Meet the Akinaka & Associates Team

Ken C. Kawahara, P.E.
President

Joni C. Tanimoto, P.E.
​Executive Vice President

​Ken has over 27 years of civil engineering experience.  Prior to joining Akinaka & Associates, Ken served as Deputy Director for the State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, Commission on Water Resource Management.  He implemented the State Water code statue, rules and directives of the Commission to protect and manage the groundwater and surface water resources for all the Hawaiian islands.

His professional experience in both the private and public sectors includes planning, design, contracting, construction, construction management, regulatory compliance and environmental quality monitoring.  

In his spare time, Ken enjoys being outdoors and helping others. Ken coaches and plays sports, and loves the ocean.

Interesting facts about Ken:
What made you become an engineer?
I wanted to be a problem solver. My late Uncle Alfred Yee was my major inspiration. Although he was a well accomplished structural engineer and a pioneer in precast concrete, he never forgot where he came from. He was always humble, thoughtful and took time to talk with others.

Favorite movie? The Magnificent Seven

What would your super power be? 
​The ability to heal others.

Favorite comfort food? Anything from the ocean. I love seafood!

Favorite subject in school? Physics. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Sounds a lot like life.

With over 17 years of experience, Joni is the Executive VP and Director of Engineering for the firm.  She is responsible for principal project management, monitoring of work effort and quality control. Joni has worked in the state of California as a project engineer on projects ranging from utility improvements to large shopping centers. She is a licensed engineer in the State of California & Hawaii.

As a mom of two very active kids, Joni has no free time. When not at work, she is "soccer mom", "baseball mom", "dance mom", and "jiu jitsu mom".

​Interesting facts about Joni:
What made you become an engineer? 
I was inspired to be an engineer in the 7th grade when my math teacher had us compete in a school-wide toothpick bridge building competition. Our team won and moved on to complete in the island-wide competition where we got to meet and work with a variety of civil engineers. The rest is history as here I am today, still fulfilling that vision.

Favorite movie?
The Day After Tomorrow

What would your super power be? 
Flying, so I can avoid traffic

Favorite comfort food? 
Fried Fish

Favorite subject in school? 
​Physics

Robert Y. Akinaka, P.E.
​Chairman

Robert (Bob) started his engineering career over 50 years ago.  He started working at Akinaka & Associates as a civil engineer and eventually served as the firm's president from 1984 to 2003.  Currently he is the chairman of the company and is involved with the marketing and strategic planning for the firm.

Bob is involved in many community organizations such as the Kalihi YMCA, Stanford University Alumni Association, Stanford Club of Hawaii, Punahou Alumni Association, U.H. No Koa Football Booster Club, and Mayor's Cup Committee Hawaii Island United Way.

Over the years Bob has received many awards & honors including:

• George Warren Fuller Award, AWWA Hawaii Section

• Honorary Member, AWWA National Section

• Chapter Honorary Member, Chi Epsilon Fraternity

• Hawaii Society of Professional Engineers, Engineer of the Year

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• Punahou School Alumni Association, "O" in Life Award

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• University of Hawaii College of Engineering, Outstanding Service

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• Hawaii Council of Engineering Societies, Lifetime Achievement Award

Scott A. Kunioka, P.E.
Project Manager

Scott has over 35 years of experience in civil engineering.  He is experienced in water developments, drainage, parks, and roadways.  He has provided infrastructure support for many projects throughout the State including the Hawaii Convention Center.

​In his spare time he likes to play softball & golf, go fishing and drink good wine and beer.

Interesting facts about Scott:
What made you become an engineer? 
My dad suggested it

Favorite movie? 
The Natural

What would your super power be?
Predicting the future

Favorite comfort food? 
​Pho

Favorite subject in school?
​Lunch, then Math

Gregg H. Kuwahara, P.E.
​Project Manager

Gregg has 11 years of experience in civil engineering.  He is experienced in water development, water design and permitting.

In his spare time, Gregg likes to spend time with his family and friends, travel, play and watch sports.

Interesting facts about Gregg:
What made you become an engineer?
I felt like I was good at math and science in school

Favorite movie?
Transformers

What would your super power be?
Telekinesis

Favorite comfort food?
Pizza

Favorite subject in school?
Math

Lauren R. Doo, P.E.
​Project Manager

Lauren has 8 years of experience in civil engineering. She is experienced in utility design, roadway design, and technical report writing. 

