Matthew Johnson | Executive Director
Pacific Gateway Center, a nonprofit founded in 1973 to serve immigrants, refugees, and other low-income residents, announced today that Matthew Johnson has been appointed its new Executive Director, effective February 1st, 2024.
Johnson’s diverse career has been dedicated to non-profit and business development, entrepreneurship and agriculture. Gregory Pai, the Pacific Gateway Center Board President, said Johnson’s background prepares him well for a social service organization that continues to grow to better serve the community.
“Matt earned his Bachelors’ degree in business administration from Villanova University in Pennsylvania in 2002 and joined the Peace Corp to work in the Philippines. He moved to Hawaii in 2006 to work in the non-profit sector supporting the local agriculture and conservation industries. In 2009 he co-founded Oahu Fresh, a farm to home delivery service and in 2015, he co-founded Oahu Food Hub, a co-working space for local food businesses. “We couldn’t be more excited to have Matt come aboard at this time of significant growth for PGC” said Pai.
“Being tasked with leading Pacific Gateway Center is a great honor,” said Johnson. Combining my economic development experience with supporting the legal and social immigrant services that PGC has been providing since its existence over 50 years ago is an exciting opportunity. I hope to provide the leadership in all these areas to help our community thrive for the next 50 years. PGC is rooted in serving the immigrant and underserved communities and I look forward to continuing its leadership in these core areas” said Johnson.
Hao Nguyen, Ph.D. | Deputy Director Programs
Dr. Nguyen has over 23 years of experience designing, implementing, and directing various programs aimed at pressing issues faced by low-income residents and other socially, economically, and politically disadvantaged and vulnerable populations. He has expertise in community planning and development and urban governance, sustainability, and livability.Dr. Nguyen earned his doctorate from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Born and raised in Hanoi, Vietnam, Dr. Nguyen has lived the experiences of an immigrant, and thus, profoundly and personally embraces and identified with the mission and values of Pacific Gateway Center.
Dr. Nguyen’s native language is Vietnamese and speaks fluent English.
Terrina Wong | Director Social and Immigration Services and Accredited Representative
Mrs. Wong has been acquiring first-hand experiences dealing with social justice issues and global priorities at Pacific Gateway Center and living what she had been teaching as a global educator for 25 years. She is accredited by the U.S. Department of Justice to assist clients in need of legal immigration services as a non-attorney. She serves as Chair of the Language Access Advisory Council of the State’s Office of Language Access. Ms. Wong earned her Master’s Degree in Education at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Ms. Wong lived and studied in France. Ms. Wong has been awarded Small Business Administration 2014 Home-Based Business Champion, State of Hawaii, for her work with small entrepreneurs and the 2016 Spark of Hope Award of the Interfaith Alliance of Hawaii for inspiring work in the community with the disenfranchised.
Terrina’s native language is English and speaks fluent French.
Than Htut Aye | Case Manager
Hailing from Myanmar (Burma), Than Htut Aye is fondly referred to as “Mr. Than” and has been a part of PGC for 15 years.Mr. Than is a trained dentist, graduating from Yangon Dental University where he served as faculty for 9 years. In 2006, Mr. Than received his Master’s degree in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University. In the 1990s, Mr. Than worked as a State Staff Dentist in the Federated States of Micronesia. Following his children who came to the U.S. to pursue their higher education, Mr. Than found himself in Hawaii in 2004 and became a member of the PGC team soon thereafter as a bi-ingual Case Manager to serve an influx of Burmese refugees from Thailand and Malaysia. He enjoys his hobbies of public speaking, cooking, and farming.
Mr. Than’s native language is Burmese and speaks fluent English.
Avemaia I. A’asa, Jr. |
Program Coordinator — Culinary Business Incubator
A pillar among staff and clients at the Pacific Gateway Center, Ave was born and raised in American Samoa and came to the U.S. in 2000 to pursue his education and earned his Associate of Arts degree in informational technology and in 2001, he interned with PGC as a computer instructor. Ave’s current position as the CBI Program Coordinator came about organically because in between training classes, he would hang out with the CBI team and help give tours of the kitchen facility and began to run the CBI program in 2009. He volunteers with Kaukau Wagon, Meals on Wheels, and occasionally finds time for his hobbies of photography and video editing.
Ave’s native language is Samoan and speaks fluent English.
Carmencita P. Centeno | Accounting Manager
As a past President of Kauai Fil-Am Jaycees and past District Director of JCI Hawaii (formerly Hawaii Jaycees), Carmencita is influenced by the Jaycee creed: “And that service to humanity is the best work of life.” She was born and raised in Batac, Ilocos Norte, Philippines and moved to Hawaii in 1980. Carmencita has served as a Board Member for the Kauai Filipino Community Council, and before coming to Honolulu from Lihue, Kauai in 2010, she was the Assistant Controller for The Garden Island Newspaper. Besides Hawaii, Carmencita has spent some time living in Virginia and Kentucky.
Her native languages are Ilokano and Tagalog and speaks fluent English.
Carmen Lee | Program Coordinator, Na Kupuna Makamae Center
As the Program Coordinator at Na Kupuna Makamae Center, Carmen enjoys working with kupuna (seniors), coordinating the free food distribution on Saturdays, and sharing with the community at large stories about NKMC and its history. For both school and work, Carmen has lived in various different places around the world. During her free time, she loves to create art, explore the island, and travel the world.
Carmen’s native language is English and speaks conversational Cantonese.
Board of Directors | 2023-2024
Gregory Pai, PhD President | Retired Economist
Dorothy Douthit PhD, Co-Chair Administration Committee | Adjunct Professor, Hawaii Pacific University
Gregory Kim, Member | Attorney/Founder Vantage Counsel, LLC
Suzanne Chun Oakland, Member | Director, Lanakila Multi-Purpose Senior Center
Vicki Shambaugh, MA, MPH, Secretary, Administration/By-Laws Committee Co-Chair | Executive Director, Pacific Health Education and Research Institute
Ryan K. Hew, Esq., Member | Managing Partner, Hew and Bordenave, LLP Attorney?
Ryan Catalani, Chair, Development Committee | Executive Director, Family Promise of Hawaii
Naomi Masuno, Treasurer, Chair, Finance and Audit Committee | Retired Banker and past District Governor Rotary International District 5000
Jocelyn Howard, Member | Executive Director, We Are Oceania
Demaney Kihe, Member | Vice President and Senior Commercial Banker, Central Pacific Bank
Darrin Sato, Member | Chief Operations Officer, Kalihi-Palama Health Center
Matt Johnson, Ex Officio | Executive Director, Pacific Gateway Center