Meet our Ambassadors

We put a message out to the lāhui (our tribe, community) that we were looking to add Ambassadors/Mentors to our team to support the 2022-2023 growth and our call was answered. Our goal was to grow from 8 to 12 Recipients and because of our generous donors we met our expectations! We're excited to announce our three new Ambassadors/Mentors that have been added to the team! Please join me in welcoming Michelle, Dane, and Shane!

Our new Ambassadors embody our vision, and goals and will be an important asset to Ho’omau Foundation and our Recipients.

Meet our Ambassadors


Michelle Valteau

Michelle was born and raised in the Bay Area. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from San Diego State University in 2001, and Master of Arts in Leadership at Saint Mary’s University of California in 2012. As the first member of her family to graduate from college, Michelle knows firsthand the challenges students can experience without proper support while navigating the higher education system and future career development.

Michelle’s connection and love for the Pacific Islander community were instilled through her upbringing. She was brought up in the tradition of Hawaiian culture by her mother, a woman born and raised in Hawaii of Puerto Rican descent.

Professionally, Michelle is a healthcare manager for a major health maintenance organization (HMO), and has worked in the industry for the last 14 years. While attending graduate school in 2011, she discovered her passion for mentoring and coaching others in their education and career pursuits.

Today, Michelle continues to be passionate about sharing her experiences as a means to elevate others in their educational and career pursuits. She is a busy mom of two teenagers and enjoys sharing her love of Hawaiian and Pacific Islander culture with them. We look forward to her inspiring and guiding our Recipients and future generations.


DAne so

Dane was born and raised in O’ahu before moving to the Bay Area to attend college in 2001. He’s a proud graduate of the Hawaii public school system, more specifically Lunalilo Elementary, Washington Intermediate, and Kalani High. He graduated from Santa Clara University in 2005 and has spent the past 15+ years working within the field of finance and accounting at companies based in the Bay Area. He currently works at a cloud software technology company called Postman and is part of the Finance team.

Dane and his wife have been blessed with three kids and they spend the majority of their time enjoying outdoor activities and all that the Bay Area has to offer. He spends almost every year in Hawaii vacationing and visiting family.

Dane has a passion to learn continuously and take on new challenges and I’m looking forward to him sharing his wisdom with our Recipients.

Shane kutaka

Shane was born and raised in Honolulu, HI, and resides in the Bay Area however, he spends a lot of time going back home each month. He’s a proud graduate of Punahou and the University of Denver with a BS, in International Business where he learned how to snowboard. Shane knows firsthand the challenges of living so far away from home and experiencing new weather conditions and longing for home. Shane currently works for Cisco Systems on the Merger & Acquisition Team as an Engineering Integration Project Manager.

Shane has a love for surfing, snowboarding, golfing, and being a soccer player. You can find him out on the “field” every chance he gets. Shane has always thought about being a mentor or giving back to his community. He’s had some great mentors and influencers in his life, through college, and in his professional career, and would like to pay it forward. He knows the guidance and the relationships he built have left a lasting impression on him and he’d like to be able to do the same for others.

We’re excited to have our new Ambassadors join us and so grateful that we are able to bring some amazing individuals and share them with our Recipients.


Contact us to learn how you can become an Ambassador @ admin@hoomaufoundation.org