LEADERSHIP
Dennis C. Maher (President)
President Dennis C. Maher was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He arrived in Hawaii 30 years ago and made the Islands his home. He is currently the Corporate Director of Facilities and Construction for The Sullivan Family of Companies. He is also President and CEO of Genus Hospitality Group Hawaii, a consulting firm.
Mr. Maher also serves the community in other ways as Vice President and Treasurer for the Hawaii Hotel Visitor Industry Security Association and as a Director of Hawaii Lodging and Tourism Associations Engineers Advisory Council. Lastly, he is married and a father of five children, his youngest being on the Autism Spectrum.
Dr. Matt Brink (Secretary)
Dr. Brink is a licensed clinical psychologist with a background in treating adolescents and families, specializing in neurodevelopmental disorders. In his early work he recognized the challenges and deficits in behavioral health care, including quality, sustainability and access to care. He began partnering with community leaders to develop well thought-out, financially sustainable treatment programs that meet the needs of the community. After developing a variety of programs including mental health centers, outpatient clinics, a wilderness therapeutic program and Autism treatment facilities, Dr. Brink opened Malama Pono Autism Centers. In his role at Malama Pono he works to develop and deliver high quality outpatient treatment services for individuals with Autism and related developmental disabilities across the Hawaiian Islands.
Tim Bogan (Treasurer)
Tim Bogan is a senior risk management executive with over 30 years of experience in finance, business transformation, fraud detection & prevention, compliance & risk management, M&A and related integration, IPOs, audit and diversity & inclusion. His executive experience across all aspects of a business allows him to understand processes and issues from different perspectives, including the governance and oversight responsibilities of private and publicly traded boards. A licensed CPA, Tim is certified in both information technology and financial forensics. Working with companies that are undergoing transformation has been an area of expertise for Tim, and during his career he’s led many business transformation efforts including those at Freddie Mac, Levi Strauss and LendingClub Corporation.
DIRECTORS
Evan Nakatsuka (Director)
Evan Nakatsuka has supported the career goals of adults with disabilities for 12 years. He currently serves as the Director of Workforce Programs at Lanakila Pacific where he develops employment pathways and programs for people with disabilities, including individuals with Autism. Prior to joining Lanakila Pacific in 2019, Evan was a Junior Specialist at the University of Hawaii Center on Disability Studies where he coordinated the Post-secondary Support Project, a student support program providing Educational Coaching for UH-System students with disabilities. The most gratifying moments of Evan’s career are seeing people with disabilities succeed in the workplace. Evan was born and raised in Honolulu where he lives with his wife and daughter.
Scott Sutton (Director)
Scott Sutton is a Regional Director for Longs/CVS Hawaii. The focus on healthcare and community support has always been a priority and will continue. Scott has spent time within the healthcare sector for over 30 years and has been an advocate for Autism as well as other aspects.
Scott and his wife Ann have been married for 26 years and have two daughters, 22 Alyssa and 10 Kaci. He has two nephews who are on the spectrum and is passionate about research as well as health/support for those families most in need.
Susie Quitevis Fujikawa (Director)
Susie Quitevis Fujikawa is the director of sales and marketing (DOSM) for the Embassy Suites by Hilton® Waikiki Beach Walk®. She was most recently dual property DOSM, luxury, at Aston Waikiki Beach Tower & ESPACIO the Jewel of Waikiki and held the DOSM role at The Royal Hawaiian, a Luxury Collection Resort prior. In the sales arena, Susie was director of sales – leisure & corporate at Irongate AZREP LLC, Trump International Hotel Waikiki, and was director of sales at Island Air and Hawaii Island Air. Earlier in her career, she launched the LivingSocial Escapes platform in Hawai‘I and worked for Travelocity.com as senior market manager.
Susie currently contributes to the executive boards of Hawai‘I Health & Harm Reduction Center, Pacific Asia Travel Association, Hawai‘I Chapter, and Autism Society of Hawaii.
Volunteer Consultant
Tanya Gamby, Ph.D. (Medical Consultant)
Tanya Gamby, Ph.D. is a Hawaii licensed psychologist and Past- President of the Hawaii Psychological Association. Dr. Gamby grew up on Kaua’i and then trained and worked with some of the top Autism providers in the world. The ABA models that are currently recognized as best practice for children with Autism are based on the pioneering work of Dr. Lovaas and his colleagues. Before moving back to Hawaii, Dr. Gamby was the Associate Clinical Director of the Lovaas Institute (and worked directly with Dr. Lovaas); taught ABA classes at UCLA, and was a staff supervisor on the Lovaas Multisite Replication Project. Prior to working at the Lovaas Institute, Dr. Gamby was a clinic supervisor for Dr. Tristram Smith’s ABA clinic in Washington. Dr. Smith is widely recognized and respected for his extensive research and clinical contributions in the Autism/ABA field. Dr. Gamby has over twenty years of experience doing ABA/early intervention with children with Autism and is excited to be providing quality ABA services to the children of Kaua’i.
Dr. Gamby (along with Lindsey Shepherd, LBA) is co-owner of Autism Services Kaua’i. After years of providing ABA services and serving as consultants to various organizations, Tanya and Lindsey decided to open their dream clinic. They incorporated the best treatment principles and hired the best staff they could find and created a clinic where children are set up for success and the staff is excited to be there.
STAFF
Shelby Maher - Executive Director
Shelby has worked with local non-profit organizations in Hawaii for over 6 years. She is currently the Interim Executive Director for the Autism Society of Hawaii. Along with working on expanding programs, gathering more resources and doing community outreach - Shelby is currently the only registered SibShop (Sibling of special needs individual support group) facilitator in the state of Hawaii.
Shelby has been passionate about making a difference in the Autism community for over 13 years.