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Humans of the Hub

Humans of Impact Hub: Holger & Suzanne of Topos Media

Holger Heine and Suzanne Savet have been a part of our Impact Hub HNL community since we were in our ProtoHub location. Holger and Suzanne are dedicated Hosts, and you’ll see them behind the Host desk at least once per week – but sometimes more often! They are also members of the coworking community and you’ll see them around throughout the week.

I was really happy to sit down and learn more about their current business, their background, and how they ended up here in at Impact Hub HNL.


Currently Holger and Suzanne manage Topos Productions and develop digital apps and games. They originally chose the name topos, which means place, location, or opportunity in classical Greek, as the theme for theirSan Francisco.-based special event production and marketing business back in the 1990s. Today, Suzanne explains, instead of curating real-life events, their mobile and web-based app help create customized experiences in the digital sphere.

Over the years, their business model has shifted its focus on creating stronger social impact, aiming to make the world a little better, especially for digitally underserved communities.

One of their larger current projects is the development of an app for people with mild memory problems. The app aims to create a sense of connectedness and importance in people suffering from early Alzheimer’s and other dementias. In addition to reinforcing personal memories, the app connects people with memory problems to their friends and loved ones, helps them stay in touch, and allows them to express their love. Holger and Suzanne are developing the app together with a professor at the John A. Burns School of Medicine and they are currently looking for additional beta testers for the app. If you or someone you know is interested in beta testing the app, please reach out here.

But Holger and Suzanne have not always been app developers – both of them have pretty diverse backgrounds. Suzanne started her career in the meeting and event industry in Washington, DC, and Holger spent many years in the hospitality and transportation industry in San Francisco.

They met while working together at one of the leading destination management and corporate event production companies of San Francisco. In 1996, they took the leap and founded Topos Productions as a special event production company, curating everything from corporate conferences for thousands of people to small, exclusive VIP wine country tours and incentive travel experiences.

The transition to a digital media production and marketing company started early on: their clients started asking them to make websites for their special events and incentive travel programs. In the late 1990s, these were simple ‘brochure’ type sites, and this got Suzanne and Holger to work more often in the digital space. “We look at websites as interactive events, which allowed us to combine our event production skills with website design and online marketing services,” she said.

“Creating a website (or mobile app) is about creating an experience,” says Suzanne, “focusing on the experiential factor in website and app development led us to emphasize user experience as a key component of successful digital media design.” This movement into the digital space meant they could become ‘digital nomads’ in Europe (starting in 2002, before it was a THING!). In 2008, an opportunity for Holger to pursue a PhD by research at the University of Melbourne came along, and Holger and Suzanne left their beloved San Francisco for a four-year stay in Australia.

During their time “down under,” Suzanne worked at the U.S. Consulate General Melbourne and served in the U.S. State Department and U.S. Department of Commerce, helping U.S. companies develop their business in Australia. After four more years of digital nomading, Suzanne and Holger have moved themselves and their business to Hawaii, providing digital media services with aloha.

We’re so grateful that this smart and interesting pair bring their social consciousness and their bright personalities to Impact Hub HNL everyday. Learn more about their business here.

Why I Teach: Civil Beat’s Speaker Series Featuring our Community Manager, Anne Weber

***Update: This event has been rescheduled to Friday, 9/28 due to Hurricane Lane. Tickets for this event will be valid for the new date.

It’s back to school time for many of us, and to celebrate this time of year, Civil Beat is hosting another Hawaii Storyteller event called Why I Teach.

This event features a group of local teacher leaders telling stories of how they became educators. We’re extra excited about this event because our very own Community Manager Anne Weber will be one of the storytellers!

Anne Weber Impact HubMost of you know Anne as the person that keeps Impact Hub HNL running smoothly on a daily basis, but she is also a writer and educator. Anne was a state teacher fellow and she serves on the Advisory Council for the Native Alliance Initiative for Teach for America nationally. Prior to joining Impact Hub HNL, Anne taught elementary school in Waianae at Ma’ili Elementary for four years.

About her calling to teach, Anne says “the work was more rewarding than I could have ever imagined. Teaching indigenous students is close to my heart because I never had native teachers growing up. Students that have teachers they can relate to and see themselves in makes a significant difference in their learning. The rest of the story you’ll just have to come next Friday and hear for yourself.”

