Ku‘ikahi Mediation Center Elects New Board Members

The Ku‘ikahi Mediation Center announces that Julie Hugo and Jennifer Ng were elected to the board of directors of the East Hawai‘i’s sole nonprofit community mediation center.

Julie Hugo

Julie Hugo is the oldest of seven children in what she calls “an athletic and outgoing Hawaiian family.” She was raised in Kailua on O‘ahu and has spent most of her life in Hawai‘i. Schooled at Kamehameha Schools and Stanford University, she has lived in Hilo with her husband Jeff Melrose (now deceased) since 1990.

A Realtor, Hugo is currently Vice President and Broker-in-Charge for Clark Realty Corporation – Hilo. She spent about a dozen years in project management and marketing for resort developments on both Hawai‘i Island and Moloka‘i. With over 30 years of active participation in community organizations under her belt, Hugo has served as President of the Hawai‘i Island YWCA, Hilo Habitat for Humanity, Hilo Toastmasters, and the Rotary Club of Hilo Bay. She currently serves on the board of directors for Hawai‘i Information Service, the MLS owned by Hawai‘i Island Realtors and Kaua‘i Board of Realtors.

Jennifer Ng

Jennifer D.K. Ng was raised in Hilo, Hawai‘i. After residing and practicing law on O‘ahu for over ten years, she and her husband moved back to Hilo to raise their two children.

She is a partner at Ng & Patel, LLP, a law firm focusing on estate planning and trust and probate administration/litigation. A graduate of Waiākea High School, Ng received her B.A. in Psychology from the Robert D. Clark Honors College at the University of Oregon and her J.D. from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, William S. Richardson School of Law, where she was a member of the University of Hawai‘i Law Review. Ng began her legal career as law clerk to the Honorable Riki May Amano (retired) and thereafter worked as an associate at the Honolulu law firm Kessner Duca Umebayashi Bain & Matsunaga (currently Kessner Umebayashi Bain & Matsunaga). She also worked as a Deputy Public Defender for the State of Hawai‘i Office of the Public Defender and as a Deputy Corporation Counsel for the County of Hawai‘i Office of the Corporation Counsel. Ng serves on the board of directors of the Hawai‘i County Bar Association and the Andrews Athletic Association as treasurer.

Also on the Ku‘ikahi board are Doug Adams, President; Andy Wilson, Vice President; Norm Kawabata, Treasurer; Jennifer Zelko-Schlueter, Secretary; and directors Twylla Baptiste, Aaron Brown, Jeri Gertz, Romy Saquing and Sherilyn Tavares.

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, call Ku‘ikahi at (808) 935-7844 or visit online.