Dr. Carl Bonham was a founding member of UHERO in 1997 and currently serves as  UHERO’s Executive Director and Professor of Economics. Carl’s research interests include macroeconomics, applied econometrics and forecasting, tourism economics, and the Hawai`i economy. His current research focuses on mixed frequency models for nowcasting inputs for UHERO’s quarterly Hawaii Forecasting System. Recent publications include, “Forecasting in a Mixed Up World: Nowcasting Hawaii Tourism”, with Ashley Hirashima, James Jones, and Peter Fuleky in the Annals of Tourism Research, and “A Policy Analysis of Hawaii’s Solar Tax Credit” with Makena Coffman, Sherilyn Wee and Germaine Salim in Renewable Energy. Dr. Bonham is a member of the State of Hawaii Council on Revenues, and the House Select Committee on Covid-19 Economic and Financial Preparedness.

As chief administrator of Kilohana, Gomes oversees all of CNHA’s destination stewardship initiatives and activities, including managing staff, budgets, grants, contractors and day-to-day operations; leading strategic planning, coordination and implementation efforts; and serving as the main interface on tourism issues, policies and projects with community stakeholders, industry officials and federal, state and county decisionmakers. Gomes received his J.D. & Certificate in Native Hawaiian Law from the William S. Richardson School of Law and a B.A. in Hawaiian Language from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. He is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools and a native of the Maunawili area in Kailua, O‘ahu.

Leslie Wilkins joined the Maui Economic Development Board, Inc. (MEDB) in 1999 to launch its Women in Technology Project (WIT), which serves a statewide constituency of more than 20,000 students, teachers, and industry members each year, including administering regional partnerships. Leslie has served in state and national leadership roles with the Business & Professional Women’s Organization for more than two decades, including national president and foundation chair in 2001-2002. Prior professional experience included a decade in Hawaii’s commercial banking industry and private practice consulting with non-profit organizations on program development, revenue diversification and proposal writing.