FASDHawaii.org raising awareness at the Hawai’i State Capital on March 2, 2023.
Welcome to the launch of Dr. Ann’s FASD Blog.
This month is a time to emphasize no amount of alcohol consumption
Amanda has more than two decades of diverse experience in supporting people, programs, and systems to nurture and grow healthy families, including many years as a teacher, clinician, director, and community consultant. She appreciates kindness, good humor, curiosity and reflection, and facilitating things that support mutual respect, positive growth, and balanced wellness for the lāhui.
Claire is a Bachelor of Social Work student with the Thompson School of Social Work and Public Health at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She will be completing the field work component of her Bachelor’s degree as an intern for the Hawaii FASD Action Group and graduate in May of 2025.
Ms. Batzer is an attorney focusing in the practice of child law. She has been a child advocate since 2012, and works on custodial and child welfare issues throughout the Hawaiian Islands. She believes that every child deserves a safe, loving, and happy home. Ms. Batzer served twenty-two years in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, retiring in Hawaii. Ms. Batzer serves as Secretary and Director on the Hawaii FASD Action Group Board of Directors.
Ms. Batzer grew up in New York, and as she moved to Maryland to attend college, she became a citizen of the world. Her military service has taken her to Georgia, the Military District of Washington D.C., Turkey, Kansas, the Republic of South Korea, and, finally to Hawaii, where she met and married her husband, Dr. Wayne Batzer, a child and adolescent psychiatrist. They enjoy wide-flung dive travel adventures, the occasional cruise, and hold Palau as a dear place in their hearts. That said, they love the magic they find here in the Hawaiian Islands, and are always happiest exploring their wonders.
Ms. Batzer holds a Master of Laws in Child and Family from Loyola University of Chicago, a Juris Doctor and Master of Social Work from the University of Hawaii, a Master of Science in Information Systems from Hawaii Pacific University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Johns Hopkins University. She believes you should never stop learning, and recently completed her Child and Family Forensics Certificate from the William James College Center of Excellence in Children, Family, and the Law. In 2015, she was honored to be recognized as co-author of an article published in Trauma, Violence & Abuse: A Review Journal (Batzer, S., Berg, T., Godinet, M. & Stotzer, R. (2015). Efficacy or chaos? Parent-child interaction therapy in maltreating populations: A review of research. Trauma, Violence & Abuse: A Review Journal, 16.).
Erika Phelps Nishiguchi, MD is a board-certified Developmental Behavioral Pediatrician with strong interest in improving access to diagnosis and interventions for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities. She joined Hawai’i Pacific Health and JABSOM in early 2023 after completing sub-specialty training at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland and Seattle Children’s Hospital.
She became interested in FASD due to interest in adoption medicine, environmental impacts on early childhood development, and sensitivity to concerns with race-based instruments used in medicine. Concerns for bias, stigma, and the challenges facing general pediatricians and subspecialists in identifying and diagnosing FASD led Erika to join a working group within the American Academy of Pediatrics to update the Academy’s Clinical Report on FASD. This group is also authoring a Technical Report on cultural considerations in the diagnosis and management of FASD. The AAPI population is not well represented in the current evidence base for FASD, which drives Erika’s particular interest in learning more about FASD in the populations in our state.
The reason I reached out to participate with FASD is because of my work with families who have loved ones with developmental disabilities. They often thank us for having a program that allows families to provide needed services by family and friends, and I began to realize that those with FASD may not have that opportunity. My goal is for FASD to be recognized as a diagnosis that will allow families and individuals to obtain needed services at every stage of life, with the goal of a better quality of life for themselves and their families. With my experience in this field, contacts, and networking abilities I can enhance the education and advocacy work being done by the FASD Action Group to bring these goals to fruition.
Sina P. Pili is a Pacific Islander woman of Native Hawaiian and Samoan ancestry raised in La’ie on the North Shore of Oahu. Married to Davis Pili and together they have four precious children. In her personal time, she enjoys spending quality family time, traveling, eating good food, and serving within her home community and church capacity.
With over ten years working in the social work and behavioral health field, Sina has experience working with children, youth, adults and families. Sina is a Behavioral Health Specialist for the Department of Education.
She is an advocate for FASD awareness and informed services within the school systems. She has participated annually in the summer academy statewide training for the School Based Behavioral Health Department presenting on FASD informed services and strategies to work with students diagnosed with FASD. She continues to provide FASD awareness & education by presenting to organizations such as Parent & Children Together, Leadership in Disabilities & Achievement of Hawai’i Traveling Mini Conference, and etc. provided through the Hawai’i FASD Action Group. Sina is the lead facilitator for the Hawai’i FASD Action Group Parent & Caregiver Support group.
Sina received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the Brigham Young University-Hawai’i and then a Masters in Social Work from the University of Hawai’i. She is a student in the PhD Social Welfare program at the University of Hawai’i with research interests in perinatal mental health, children’s mental health, Prenatal Alcohol Exposure, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, and FASD Behavioral Health informed services in school systems.
