MEDIA RELEASE

Ulupono Initiative, a Hawaii-based firm working to improve the quality of life for residents by investing in producing more locally grown food, increasing renewable energy and reducing waste, has announced the appointment of two new team members:

* Amy Hennessey, APR has joined Ulupono as its director of communications to provide strategic communications counsel. As part of Ulupono’s senior management team, Hennessey provides input on investment decisions, relationship management and operations.

Hennessey has more than 15 years of experience in communications strategy in Hawaii. Prior to joining Ulupono, she served as the director of foundation communications for Hawaii Pacific Health and was a vice president at McNeil Wilson Communications.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism/public relations and a minor in marketing and management from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where she is a lecturer, educating on public relations strategies.

Hennessey also serves as the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) – Hawaii Chapter’s professional adviser to the UH Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA). She also volunteers on the boards of the American Marketing Association Hawaii Chapter and the University of Hawaii Alumni Association.

* Greg Gaug has joined Ulupono as a senior associate and will support investment efforts within the organization, including the evaluation and development of investment strategies, performing due diligence, creating and maintaining financial models, structuring transactions and providing support and oversight to funded organizations.

Prior to joining Ulupono, Gaug was most recently the head of strategy and financial planning at StubHub, an online tickets marketplace and subsidiary of eBay. He also served as an investment banking analyst at SG Cowen & Co. focusing on high growth technology companies.

Gaug graduated from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Science in Economics. He earned a Master of Business Administration from INSEAD, while livingi in in in Singapore.

Rooted in the wisdom that a healthy environment and a healthy economy go hand in hand, Ulupono Initiative invests in innovative Hawaii-focused businesses and philanthropic organizations to catalyze large-scale economic and social change. Ulupono Initiative was launched by the Omidyar family in 2009.

— Find out more:
www.uluponoinitiative.com