Staff

 Administrative Staff

Susan J. Hughes
Executive Director

Julie Olson
Operations Manager

Melissa Chaltron
Program Director

Ty Tanji
Administrative Assistant &
Overseas Missions Coordinator

Dental Clinic Staff

Heather Blackmond
Clinic Director

Kerry Ishihara, D.D.S.
Volunteer Dental Director

Brendt Lum, D.D.S.
Staff Dentist

Crystal Acosta
Kiana Imperial
Nancy Ortiz
Dental Assistants

Ui Saleimoa-Kekahu
Receptionist

Kris Joseph
Chuukese Outreach Worker

Akena Hans
Housekeeping

Dental Volunteers

Maria Adora, D.M.D.
Mark Beavers, D.D.S.
Alison Buccat, D.M.D.
Kenyon Cardoza, D.D.S.
Caryll Fagan, R.D.H.
Lynn Fujimoto, D.D.S.
Gilbert Ing, D.D.S.
Kerry Ishihara, D.D.S.
Ernest Lai, D.D.S.
Chester Naka, D.D.S.
Paul Noto, D.D.S.
Marlon Parato, D.M.D.
Katsuhiko Sano, D.D.S.

Susan J. Hughes
Executive Director

Susan J. Hughes has been the Executive Director of Aloha Medical Mission since August 2010.

She attended college in Switzerland and England and is a graduate of Leeward Community College and California State University, Northridge. She has been the executive director of Hawai‘i Island Chamber of Commerce, Hawai‘i Island Adult Day Care, American Diabetes Association, the Arthritis Foundation and Habitat for Humanity, Leeward O‘ahu. Susan is a Weinberg Fellow and Graduate Fellow and has been a member of the Waikīkī Rotary for 11 years. 

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Melissa Chaltron
Program Director

Melissa Chaltron has been the Program Director since July 2011. Melissa graduated from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech. She has worked for both health and educational nonprofit organizations for more than six years. Prior to joining Aloha Medical Mission, Melissa worked in Programs and Development for the Arthritis Foundation, the American Diabetes Association and the University of South Florida (USF Foundation).

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Kerry Ishihara, D.D.S.
Volunteer Dental Director

Dr. Kerry Ishihara graduated from the University of Washington in 1980 with a B.S. in biology and from the University of Washington School of Dentistry in 1984. He started his dental career as a dental officer in the U.S. Army Dental Corps and was stationed in Yongsan, Korea, and at Schofield Barracks in Honolulu. He departed from active duty 1988 and joined a private practice in Wahiawā, where he continues to practice general dentistry. His military service continued as a member of the Hawai‘i Army National Guard and the Army Reserve until he retired in 2006.

Dr. Ishihara first began as a volunteer dentist in the early 1990s with the Bayanihan Clinic Without Walls' dental clinic at the Co-Cathedral of St. Theresa in Kalihi. He continued when the clinic became part of Aloha Medical Mission at The Institute of Human Service and followed as the clinic moved to its current location at Pālama Settlement.

Dr. Ishihara has participated in overseas missions to Jamaica and the Dominican Republic in response to the call of his Christian faith. His desire is to continue to serve the Lord in whatever way He leads.

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