Jane Onoye is an Associate Professor in the Research Division of the University of Hawaiʻi JABSOM Department of Psychiatry, with more than 15 years of experience as a mental health researcher in areas of maternal/child health, alcohol/substance use, and injury/violence prevention, and as an evaluator for a diverse range of projects and programs in Hawaiʻi. She has been most recently involved in several projects funded by the Hawaiʻi Department of Health Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division (ADAD). Dr. Onoye served as the Principal Investigator for the Hawaiʻi Student Alcohol, Tobacco, and Drug Use (ATOD) Survey, which was a statewide school-based needs assessment for youth alcohol and substance use prevention and treatment.
She also serves as the Director for the ADAD State Plan project Systems of Care Implications Core, which examines the current literature and available data systems to describe the intersections of substance use among public sectors and disparities related populations with implications for Hawaiʻi’s systems of care. Dr. Onoye was also the lead evaluator for the Hawaiʻi Department of Health Core State Violence and Injury Prevention Program, and is currently the Evaluation Director for the Hawai‘i IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) Program.
Selected Publications & Reports Related to Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders:
Onoye, J. M., & Thompson, M. D. (2017). Challenges and progress in building a comprehensive statewide system for fetal alcohol spectrum disorders prevention in Hawai’i. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 21(5), 1002-1009.
Pascal, E., Onoye, J., & Hayes, D. (2014). Impact of a perinatal support services program on alcohol risk reduction in an ethnically diverse population. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 38 (s1), 258A.
Ann is a psychologist and marriage and family therapist with a certificate in the treatment of alcohol and other chemical dependencies. Over her 35 years of practice, she provided technical assistance to federal government agencies, consulted to community agencies several who served bilingual and monolingual clients and published and lectured nationally on families, substance abuse, and culture. She served as administrator and faculty of several graduate schools of psychology in the San Francisco Bay Area. She enjoys nature and fishing with her husband and spending time with her children and grandchildren.
She helped to develop one of the first doctoral psychology programs in the United States, integrating cultural perspectives in all aspects of the curriculum. She developed and served as clinical director of the Family Intervention and Training Services at the Coalition for a Drug-Free Hawaii, where she supervised students and worked with families from the family court and school systems.
Dr. Yabusaki has advocated for human/civil rights for most of her career. She served as co-president and for many years on the Board of Directors of the Japanese American Citizens League, Berkeley Chapter. In 2016 she co-founded the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) Action Group, volunteers who advocate for services for individuals, families, and communities affected by FASD. She currently practices in Honolulu. She and her husband retreat to nature often, fly fishing in mountain streams or salmon fishing in Canada.
K. Ken Yabusaki is a retired biochemist. After completing his postdoctoral research at the University of California at Berkeley, Ken spent ten years co-founding three small biotechnology companies in the design/development of immunodiagnostic and DNA tests in the San Francisco Bay and San Diego, California areas. Dr. Yabusaki then spent the next fifteen years consulting in biotech industries in biomedical test development and was a researcher at the University of Hawaii’s John A. Burns School of Medicine. He is an Army veteran, serving as a Chemical and Special Weapons officer with the Airborne during the Vietnam War. He enjoys nature, fishing, and gardening with his wife, travel, grandparenting, and writing poetry.
Before moving to Hawaii, Ken volunteered in civil/human rights advocacy as co-president, board member, and a trustee for the Berkeley Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League. He is currently writing his memoirs, philosophical essays, and poetry. Ken and his wife, Ann enjoy fly fishing, travel abroad, touring the U.S. National Parks, being in Nature, and gardening.
After 30 years in executive leadership roles with multi-national financial service groups where she made community outreach a pillar of her success, she retired in 2000 to launch her own consulting practice focused on small business and nonprofit development. She is currently Vice-Chair on the Lanakila Pacific Foundation Board of Directors; Chaminade’s Hogan Entrepreneurs Advisory Group, Moanalua Gardens Foundation, and an SBA Mentor on its Emerging Leaders Program.
Cleo is married 55 years to Carl Brown, Retired Honolulu Police Dept. and they have three adult daughters, one adult son, and seven grandchildren all born and raised in Hawai’i.
Born and raised in Honolulu, Vivian Aiona retired in 2002, from a 25-year career in the airlines. Having raised four children with her husband Duke Aiona, Vivian then poured herself into her church and community, advocating for family, and social issues.
Vivian has served on boards such as the Salvation Army and the former Fetal Alcohol Task Force, and she led the Bereavement Ministry at her church for ten years; she now oversees the Respect Life Ministry at the same place of worship, concentrating on LIFE issues affecting our keiki to kupuna.
Also, having worked alongside her husband for the non-profit Hawaii Family Advocates, sister organization of the Hawaii Family Forum, Vivian has a deep conviction to lift and support Hawaii’s families.
Over 40 years of administration, management, and direct service experiences with non-profit organizations providing substance abuse, mental health, youth and family, and developmental disabilities services in Hawaii and California. As the Executive Director for Coalition for a Drug-Free Hawaii, 2001- 2016, oversaw management of personnel, diverse programs, and complex funding resources. Responsible for fundraising activities through governmental and private sources. Provided vision and leadership for the Board of Directors, staff, and volunteers in areas of program development and fundraising. Represented agencies before the public and advocated for needs of diverse ethnic populations and disabilities groups. Provided leadership and representation to various multicultural, human services, and community-based service collaboratives. Currently retired. Enjoy walking dogs, surfing, and helping to care for my 98-year old mother, while practicing “safe in place” activities with my wife due to the pandemic.
