2022 LeaderLuncheon Honoree - Jennifer Nakayama

Jennifer Nakayama joined the Waikiki Business Improvement District Association (WBIDA) in June 2017 as the President and Executive Director of the organization. The WBIDA is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in Waikiki, which emphasizes the quality of life, by providing businesses, visitors, employees and residents of Waikiki with a safe, clean and enjoyable environment in which to live, work and play. Established as a non-profit organization, the WBIDA works in partnership with the City and County of Honolulu to develop and implement programs that promote the overall vitality of Waikiki and the State of Hawaii, by strengthening their roles as world-class resort destination areas.

Jennifer Nakayama speaking at the 2022 LeaderLuncheon Meet & Greet on May 8, 2022.

Prior to the WBIDA, Jennifer was at the Hawai‘i Convention Center since 2011 as the Director of Operations and oversaw the daily operation for the divisions of administration, capital improvement projects, engineering and maintenance, security and guest services, housekeeping and janitorial, landscaping and irrigation, information technology and telecom, and sustainability and green programs. She led a team of 60 staff and contract workers, and over $12 million in CIP funding and $8 million in Expense and Operating budgets. Jennifer also had indirect contributions to the Finance, Sales & Marketing, Event Management, and Food & Beverage departments. She developed the Convention Center’s 25-year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Master Plan and represented the Convention Center as a member in the City and County of Honolulu’s Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) for Ala Moana and the Ala Wai/Waikiki Flood Management Plan stakeholder groups, as well as the Waikiki Transportation Stakeholder Oversight Committee convened by the Waikiki Improvement Association. Jennifer was responsible for the simultaneous management of 10 consultant contracts and contractors, as well as upwards of 50 vendors.

During the previous five years before joining HCC, Jennifer supervised a 45-member team and was responsible for $8.6 million in 81 projects at SeaWorld San Diego where she served as Manager of Water Quality and Manager of Design &Engineering. She was in charge of design and construction projects, green initiatives, water quality, and company partnerships. Environmental Impact Report (EIR) mitigation projects included concept design, architectural design & engineering, permitting, bidding, construction, post-construction, and operation. Jennifer also conducted master planning and corporate initiatives such as an annual CIP matrix evaluation with all departments park-wide. Prior to SeaWorld, Jennifer worked at the San Diego County Water Authority and was responsible for contributing to strategic planning for the agency’s $1.8 billion CIP and 30-year Master Plan and was also the deputy project manager on a of $300 million, 15-year, Design-Build-Operate (DBO) contract.

Jennifer is licensed as a Civil Engineer in the states of Hawai‘i and California and she is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), where she volunteers her time on the national level of the organization. As the Past Chair of the Committee on Pre-College Outreach (CPO), Jennifer lead the ASCE initiatives and outreach programs for the nation’s Pre-K through Grade 12 youth. As a member of the Committee on Student Members (CSM), she took part in ASCE’s involvement in university and college student chapter programs and awards, including oversight at the regional student ASCE conferences taking place each year. As a corresponding member of the Member Communities Committee, Jennifer was involved in the larger look at ASCE’s member groups, such as Regions, Sections, and Branches and the Committee on Younger Members (CYM).