HONOLULU (HI Now) - Native CDFI and nonprofit mortgage lender Hawai‘i Community Lending (HCL) announced today its board officers and new executive leadership team, including internal promotions as well as new hires. With a depth of experience and resources that extend beyond business into a well of cultural strength, HCL’s people are prepared to bring real solutions to Hawai‘i’s housing crisis.
The Board of Directors elected officers at its December meeting. Board officers are: Billy Pieper, president; Alapaki Nahale-a, vice president; and Kawena Beaupré, secretary. These knowledgeable, compassionate native Hawaiian leaders share impressive credentials in the community: Pieper as senior vice president and director of commercial banking with American Savings Bank; Nahale-a as principal at Islander Institute and former director of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands; and Beaupré as senior vice president and general counsel of Hawai‘i Community Foundation (HCF). All are deeply invested in their culture, serving on multiple boards and striving to address systemic issues to keep Hawai‘i’s people moving forward.
“As a native CDFI, our work demands cultural reverence, ethical seriousness, and disciplined stewardship of capital,” Pieper said. “The combined depth and breadth of experience in our leadership team means that we are uniquely qualified to achieve our goals in a way that uplifts and strengthens our native Hawaiian community, now and for future generations.”
In addition to the board of directors, HCL has confirmed its new executive team: Jeff Gilbreath, chief executive officer; Chanel Josiah, chief operating officer; David Doyon, chief financial officer; and Joyce Nobriga, deputy chief financial officer. The team shares decades of expertise in the field: Gilbreath as HCL’s executive director shaping the organization for the past 12 years; Josiah as former director of external affairs for HCL, and prior to that as program manager for Hawaiian Community Assets (HCA); Doyon as former CFO of ROC USA, LLC, who helped build the CDFI to a $400-million loan fund and has more than 30 years of experience in financial management; and Nobriga as former CFO at Waialae Country Club with 25 years of finance experience across diverse sectors.
This skilled executive team will be assisted by expert senior management: Jona Ahuna, operations director and Sean Perez, finance director.
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In HCL’s operations department, Josiah as COO will be supported by Ahuna as operations director. As HCL’s former technical assistance manager, Ahuna led the design, implementation and evaluation of HCL’s programs, and trained and supervised staff. In her new position, she will oversee the implementation and management of HCL’s internal operational systems, administrative infrastructure, and workflow processes, ensuring that organizational operations function efficiently, consistently, and in alignment with executive strategy and organizational policies. Josiah and Ahuna bring decades of combined experience in organization operations and human resources.
In HCL’s finance department, Doyon as CFO and Nobriga as deputy CFO will be supported by Perez as finance director. Perez has served HCL in this position since 2024, with a valuable background as director of operations and finance for the Hawai‘i State Bar Association, and expertise in nonprofit financial management, accounting, grants management, IT and human resources. Together, the finance team shares more than 50 years of experience in nonprofit financial management and accounting.
HCL’s team building has created a deep bench for operations and finance that is in line with the organization’s strategy of creating a culture of leadership continuity, from staff and managers, to executive teams and the board of directors.
Supported by 49 staff members across the state, the new executive team will work together to expand the organization’s mortgage operations to serve local and native Hawaiian homebuyers, and deliver programs that range from helping Lahaina homeowners rebuild and Hawaiian Home Lands lessees prevent lease cancellation. At the same time, the HCL team will improve efficiency within the organization, seek to reduce costs on its borrowers, and position the nonprofit organization for long-term financial sustainability.
“As we enter our 24th year of doing business in the community, it’s an exciting time for HCL and what we are achieving,” Gilbreath said. “Our team is deeply committed to Hawai‘i’s people, making sure home is affordable, and to building a sustainable loan fund that provides living wage jobs to local people. With this new board and leadership, we will continue to make huge strides as we put the needs of native Hawaiians first so that they can maintain and build their homes here on the ‘āina for the next generation.”
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About HCL board:
- Billy Pieper, president, is born and raised on the island of O‘ahu. He is senior vice president and director of commercial banking with American Savings Bank and has over 20 years of experience in the financial industry. Pieper is a former trustee for the Bishop Museum and has served on the boards of Friends of ‘Iolani Palace, Ke Ali‘i Pauahi Foundation, Pacific Islanders in Communication and the Daniel Kahikina Akaka Foundation, as well as on the advancement committee for the Polynesian Voyaging Society. Pieper believes stable housing is the foundation for everything else in the community, driving the needs of the community.
- Alapaki Nahale-a, vice president, believes in a future “where every family is part of a thriving community and where individual and collective well-being manifests a better world for all.” Principal at Islander Institute, Nahale-a leads initiatives around locally rooted community leadership development, sustainable local food system innovation, and community empowered education initiatives. Inspired by indigenous ways of living in reciprocity with the earth, Nahale-a was responsible for launching and leading ‘Iole Global Resilience Hub in 2022. Alapaki spent 10 years working for Kamehameha Schools culminating in senior director roles managing the school’s Hawai‘i Island land portfolio and overseeing community strategies statewide. He also previously served as the director of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.
