Twylla Baptiste Joins Ku‘ikahi Mediation Board

Twylla Baptiste was recently elected to Ku‘ikahi Mediation Center’s board of directors. Courtesy photo.

Twylla Baptiste was elected to the board of directors of Ku‘ikahi Mediation Center, East Hawai‘i’s only nonprofit community mediation center.

Baptiste is a self-described small town country girl, born and raised in Waimanalo, O‘ahu. After graduating from Kaiser High School, she got married and had three children. Baptiste worked in the retail and customer service industries before moving to Hawai‘i Island in 1997. She represented Hawai‘i as the Hawai‘i High School Rodeo Queen in Shawnee, Oklahoma.

After completing a tax preparation course offered by H&R Block, she was hired as a tax professional.  Baptiste received her A.A.S. in accounting from Hawai‘i Community College and her B.B.A. in business administration from the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo.  Taketa, Iwata, Hara & Associates hired her in 2007 as a Small Business Specialist. In 2016, Baptiste accepted her current position as a commercial loan underwriter with Central Pacific Bank in their commercial banking department.

Also on the Ku‘ikahi board is retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Douglass Adams; retired HELCO human resources administrator Norman Kawabata; and HELCO director of government, community, and media relations Jennifer Zelko-Schlueter. Other directors include Aaron Brown, Jeri Gertz, Romy Saquing, Sherilyn Tavares and retired judge The Honorable Andrew Wilson.

Ku‘ikahi Mediation Center empowers people to come together—to talk and to listen, to explore options and to find their own best solutions.  To achieve this mission, Ku‘ikahi offers mediation, facilitation and training to strengthen the ability of diverse individuals and groups to resolve interpersonal conflicts and community issues.

For more information, visit Ku‘ikahi Mediation Center online or call (808) 935-7844.