Anne Weber Hawaii storytellers

This Hawaii Storyteller’s event, part of a larger series produced by Civil Beat, will feature a group of local teachers offering up a diverse range of storytelling experiences, with each storyteller sharing personal challenges, triumphs, and insights as to what makes teaching in Hawaii so unique.

The featured storytellers for this Moth Radio Hour-style show includes the following storytellers:

  • Hokulani Holt, Kumu Hula of Pau O Hiiaka and Director of Ka Hikina O Ka La and Coordinator of
  • Hawaii Papa O Ke Ao at the University of Hawaii Maui College
  • Douglas Kiang, Computer science teacher at Punahou School
  • Keil Oberlander, English Language Arts teacher at Waianae High School
  • Mahina Paishon-Duarte, Principal of Kanu o ka Aina New Century Public Charter School
  • Christina Torres, English teacher at Punahou School
  • Anne Weber, Community Manager at Impact Hub Honolulu and former teacher at Maili Elementary School

This event will be held at Arts at Marks Garage in Chinatown. Arrive at 6:00 p.m. to enjoy interactive activities and a no-host bar. The event will start promptly at 7:00 p.m. Register here for this event (registration is $10).

Impact Hub HNL Co-Founder George Yarbrough Selected as Omidyar Fellow

We are pleased to share that our very own George Yarbrough has been selected as a member of the sixth cohort of Omidyar Fellows. The cohort is comprised of cross-sector leaders and change makers who were selected through a rigorous application and selection process.

George Yarbrough is an entrepreneur dedicated to Impact Hub Honolulu and Laulea Engineering. Both companies strive to make a better Hawaii. His responsibilities for both include operations, marketing, strategic business development, network and business development, and getting done what needs to be done. His mission for Impact Hub Honolulu is to create a safe place where innovation, collaboration, and growth can happen for all sectors. George’s mission for Laulea Engineering is excel the level in which Hawaii treats and disposes its wastewater. His past professional experience is tied to the public health sector. First, he was with Operation Smile, a global charity that gives free surgeries to those who suffer with cleft lip and cleft palates. George started as a global coordinator and then moved into managing the Africa and Middle East programs. He then moved into the medical team response research field working with the US Department of Defense Center at the Center for Excellence. He graduated from the University of British Columbia with a focus on economic geography and a minor in economics.

The Omidyar Fellows program seeks to cultivate the conditions in which Hawaii thrives by equipping mid-career leaders with the skills and cross-sector relationships necessary to collectively affect societal change. Throughout the initial 15 months of structured curriculum, which begins in October 2018, Cohort VI Fellows participate in a monthly session, executive coaching, conversations with community, business, and government leaders, and more. Following this, the cohort becomes fully engaged in the Forum of Fellows, an active network of currently 70 leaders and change makers, all of whom are dedicated to making positive movement on Hawaii’s most pressing issues. For more about George Yarbrough and the Omidyar Fellows, please check their website: Omidyar Fellows.

 

Humans of Impact Hub HNL: Hawaiʻi Women in Filmmaking

hawaii women in filmmaking

You can support creative endeavors for young women and girls by supporting Hawaiʻi Women in Filmmaking’s Summer Programs crowdfunding campaign!

Hawaiʻi Women in Filmmaking (HWF) is a dynamic team of women that creates opportunities for creative expression and skill-building in film for young women and girls. Their work is focused on amplifying the voices of women, sharing their stories, and providing an opportunity to express their own unique identities through the powerful medium of film. We are so happy to have this passionate team based at Impact Hub HNL!

HWF is made up of Executive Director Vera Zambonelli, Daní Ortiz Padilla as Development & Community Relations, and Valerie Narte, their Filmmaker in Residence.

As a non-profit, ensuring funding for their projects is one of Vera’s primary – and most challenging – tasks. Their current crowdfunding campaign is called Amplify Their Voices.

This crowdfunding campaign is a way to raise funds to support HWF 2018 Summer Programs for Young Women – Making Media that Matters and Reel Camps for Girls. About 90% of the campaign funds will go to scholarships for deserving young women; “Registration fees should never be a barrier for entry for any girls for either of our summer programs,” Vera says.

Making Media that Matters is a filmmaking program where young women develop the technical and critical-thinking skills needed to create both narrative and documentary films. Each session explores and examines social justice issues that impact the lives and communities of these young women.

Reel Camps for Girls is an intensive basic filmmaking and animation programming intended to introduce technical filmmaking skills to produce a short film. The participants are organized in production crews and work together to create films that interrupt gender stereotypes and change the way women view themselves, each other and our future.