Outside of work, Lauren likes to travel to new places, exploring the local sites and enjoying the food. When she's not planning the next adventure, she likes to read, hike, play tennis, experiment with new recipes, play with her rabbits and spend time with family and friends.

Interesting facts about Lauren:
What made you become an engineer? I like being able to see things I work on become a reality and get built. Plus having the opportunity to be outside and not necessarily at a desk all day is a bonus.

Favorite movie? Count of Monte Cristo

What would your super power be? Teleportation hands down!

Favorite comfort food? 
Spaghetti and meat sauce

Favorite subject in school? 
​Poly (ukulele) band

Benjamin M. Ganal, L.P.L.S.
​Senior Designer

Ben has been working in the engineering field for 49 years.  He is a licensed surveyor and as a Senior Designer he leads the production of reports, exhibits and permits.  He is experienced in subdivision design and land mapping.

Interesting facts about Ben:
What made you become an engineer? Math and Mechanical drawing were my favorite subjects in high school

Favorite movie? Sneakers (1992) staring Robert Redford, Dan Aykroyd, and Sidney Poitier

What would your super power be?
​Being able to retain and process information at super speeds to solve problems

Favorite comfort food? Depends on what I crave at that time .... Korean, Japanese, Filipino or Vietnamese, Hawaiian.  In other words, I'm not particular.

Favorite subject in school?
Hydraulics and Surveying

Gavin M. Ganal, P.E.
​Project Engineer

Gavin has been working with Akinaka & Associates for the past 17 years, starting his career as an intern.  Gavin is experienced in subdivision design and drainage design.  In his spare time, he likes to spend time with family and friends.

Interesting facts about Gavin:
What made you become an engineer? 
​My professional sports career fell through so I had to go with my second option.
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Favorite movie? 
No specific movie, but really love Game of Thrones

What would your super power be? 
Breathing under water

Favorite comfort food? 
​Ramen or Pho. Or pie from Hawaiian Pie Company. Or any pie, so pizza too.  Any good burger. Donuts. Root beer floats.

Favorite subject in school? 
​​Physics

Shane A. Sasaki
​Junior Engineer

Shane is a Junior Engineer with Akinaka & Associates.  In his spare time, he likes to listen to music, go to the gym, and spend time with friends.

Interesting facts about Shane:
What made you become an engineer? 
​I consider myself a deep thinker and have always enjoyed learning math & science. Aside from that, my grandfather and role model Fred Takakawa, was a civil engineer for HDOT Highways for many years, was a great influence in my becoming an engineer.
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Favorite movie? 
The Interview

What would your super power be? 
To eat as much as I want with no consequences

Favorite comfort food? 
​Chicken Katsu Curry

Favorite subject in school? 
​​Physics

Joseph S. Keane Jr.
​IT Specialist

Lori T. Tsukada
Accounting/Human Resources

Darnelle J. Chung
​Administration

Joe has provided IT management to the firm for over 37 years.  In his spare time, he likes to surf.  Quote: "I'm no Kelly Slater but I stayed at the Holiday Inn once."

Interesting facts about Joe:
Favorite movie?
Deadpool

What would your super power be?
Flying

Favorite comfort food?
Furikake Chex Mix

Favorite subject in school?
Saturdays, Sundays and Holidays

Lori is the numbers and employee benefits specialist of the office.

Interesting facts about Lori:
Favorite movie?
Hallmark Channel movies

What would your super power be?
The ability to heal

Favorite comfort food?
Chocolate covered gummy bears

​Favorite subject in school?
Art, an easy "A"

Darnelle takes care of all the administrative duties in the office including developing marketing materials, SOQ Submittals and all tasks that no one else in the office wants to do. 

In her spare time, she likes to bake, watch movies, spending time with her family, going to her kids baseball, volleyball and basketball games, and listening to band geeks from KMS play music.

Interesting facts about Darnelle:
Favorite movie? Grease

What would your super power be?
All encompassing genie powers similar to I Dream of Jeannie

Favorite comfort food? ​Bacon and movie theater popcorn with butter
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Favorite subject in school? Math