FOCUS MAUI NUI

Maui Economic Development Board’s (MEDB) 12th Annual Hawaii STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) Conference will be virtual this year. Employing the online Hopin conference platform, on April 28th-30th from 9am-12pm, the venue will allow students to experience real-world STEM training applications and see career availability throughout the islands. STEM education has the power to improve all of our lives, said MEDB President and CEO Leslie Wilkins. Our hope is that by equipping our youth with the right skills, tools, and opportunities, we can inspire the next generation of innovators, ensuring a bright future for our community and our world. STEMworks Read more in this week's Focus Maui Nui, also published in today's The Maui News http://www.focusmauinui.com/the-2021-hawaii-stem-conference/

Mitzi Toro, owner of The Maui Cookie Lady, recently opened an incredible upcountry boutique bakery in Makawao Town featuring her original, six-ounce cookie creations. After two years of looking for a store front, she received a call from Barbara Tam, who grew up on the property where Toro’s current commercial wholesale kitchen is located in Makawao. She calls the luck of her new bakery location, pre-ordained cookie destiny. Read the full story in this week's Focus Maui Nui, also published in The Maui News http://www.focusmauinui.com/the-cookie-preneur/

Read how Molokai entrepreneur, Kimberly Svetin, is rising to the challenges brought about by the pandemic. Molokai Drugs was founded in 1935 by Svetin’s late grandfather, Richard Sakata, who was Molokai’s first pharmacist. Svetin currently oversees a staff of 29 employees, most of whom work between the pharmacy and the family’s 48-flavor ice cream shop. Read more in this week's Focus Maui Nui, also published in Wednesday's The Maui News http://www.focusmauinui.com/kimberly-svetin-molokai-entrep/

Ho’oulu Maui Nui is an online resource directory that helps Maui County’s small businesses find local services and products during COVID-19. Ho’oulu means ‘to grow’ and the directory, launched as part of the 2020 Adaptability Fund, was created to help Maui County businesses grow and adapt in a new business climate. A partnership among the Maui County Office of Economic Development (OED), Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB), and various community organizations, the Hooulu Maui Nui Business Directory is a one-stop, online resource for small businesses looking for local service providers, and businesses wanting to reach potential customers by publicizing their services and products. Read more at http://www.focusmauinui.com/hooulu-maui-nui-business-direc/

Read how the Maui County Adaptability Fund assisted Aloha House to address concerns due to physical and technical limitations brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, including setting up socially-distanced workstations. Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) is administering the Adaptability Fund, a program to help local small businesses recover and survive the impacts from COVID-19. http://www.focusmauinui.com/adaptability-fund-assists-aloh/

As we celebrate Women’s History Month across the nation, Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) pays tribute to the late Maui-born Patsy Takemoto Mink, whose extraordinary achievements brought gender equality and other social justice issues to the forefront. Women’s History Month celebrates the contributions women have made to our country and recognizes their specific achievements over the course of American history in a variety of fields. In 1972, Time Magazine named Mink one of 100 women of the year who leveled the playing field, overcame oppression and worked to bring about changes in Hawaii and the world. Read more in this week's Focus Maui Nui, also published on Wednesday in The Maui News http://www.focusmauinui.com/remembering-u-s-representative/

In celebration of Women’s History Month in March, Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) partnered with MBDA EWOC Business Center at YWCA Oahu to present a ‘Women in Business’ seminar series. In the introductory seminar, Getting Small Business Administration (SBA) Certified as a Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB): Opening New Doors of Opportunity, business owners heard about the benefits of becoming certified, such as the opportunity to qualify for grants specified for women-owned businesses. Read more in this week's Focus Maui Nui, also published weekly in The Maui News https://www.focusmauinui.com/women-in-business-seminar-ser/

Maui Nui Marine Resource Council (MNMRC), a nonprofit organization founded in 2007, is recognized for working with the local community to create culturally appropriate and effective science-based solutions to serious threats facing Maui County’s reefs and environment. With unemployment at record levels because of Covid-19, MNMRC was recently a fiscal sponsor of a County of Maui Office of Economic Development (OED) Maui CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security) program. Read full story at http://www.focusmauinui.com/maui-cares-at-work/