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Let us make our future now, and let us make our dreams tomorrow's reality.

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME

​​I am a serial entrepreneur with over 16 years of experience in start-ups, management, marketing and business development. I'm a democrat who's passionate about making our world a better place. Specifically, I want to help those in need, and continue to fight for social justice and equity. I love challenging the status quo and thinking outside the box to find ways to make things better.

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  • I was born and raised in the Bay Area 

  • I went to undergrad in Ann Arbor, Michigan

  • I lived in Los Angeles for 10 years before moving to Honolulu in February 2018

  • My husband, Ben Schuster, and I have been together for 7 years

  • We have a 7-lb Maltese named Guava 

 

WHAT BROUGHT ME TO HAWAII

  • In December 2017, I was recruited to help start a small HR outsourcing company in Hawaii with a mission to support small & medium sized businesses through technology-enabled efficiencies and technology-driven cost savings. 

  • Ben, Guava, and I moved to Hawaii in February 2018. We rented a duplex in lower Nu'uanu and lived there for 3 years before buying our first home in Punchbowl. 

  • We fell in love with the culture, food, and people. Hawaii quickly felt like home.

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MY ORIGINS & FAMILY

  • My parents immigrated to the United States from Taiwan and Singapore in 1981 and met at the University of Texas, Austin the following year (they met over ice-cream in the cafeteria).

  • My mom is a Professor of Community Health Sciences at UCLA. She has been in education and research for over 25 years.

  • My dad is a lifelong entrepreneur who has run his own small business since 1990. At one point, my dad had the #1 toy in Japan (it was an at-home karaoke machine). Now he helps connect American and Asian businesses. 

  • I have two younger siblings. My brother, a USC grad, is an executive music producer living in Beijing. My sister got her undergraduate degree from Georgetown and her masters from UCLA, and now also works in research at UCLA.

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EXPERIENCE & COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT 

  • Kaiser Permanente Hawaii, Director, Sales & Account Management

  • City & County of Honolulu, Department of Housing & Homelessness, Volunteer

  • Hawaii Technology Development Corporation (HTDC), Volunteer

  • Bizgenics Foundation (Shaka Movie, Lemonade Alley), Elected Board Member

  • The Pantry by Feeding Hawai'i Together, Board of Advisors

  • Rotary Club of Downtown Honolulu District 5000, Youth Services Chair​

 

EDUCATION

University of Michigan, Ross School of Business | 2008

  • Bachelors of Business Administration

  • Minor in Economics 

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CORE VALUES​

  • Trust

  • Equity

  • Integrity

  • Transparency 

"Integrity is when you care more for the hard truth than the easy lie."

- Maxime Lagace

"Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and trust and compassion against injustice and lying and greed. If people all over the world... would do this, it would change the earth."

- William Faulkner

RANDOM ​FUN FACTS

  • I can type 132 words per minute (wpm).

  • I competed in Varsity high school gymnastics but never tumbled.

  • I've been a part of the Rotary family since I was 13.

  • We like to eat. Like, really like to eat.

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Live in District 26?

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I'd love to hear what issues are most important to you.

 

valerie@valeriecwang.com

"Alone we can do so little;

together we can do so much."

- Hellen Keller

Together, we can make a difference.

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