Mahealani Richardson

Serving our community and giving back. Being a parent and working at a children’s hospital, gives you a certain perspective on families in need and helping others.

For the past three years, I’ve served as the director of communications and marketing for Shriners Hospitals for Children — Honolulu and it was more rewarding than I ever imagined. Giving keiki opportunities to appear in the hospital’s award-winning local TV ads; seeing physicians honored in the community; and landing patients’ appearances on Hawaii Five-0 were just some of the highlights. While working at Shriners Hospitals, I did some moonlighting by hosting Insights on PBS Hawaii where I moderated forums for the Governor’s and Congressional races.

Now that I’ve returned to news, I’m coming back to my TV ‘ohana. KGMB hired me as an associate producer right out of college at the University of Pennsylvania and internships at CBS News in New York and Philadelphia. I was promoted to reporter and even worked with my now co-anchor, Keahi Tucker. We were both rookies and have come a long way since those early days.

I moved on to report at KGW in Portland, Oregon and then returned home to anchor the morning news at KITV for eleven years. My most memorable stories include covering President Obama’s first inauguration; interviewing Donald Trump, the Hokulea’s arrival in Easter Island; getting up close to the lava at Kilauea; and hosting and producing the documentary, “War with Iraq, Through the Eyes of Hawaii’s Keiki,” which received an Edward R. Murrow Award.

A Kamehameha Schools alum and 2016 cohort of Pacific Century Fellows, I currently serve on the boards of Friends of Shriners and Ka Honua Momona on Molokai. I’m humbled to be honored with Pacific Business News 2017 Women Who Mean Business Women to Watch.

Nature, dancing, volunteering and spending time with my husband and son, Sky, give me the give me the biggest joys and I’m thankful for the opportunity to inform, enlighten and inspire.