Jason Antonio

Name Jason Antonio

Age 45

Town/Moku Hilo

Island Hawaiʻi Island

Leadership Category Business Development

Nominated by Kirra Downing

Share with us a little about yourself and what you do.

I am a Native Hawaiian small business owner originally from Hilo, Hawaiʻi, now residing on Oʻahu. I am a founding partner and VP of Design at DTL, a creative agency with a respected reputation within our community as a creative interpreter of culture through planning and design.

Why is the work that you do important to you? The community?

Our deep understanding and knowledge of Hawai‘i’s sensibilities and sensitivities has resulted in successfully facilitating dialogs, bridging perspectives and developing appropriate collaborative solutions to both challenging issues and exciting opportunities within our community. The work we do is important to me, because as a native Hawaiian, I have the opportunity to contribute to and help navigate the future for my lāhui.

Share with us the qualities of leadership you admire and how you express those in your life.

There are many qualities that make a good leader. Three that I personally admire are leaders that empower others, encourage perseverance, and those that lead by example. I am mindful of these qualities in my own business as well as my personal life. I empower my staff by ensuring every member of the team has what they need to succeed – both physically and mentally. Success takes perseverance. Every job or project has its challenges; however, these are opportunities to think creatively and show our teams the importance of adapting and to keep going. Finally, qualities such as patience, organization, decisiveness, empathy, and positivity are all important pieces of the puzzle when it comes to inspiring others to follow my lead. By displaying these qualities, I hope it sets the right example for my staff as well my own family to encourage them to take leadership roles.

Who has inspired you to do the work that you are doing?

My business partners inspire me every day. They are all strong and brilliant Native Hawaiians who are all dedicated and passionate about putting community and culture at the forefront of the work we do.

What is one word that describes something you are excited about for the lāhui?

Progression

What is one word that describes a pressing issue that is facing our lāhui?

Leadership