Launching and Growing Mana Up
Co-founders Meli James and Brittany Heyd worked with Pineapple Tweed to launch MANA UP in 2017. Having brainstormed with the founders on aspects of this brand-new economic growth engine platform for Hawaii, PT was uniquely positioned to assist with the growth of Mana Up by providing public relations counsel and services, as well as introductions that resulted in community partners such as Hawaiian Airlines and DFS. Mana Up’s accelerator program for Hawaii-based consumer brands and its venture capital fund are rapidly moving towards meeting Mana Up’s goal of creating Hawaii’s next 100 product companies earning more than $10 million in annual revenue.
Building Mana Up’s Leadership and Impact
In addition to ongoing PR counsel, PT provided press releases, media pitching and interview preparation for each new partnership, program, showcase and cohort. PT positioned the two co-founders as leaders with successful nominations for award programs such as Hawaii Business’ 20 for 20, PBN’s Women Who Mean Business and 40 Under 40, PT provided talking points/talks for appearances and local club programs. To gain more traction as an economic growth engine, PT suggested annual economic impact reports that clearly demonstrated the program’s success.
Ongoing Partnership and Mentorship with Mana Up
Mana Up hired a communications and marketing manager in 2020 who meets regularly with PT for guidance, ideas and support. PT is a Mana Up partner, participating in cohort selection interviews and providing public relations and marketing mentoring to cohort companies.
Hawaii Green Growth: From Inception to Leadership
PT was asked to join HAWAII GREEN GROWTH, a public-private partnership in 2012. PT was involved in hiring the current CEO, developing the Aloha+ Challenge, initiating the Sustainability Business Forum (SBF) and developing a formal governing structure, including serving as the first chairman of the board of directors.
Driving Communications and Advocacy for Hawaii Green Growth
Acting as communications chair, PT was in charge of the media (press releases, pitching for stories and interviews, editorial board, talks at local organizations, ideas for social media posts, TV morning show series, opinion editorials) for the launch of the Aloha+ Challenge, the establishment of the Dashboard, UN 2030 Hub, SBF and other milestones reached by HGG.
PT continues to work with the internal PR personnel to provide media pitches, talking points, concepts, drafts and editing for editorials and development and guidance on communications and branding plans.
The Aloha+ Challenge and UN Recognition
The United Nations (UN) recognizes that as an island economy, Hawaii serves as a microcosm for the challenges facing the planet and is well positioned to be a laboratory to develop scalable models for sustainability. The Aloha+ Challenge with its six social, economic and environmental sustainability goals, was developed in 2014, aligned with the state’s 2030 goals, prior to the UN’s 17 sustainability goals and serves as a local framework for implementation. A groundbreaking public dashboard provides transparency and accountability and is a model for other governments. As a result, the UN invited HGG to become the first Local 2030 sustainable hub, the only Hub in the Pacific Region.
Voluntary Local Reviews: Showcasing Hawaii’s Progress
PT edited the first Voluntary Local Review in 2020, the only state to submit this document that summarizes progress on the sustainable goals provides benchmark data and identifies challenges. VLRs are submitted by cities and regions across the world. PT wrote and edited the 2023 VLR and conceptualized the content, including providing the graphics.
