Kupu, a Hawai‘i conservation and youth education organization, has added two new members to its Sustainability Initiatives team.

Nate Gyotoku has been hired as the new Director of Sustainability Initiatives and Abraham Alama has been added as the new RISE Program Manager.

“Our Sustainability Initiatives programs help young adults carve successful career pathways in working with top energy and sustainability companies in Hawai‘i,” said John Leong, CEO of Kupu. “Hiring highly skilled and experienced professionals like Abe, who can mentor our participants or Nate, who will help grow our business partnerships and programs in the green jobs sector, is so important to health of our environment and economy.”

As Director of Sustainability Initiatives, Gyotoku will lead Kupu’s sustainability fellowship programs and help grow business partnerships and project opportunities within the green jobs sector and business community. He recently served as Chief Operating Officer and Director of Programs at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaiʻi, and previously as the President of the Honolulu Japanese Junior Chamber of Commerce.

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Gyotoku has a diverse professional background, having worked in the food, software, IT hardware and infrastructure, and construction industries. He successfully made several businesses profitable. Born and raised in Hilo, Gyotoku is a graduate of Waiakea High School and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

As the new RISE Program Manager at Kupu, Abraham Alama brings an extensive background in education and program coordination to help mentor and develop Kupu’s RISE Fellows. Alama worked for Kamehameha Schools’ Outreach Programs for over decade, developing curriculum and classroom instruction, providing training, mentoring, research, evaluation and program coordination. He has also served as an educator at various schools within the Hawaiʻi Association of Independent Schools (HAIS).

Alama received his HAIS Master’s Degree for Private School Leadership in the Pacific Basin through the Barrett B. McCandless professional scholarship. He is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

Kupu’s Sustainability Initiatives focus on helping Hawaiʻi achieve its sustainability goals by supporting private, public and nonprofit organizations with additional resources, while growing Hawaiʻi’s green jobs workforce.

Through part-time job opportunities with competitive pay for both college students and recent graduates, Kupu’s Sustainability Fellows program offers work experience, mentoring and professional development training in the areas of clean energy, water security, local food production and consumption, and solid waste reduction.