HWF is also really clear about their goal: they want to create a safe and creative space for girls and young women to learn valuable technical skills and the tools needed to tell their stories. Film industry statistics regarding women’s involvement in the filmmaking and creative process are pretty dire, and HWF works to redress that inequity. HWF believes that more female involvement in the creative process behind-the-scene affects what we see in front of the screen. Moreover, HWF offers production services for other nonprofits and local businesses and hires HWF graduates. The young women are always paid for their work, and HWF has a policy of never asking the girls to volunteer their time – this allows them to gain marketable skills and earn income, ensuring that even at a young age, they understand the value of their work, time, and brilliance!

These filmmaking programs for young women have been underway for seven years and many former attendees have gone on to become mentors, and mentors to become teachers leading to a virtuous cycle of creative peer-to-peer mentoring.

The crowdfunding campaign culminates on Saturday, May 26 with a Movie Trivia Benefit Night. Register for the event here, learn more about Hawaiʻi Women in Filmmaking here, and if you feel inspired, you can donate to their campaign here.

Wellness Wednesdays: Powering Up Your Productivity with Wildkraft

Wellness Wednesdays are ongoing classes at Impact Hub HNL that allow our multitalented members to share their health and wellness knowledge with our community. To see upcoming events, visit our Facebook events page.

Blair from Wildkraft Herbs

Many of us deal with mid-morning slumps or afternoon crashes. Why do we experience energy crashes of this sort, and how can we improve our productivity throughout the day?

In March we hosted another Wellness Wednesday event called Power Up your Productivity, to help our coworkers and community be their most productive selves. The workshop was taught by Blair Townley, a Western Clinical Herbalist and owner of Wildkraft Apothecary & Clinic, based at Impact Hub HNL.

Blair talked about four areas of optimization in our lives that can help combat the sleepiness, blood sugar crashes, and energy dips: food, sleep, movement, and environment.  She chose this topic because of client needs: “One of the things I see often in clients is need for better focus and clarity, and it’s important to make the connection between diet and lifestyle and our overall energy.”

Her first food tip is to avoid blood sugar spikes by maintaining a healthy diet that reduces simple carbs (like white rice and bread) and instead focuses on fiber-rich vegetables, healthy protein, and healthy fats, which digest slowly for more consistent energy. Blair has lots more tips for healthy blood sugar balancing on her website.

The second main way to keep your productivity high is to ensure you get a good amount of sleep each night. Lack of sleep, even for one night, can lead to impeded memory, reduced multitasking ability, slower creative thinking (thinking outside the box), and can lead to feelings of depression.

To ensure you get enough sleep, blackout your room at night (ie: avoid streetlights, gadget lights, and television), avoiding caffeine after noon (or entirely… scary, I know!), and turning off computers and phones an hour (or more!) before bed.

Other tips for better productivity include getting more movement (if you work here it’s just a five minute walk to the beach), and keeping a clean, organized workspace, which can help your brain feel more free.

If you are seeking further guidance, you can make an appointment with Blair. Wildkraft specializes in plant medicine via custom blended herbal tinctures, teas and tonics made from mostly European and North American plants. Off the shelf offerings include teas and tinctures for immunity, sleep, allergies, grounding, anxiety, depression and digestive support.

You can learn more about Blair’s offerings in this recent clip from KITV Channel 4 news.

Images from  Unsplash

Impact Hub HNL Announces New Head Host, Andrea Bertoli

andrea bertoliWe are pleased to announce that Andrea Bertoli will be joining the Impact Hub HNL team as Head Host!

Andrea has been a member at Impact Hub since we started as the ProtoHub four years ago, and has been a full-time member and host since we opened our doors here in August. As Head Host, Andrea will be working daily to support both our members and our community. She will be helping with our social media, event planning and management, and member engagement.

Members and the community are encouraged to reach out to Andrea with questions about membership, renting event space, ongoing community events and planning, and any suggestions for making the Impact Hub HNL better than ever! You can reach her via email with questions or suggestions.

Andrea is a marketing and media professional focused on mission-driven businesses. She currently manages sales at CleanTechnica, the world’s largest cleantech news website. She has worked at startups, in small businesses, and as a freelancer, and brings years of marketing, event management, and community outreach skills to our team. She’s also a plant-based chef, author, and educator, and teaches monthly cooking classes, manages a wellness website, and is always in the kitchen making delicious foods – which you can peek on Instagram.