- Kawena Beaupré, secretary, is senior vice president and general counsel of Hawai‘i Community Foundation (HCF), where she oversees HCF’s legal, compliance, governance, risk, charitable fund administration, and complex charitable giving functions. She began working at HCF as associate general counsel in 2014, combining her accounting background with her knowledge of law, and has continued to build a network of trusted relationships in the community. She also carries a meaningful family connection to renowned Native Hawaiian scholar and cultural leader Mary Kawena Pukui, whose lifelong dedication to preserving Hawaiian language, ʻike kupuna, and cultural traditions continues to influence Kawena’s commitment to Hawaii’s people and place. Through both her professional work and personal values, Kawena strives to support initiatives that uplift Hawaiʻi’s keiki, ʻohana, and ka lāhui Hawai‘i. As part of her service to the community, Beaupré serves on the boards of the Mary Kawena Pukui Cultural Preservation Society, Partners in Development Foundation, and the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation.
- Jaclyn Kaina, board member, is executive director of Kaua‘i Economic Development Board (KEDB), a position she has held since 2022. A proponent of “transformational and servant leadership,” Kaina is an experienced leader who knows what it takes to help communities thrive. Since she began working for KEDB in 2015, she has focused on areas that include development and construction of the Kaua‘i Creative Technology Center, update and implementation of the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategic Plan, as well as initiatives in food and agriculture, science and technology, renewable energy, and education. For Kaina, working with the community and having the ability to “give back” is the most rewarding part of her job.
About HCL executive leadership:
- Jeff Gilbreath, CEO, has served as HCL’s executive director for the past 12 years, with more than 25 years of experience in the nonprofit sector. He joined HCL’s parent corporation, Hawaiian Community Assets (HCA), in 2008, and six years later, he established HCL as a nonprofit native community development financial institution (CDFI). Since its founding, HCL has originated 6,559 grants and loans, with more than $203.7 million disbursed, resulting in more than 6,500 ‘ohana in homes. During Gilbreath’s tenure, HCL has grown from a team of nine to 49 staff members statewide. Gilbreath’s advocacy includes serving as a board member for the Hawai‘i Jump$tart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, Hui Malāma O Ke Kai, and the Waimānalo Health Center. In 2021, he was honored with a Ho‘okele Award from HCF, recognizing his work as a nonprofit leader helping to improve the quality of life for Hawai‘i’s people, and in 2024 received the Social Impact Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the Hawaiʻi Venture Capital Association.
- Chanel Josiah, COO, was born and raised on Oʻahu and currently resides on Kauaʻi with her husband and seven children. Formerly director of external affairs for HCL, and prior to that as program manager for HCA, Josiah has spent years connecting with communities to understand the issues and challenges families face when building, buying and saving homes. Under her leadership, HCL’s fundraising, marketing, outreach and policy advocacy all saw tremendous growth as she worked to build relationships and coordinate resources to get Hawaiians on the land. Now as COO, she will direct the organization’s lending, technical assistance, administration, human resources, information technology, external partnerships, and marketing and outreach. Working collaboratively with the CEO and CFO, Josiah will develop annual and long-term operations and lending strategies to achieve HCL’s strategic objectives and growth targets.
- David Doyon, CFO, comes on board as an accomplished financial executive with more than 30 years of experience in both private and public organizations. Doyon previously served as the first CFO of ROC USA, LLC, a national CDFI that provides loans to limited equity cooperatives in the affordable housing space. With revenues of $14 million and assets of $180 million, ROC has a portfolio of close to $400 million in loans. Doyon earned a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Southern Maine, and an MBA from Southern New Hampshire University, where he previously served as full-time faculty in the accountancy and taxation department. At HCL, he looks forward to using his leadership and analytical skills to improve and increase revenue growth, operational efficiency and profitability within the organization.
- Joyce Nobriga, deputy CFO, was born and raised in Hawai‘i. Growing up in Kalihi Valley with her single grandmother, she saw firsthand the barriers to homeownership and the challenges of making ends meet. Her grandmother valued education as being central to financial security, so Nobriga worked to obtained a B.S. in Accountancy at University of Hawai‘i at Manoa and became a CPA. She went on to deepen her expertise in finances through high-level positions, including as controller for Outrigger Canoe Club and most recently as CFO/controller/assistant treasurer at Waialae Country Club. As deputy CFO of HCL, she wants to devote the rest of her career to advancing a mission that is aligned with improving the well-being of Hawai‘i and its people.
About HCL senior management:
- Jona Ahuna, operations director, formerly served HCL as technical assistance manager, supporting native Hawaiian families in accessing affordable housing capital. She is also knowledgeable about HCL’s programs on a personal level, as the Ahunas are homesteaders residing on Hawaiian Home Lands in Anahola, Kauaʻi. The Ahuna ‘ohana was recognized at Hui Waiwai 2026 for their steadfast faith in successfully walking through the homeownership process with HCL. Receiving support across nearly every loan product HCL offers, the Ahunas worked with financial counselors to improve their credit scores and increase their household income and savings. Jona Ahuna believes that faith is a guiding light in her life, and she strives to incorporate that uplifting belief into every aspect of her life and of her work with HCL.
- Sean Perez, finance director, manages HCL’s finances, accounting, compliance, and information technology matters. In his previous job as director of operations and finance for the Hawai‘i State Bar Association, Perez gained extensive background in nonprofit financial management, accounting, grants management, IT and human resources. Currently living in Honolulu, Perez is originally from Guam, where he returned after three and a half years of military service in the U.S. Air Force Reserves. While in Guam, he obtained a degree in finance and economics, and then pursued an MBA. In his work at HCL, Perez enjoys hearing the stories of families who achieve homeownership through HCL’s programs, and he feels honored to be part of that success.
As HCL continues to expand and broaden its impact, the new board officers and executive leadership team are poised to carry the organization forward.
For more information, please visit www.hawaiicommunitylending.com.
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