronald Kouchi 
Hawaii State Legislature

Senator Kouchi secured his current position as President of the Hawaii State Senate on May 5, 2015. In the past, Senator Kouchi served as Majority Caucus Leader, Vice Chair for the committee on Tourism, and Vice Chair for the committee on Ways and Means. He had also served as a member on the committees on Agriculture, Education, Transportation, and International Affairs.

Raised on Kauai's Westside, Senator Kouchi graduated from Waimea High School in 1975 and attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Senator Kouchi is married to the former Joy Tanimoto and they have two sons, Dan and Egan.


Speaker Nadine Nakamura
Hawaii State Legislature

Representative Nadine K. Nakamura serves House District 15, which includes the Kaua'i towns of Hanalei, Princeville, Kīlauea, Anahola, Kapa'a, and Wailua. She is the Majority Leader, Chair of the House Committee of Legislative Management (LMG), and a member of the Tourism (TOU) and Economic Development Committees (ECD). She also previously served as a Majority Whip in the House.

A 32-year resident of Kapa'a and former Managing Director for the County of Kaua'i, Representative Nakamura has deep roots in her community. Mrs. Nakamura operated a planning consulting business for twenty years before being elected to the Kaua'i County Council, where she served from 2010-2013.

Representative Nakamura holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Affairs and Urban Planning from the University of Southern California. She obtained a Master's Degree in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa.

Director James Kunane Tokioka
Director, Department of Development and Tourism (DBEDT)
State of Hawaii

James Kunane Tokioka was named Director of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT) on May 5, 2023. Most recently, he served as the Deputy Director for the Department of Transportation’s Airports Division.

Tokioka began his political career as a member of the Kauai County Council in 1996, where he served for 10 years. He then went on to serve for 16 years as a member of the Hawaii State House of Representatives.

Prior to his public service, Tokioka worked his way through the hospitality industry, both in Hawai‘i and across the United States, doing everything from bussing tables to managing hotels and owning restaurants. Tokioka has also worked for Oceanic Time Warner Cable/Spectrum, where he oversaw new business management programs and assisted with securing the largest single contract in the company’s history.

Tokioka studied at Holiday University in Mississippi, where he completed the accelerated certification program in Hotel, Food and Beverage, Guest Services and Security Management.




Sherry Menor
President & CEO
Chamber of Commerce Hawaii

Sherry Menor was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii on September 1, 2013. She is the youngest and first female President and CEO in the Chamber’s 173-year history, as well as the first Asian to serve as the leader of a State Chamber in the nation. 

She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Hawaii Tourism Authority. Nationally, she serves on the Board of Directors of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and on the U.S. Chamber’s Committee of 100. She previously served on the boards of Council of State Chambers (COSC), the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE), and Western Association of Chamber Executives (WACE). Under her leadership, the Chamber won the 2018 ACCE State Chamber of the Year, and in 2019, won two national Council of State Chambers awards.

Sherry is a 2016 graduate of the Omidyar Fellows Leadership Program, founded by eBay’s Pierre Omidyar. She was inducted into the University of Hawaii Shidler College of Business Hall of Honors, received the Girl Scouts of Hawaii Women of Distinction, and the Filipino Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii’s Business Executive of the Year. In 2017, she was honored with the Public Schools of Hawaii Foundation Award and, in 2015, was selected to represent the United States in the Korea Foundation’s Program for Distinguished Individuals in Economy. In 2014, she was recognized as one of the “Top 10 People to Watch” by Pacific Business News. In 2012, she was named one of the “Top 20 People to Watch” by Hawaii Business magazine. Menor-McNamara was also inducted as a Laureate into the 2014 Class of the Junior Achievement of Hawaii Hall of Fame. Additionally, in 2014, she was selected and participated in the prestigious Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs leadership program.


Dr. Carl Bonham
Executive Director
UHERO
Carl Bonham was a founding member of UHERO in 1997 and currently serves as UHERO’s Executive Director and Professor of Economics. Carl’s research interests include macroeconomics, applied econometrics and forecasting, tourism economics, and the Hawai`i economy. His current research focuses on mixed frequency models for nowcasting inputs for UHERO’s quarterly Hawaii Forecasting System. Recent publications include, “Long COVID and Unemployment in Hawaii” with Ruben Juarez and Nicole Siegal in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, “Forecasting in a Mixed Up World: Nowcasting Hawaii Tourism”, with Ashley Hirashima, James Jones, and Peter Fuleky in the Annals of Tourism Research, and “A Policy Analysis of Hawaii’s Solar Tax Credit” with Makena Coffman, Sherilyn Wee and Germaine Salim in Natural Hazard Resilience. Dr. Bonham has served on the State of Hawaii Council on Revenues since 1996, the House Select Committee on Covid-19 Economic and Financial Preparedness from 2020 to 2021, and Governor Green’s Build Beyond Barriers Working Group from 2023 to 2024.  Carl also serves on the board of Child and Family Services.

Joining Virtually: 

Scott Cohn
Special Correspondent
CNBC

Scott Cohn develops in-depth features and special reports for CNBC and CNBC.com, including the influential annual series “America’s Top States for Business,” which he created in 2007. He also covers breaking news for CNBC and NBC News.

A sought-after public speaker and the owner of a Northern California-based production company, Cohn serves as a consultant to national media organizations. He has previously served as a contributor to the popular public radio program “Marketplace,” and as a senior producer and special correspondent for the true financial crime series “American Greed.”

Cohn assumed his current role after more than 25 years as a CNBC reporter. He helped launch CNBC in 1989, eventually rising to Senior Correspondent. He established the CNBC Chicago bureau as well as the network’s investigative unit. Along the way, he reported on many of the most important business and financial stories in CNBC’s first quarter century. They include the Enron and WorldCom scandals, the technology bubble, the 2008 financial crisis, and the human and economic devastation of Hurricane Katrina. He has traveled to all 50 states, reported from more than a dozen countries, and interviewed the famous and infamous, from Warren Buffett to Bernie Madoff.

Cohn is a three-time national Emmy nominee—all for investigative reporting—as well as a two-time CableACE nominee.

Before joining CNBC, Cohn was an anchor and reporter for ABC affiliate WZZM in Grand Rapids, Mich. He has also worked as an anchor and reporter for NBC affiliate WEAU in Eau Claire, Wis., and for Wisconsin Public Radio and Television. A native of Chicago, Cohn holds a degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin, where he currently serves on the Board of Visitors for the School of Journalism. He was also a founding board member of the Center for Journalism Ethics. In 2005, the University honored him with its annual award for Distinguished Service to Journalism.

Emceed By:

Nolan Hong
Pop Creative Media
Nolan Hong is a professional emcee and actor. Nolan and his wife Jamie are the team behind Pop Creative Media, a video production company that has been producing content for local nonprofits, businesses and families since 2014. You can catch their local TV/YouTube series Here in Hawai‘i and Elevate 808 at HereInHawaiiTV.com