Hannah Preston-Pita
Name Hannah Preston-Pita
Social Media @hannah_preston_pita
Age 49
Town/Moku Hilo; Waiakea Uka
Island Hawaiʻi Island
Leadership Category Education
Nominated by Raquel Chang
Miriama Laulu
Share with us a little about yourself and what you do. I am the Chief Executive Officer for the Big Island Substance Abuse Council. I have been leading the agency for over a decade. I am community minded and my passion is working with the Native Hawaiian community. I truly believe in working alongside my team and the clients that I serve. I have developed several programs which provide services for rural under-served areas. I am always inspired by the individuals that I serve. To see them thrive fills my cup and drives me to continue to provide more opportunities for my community. In my spare time I love spending time with my 'Ohana and writing children's books.
Why is the work that you do important to you? The community? The work that I do is important to me because I am able to provide opportunities for individuals and give them a second chance. The work that I do is stigmatized and often shunned upon by society. I see clients who are contemplating suicide, hitting bottom, helpless and desperate to get their lives back. To see them transform, find purpose, thrive, and get their lives back is what sustains me and inspires me to continue the work. When we are able to treat the individual it results in helping their families, and their communities. Ultimately, we have a healthier and thriving Lahui.
Share with us the qualities of leadership you admire and how you express those in your life. There are so many qualities of a good leader. The ones that I admire the most are: visionary, dependable, focus on developing others, and they are servant leaders. Within my own life I express the qualities by: I am a visionary leader because I am a natural pivoter and I am able to flex when necessary, think outside of the box and I am able to bring out the best in my team by utilizing their strengths; I am dependable because people can rely on me, I am consistent, and I hold myself accountable; I focus on developing others by mentoring future leaders. I truly believe that recognizing strengths and providing guidance can help create a culture of leaders who can help support change and create a thriving community; I am a servant leader because I believe is supporting others and growing communities.
Who has inspired you to do the work that you are doing? The ones that inspired me to do the work that I am doing are my parents. From them, I learned the value of hard work, respect for others, and resilience. They have taught me that success is not a measure by your credentials or job position but it is measured by what you do to help others and inspire change.
What is one word that describes something you are excited about for the lāhui? Resilience
What is one word that describes a pressing issue that is facing our lāhui? Substance Use