Posted on: Monday, August 9, 2004
LEADERSHIP CORNER
CEO seeks business-like approach for Red Cross
Interviewed by Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Staff Writer
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Name: Coralie Chun Matayoshi Age: 48 Title: Chief executive officer Organization: American Red Cross, Hawai'i State Chapter High school: Punahou School, 1974 College: Bachelor of Arts in political science, University of California, Berkeley; JD, Hastings College of the Law Breakthrough job: Being the executive director of the Hawai'i Institute for Continuing Legal Education. "I went from practicing law to being an entrepreneur without any training whatsoever," Matayoshi said. HICLE was going to shut down without an executive director. "I walked into an empty office with no staff, no seminars planned and $50,000 in debt," she said. "I worked excruciating hours and taught myself everything from Lotus to marketing." She left the organization two and a half years later with a $200,000 surplus. Little-known facts: Matayoshi was sworn into the practice of law by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman U.S. Supreme Court justice, in her chambers in Washington D.C. The next Monday O'Connor took the bench. And Matayoshi loves to bake. She makes a great homemade dobash cake and lychee sorbet.
Major challenge: Letting the community know that American Red Cross needs their support in the form of volunteers and donors. There's a misconception that the American Red Cross is a government agency, when it's not, she said.
• • • Q. How was your first year at the helm?
A. It went by so fast. I keep saying that I'm new, but I'm not anymore.
Q. What have you learned this past year — and how hard has it been getting the community to learn what you've learned, too?
A. I knew nothing about the Red Cross, I had no prior knowledge. And you know, a lot of people don't know about what we do. We're a very best-kept secret. And that's been one of my challenges ... People only think of us when there's a hurricane every 10 years, but we respond to disasters statewide every two to three days, providing not only food, clothing and shelter, but mental health counseling and caring compassion to families who might have lost everything they own in a fire or a loved one in a tragedy. We also teach 37,000 people per year how to save lives through first aid, CPR, lifeguard, nurse aid, workplace and babysitter training.
Q. And the American Red Cross has been offering free swim lessons every summer at Ala Moana Beach. That's been a popular program.
A. We've been doing that for 40 years. We provide free swim lessons with trained instructors who volunteer to save lives ... And that goes along with our mission. Drowning is preventable. Thirty-five residents drown a year. That's a lot. And 150 people nearly drown. We can help that. I don't understand how we're surrounded by water and people don't know how to swim.
Q. How is the Hawai'i chapter impacted by the deployment of 10,000 soldiers to Iraq and Afghanistan this past year, with another 2,000 Hawai'i Army National Guard soldiers leaving soon?
A. We're chartered by Congress to help the military in providing emergency communications between deployed soldiers and their families. Even if they're in a submarine halfway around the world, we'll get them the message. We'll bring them home if we have to. We spend $20,000 a year out of our own budget to do this. We get no money from the government for this.
Q. How important, then, are donors?
A. People don't realize how much we rely on donations. Our focus has been on fund-raising ... I'm most proud of coming on board a year ago to a $200,000 budget deficit and ending the year on a very positive note. We did it through hard work, everyone pulling together to cut expenses and the generosity of individuals and donors who believe in our mission of preventing and alleviating human suffering wherever it may be found, to protect life and health and to ensure respect for the human being in times of war and peace. I think it's the lawyer in me that embraces the notion that we will come to the aid of anyone who needs it. You can be black or white, rich or poor, even an enemy of war, and the Red Cross will be there to help because our guiding principle is humanitarianism.
Q. Speaking of being a lawyer, you have an extensive background in law. You've practiced law in Washington D.C., and Hawai'i, served as a mediator, even ran the Hawai'i State Bar Association for 13 years. Do you miss it?
A. I was drawn to law because of the notion that everybody is equal and has rights ... But I didn't like the adversarial nature of it, how sometimes the legal system is driven by people who don't understand it. I figured out I wasn't really happy practicing law and I went soul-searching ... I felt like I would disappoint my parents not knowing what I wanted to do. I had wanted to be a lawyer my whole life. But they gave me space and encouraged me to find myself. It's amazing how things just work out.
Q. What else in your life has prepared you for this role?
A. All the things you think won't matter. Even being (1976) Narcissus Queen helped me when I was being yelled at by judges! (laughs) Everything in life.
Q. What is your goal now for the organization?
A. To change the culture of it. I want to bring a more business-like approach to how we deliver services. I'm learning about how to be a more effective leader from local guru Glenn Furuya of Leadership Works. Glenn taught us that we need to set Big Hairy Audacious Goals and tell people about them. So here it is: The American Red Cross, Hawai'i State Chapter is the best place in the world to work and volunteer because staff and volunteers are coached, nurtured and inspired to do their best. And everyone shows respect and appreciation for one another while delivering excellent customer service to each other and the people of Hawai'i.
