From Modest Beginnings to Women Distinction
Each came from a humble start in life, but Karen Chang, Sharon Weiner and M.R.C. Greenwood didn’t let that, or anything else, deter them. One key to success, they agree, is the willingness to take risks.
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hired at a PR firm in Chicago, then went on to work at Levi Strauss & Co. in San Francisco, where she rose to be the manager of equal employment for women and minorities. At the time, however, Weiner’s success in the company was certainly an exception to an unwritten rule.
“In 1971, the most lucrative job to have in the company was to be a sales person,” Weiner explains. “And there were 593 salespeople. Not one woman. Not one woman in sales.”
Weiner moved to Hawaii in 1973 to pursue an MBA at University of Hawaii Manoa. After earning her MBA, she worked for a couple of advertising agencies before starting Stryker Weiner & Yokota.
“I always had two objectives in my mind,” Weiner recalls about her initial business plan. “One was to make a difference and raise the level of quality of public relations in Hawaii. And the second was to sell my company to somebody born and raised in Hawaii. Because every ad agency and PR firm at the time was run by people from the Mainland, and I really felt that I could nurture local talent.”
In 2000, she realized that goal and sold the company to Neal Yokota, a local whom she had worked with for thirteen years. Weiner meanwhile joined DFS Group, where she coordinates international internal communications and local government relations.
All three women agree that they would not be where they are today without working hard and taking risks.
“I think the idea of taking risks is very important,” says Weiner. “When I was starting my own business, there’s that waking up at two in the morning saying ‘oh my God, there is everything at stake here.’ And then that passes, and you’ve got a choice. And you say either I go forward or I don’t.”
For these women of distinction, it’s clear that going forward is the only option.
Chang is very focused on her work with Hawaii Pacific Health to improve the quality and cost of healthcare, as well as her work with Farmers Insurance. Greenwood has big plans for UH and is in the process of working to improve its programs. When Weiner retires from DFS at the end of the year, she will continue to work with the company as a part-time consultant, as well as keep up her involvement with a variety of organizations, including Japan-America Society of Hawaii and the Hawaii Tourism Authority.
As Weiner tells the women about her impending retirement, Chang turns to her.
“You are not retiring,” Chang says to Weiner. “You are rewiring.”
Greenwood and Weiner nod knowingly, and it’s clear that Chang is not just speaking about Weiner. She is talking about herself and Greenwood, too, and really everyone who strives to make a difference in the world.
“Because we don’t retire. Do you think you’ll ever really retire?” Chang asks the group. “We rewire.”
The Woman of Distinction Dinner will take place Nov. 16 at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in the Coral Ballroom, from 5:30 to 9 p.m. In addition to dinner, the event will include a silent auction, an award presentation ceremony and a video featuring Girl Scouts interviewing the honorees. For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Kristi Cardoso at 675-5516 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Individual seats are $250; table sponsorships are also available.
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