Over the last 30 years, Hawaiʻi Children's Action Network, formerly Good Beginnings Alliance, has served local keiki and their ʻohana through educational opportunities, advocacy and community organizing, as well as offered support on issues from housing and healthcare to family leave.
From 1997 to 2012, GBA Executive Director Elisabeth “Liz” Chun helped lay the foundation of the organization dedicated to young children. In 2015, Deborah Zysman was executive director when the keiki advocacy group rebranded to HCAN and sought funds that would support its coalition statewide.
"This evolution of mobilizing families, businesses, nonprofits and our leaders as a powerful voice for all our children has been phenomenal and I couldn't be more optimistic about HCAN's continuing that foundation," Chun said at the time. "This is a most critical quality of life issue facing our state. Building a thriving economy with a qualified and capable workforce depends on helping our kids get what they need now."
At that point, one out of five keiki in Hawaiʻi were living in poverty. Today, that figure has risen by one-third.
“Between 2019–2021 and 2022–2024, the share of keiki living in poverty climbed from 9% to 12%, according to new data from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. That’s nearly 37,000 children in our islands going without basic needs like food, housing, and healthcare,” according to a November 2025 article from Aloha State Daily by Nicole Woo, HCAN director of research and economic policy.
“These numbers are more than statistics — they represent real families struggling to survive in one of the most expensive states in the nation,” she continued. “They also underscore a hard truth: poverty is not inevitable. It is shaped by public policy, and right now, Hawaiʻi’s policies are not keeping pace with the cost of living or the needs of its children.”
After 13 years at the helm of HCAN, Zysman accepted a role as deputy director for the City and County of Honolulu Office of Economic Revitalization in August of 2025.
“More families are fed up with government officials. At the moment, it feels like we can’t count on the federal government to help working class families, so we’ll be asking what our state is doing to help working class families stay here, survive here, thrive here,” Zysman previously told Aloha State Daily in February at an event put on by HCAN Speaks!, the lobbying arm of Hawaiʻi Children's Action Network.
In the same interview, Zysman said, “We’re building more of a movement, a strong community voice, and bringing together more families and advocates.”
Lisa Maruyama, an independent consultant and former president and CEO of Hawaiʻi Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations, or HANO, stepped in to lead the organization for the interim before John-Paul Chaisson-Cárdenas joined in January.
A Maya Indian from Guatemala and civil war survivor, Chaisson-Cárdenas immigrated to the U.S. when he was in intermediate school. He brings more than 20 years of leadership experience to the role, spanning sectors such as DEI and civil rights, research, family-centered practice and more.
Chaisson-Cárdenas notes as a young boy himself he saw firsthand a child in desperate need, on the edge of death, which set him on his career path in social work, youth development, education and policy.
“Our vision is to make Hawai’i the best place in the nation to raise a child,” Chaisson-Cárdenas said at the 30th anniversary awards and dinner held on Sept. 19 at the Pacific Club in Honolulu.
Addressing the crowd of more than a couple hundred people, he added: “So many of you said aloha to me and I can't think of a better place to be. This Maya Indian feels at home.”
HCAN aims to build “a unified voice educating and advocating for Hawaiʻi’s children,” its mission statement reads, ensuring that all keiki in the Islands “are safe, healthy and ready to learn.”
How do they plan to accomplish this in the long-term?
Chaisson-Cárdenas said that early learning is still integral part of its mission moving forward and laid out a four-step plan: Invest in parent leadership and voice; lean into prevention and upstream solutions; strengthen Hawaiʻi-centered research and evaluation; and build a movement through HCAN Speaks!, where you can become a founding member here.
Guests could shop vendors like Kahele Kine Tings and Crochet Creations, which is a keiki-run business. Photo by Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros (Aloha State Daily Staff) 
HCAN raised close to $100,000 from this fundraiser in both monetary and in kind donations, per the nonprofit whose mission is "build a unified voice educating and advocating for Hawaiʻi’s children." Photo by Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros (Aloha State Daily Staff) 
Lauren Danner of Koleaʻs Creations donated a portion of the proceeds to support HCAN. Photo by Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros (Aloha State Daily Staff) 
The gala featured keiki vendors and dance entertainers, cultural activities, live music and auctions, among other activities. Pictured: Attendees participate in Japanese Calligraphy instructed by Bihou (Noriko) Iwai under the Kaede Calligraphy School. Not pictured: Dillyn Lietzke leads a lei kūpeʻe workshop with Palai HI. Photo by Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros (Aloha State Daily Staff) 
Vibe Dance Academy brought the energy to the event during cocktail hour. (Courtesy I-man Uyeda)
According to the nonprofit, the momentum to serve all children over the last year is continuing to build. For example, through various partnerships and community advocacy, the Preschool Open Doors program expanded — the largest preschool subsidy rollout in the state’s history. Other wins include the creation of the first-ever Early Head Start program established on Kauaʻi, more pre-Kindergarten classrooms opened; the passing of legislation, the advancement of Prevent Child Abuse America Hawaiʻi toward accreditation, and more.
To offer support to the organization, the gala featured keiki vendors and dance entertainers, cultural activities, live music and auctions, among other activities.
HCAN also recognized five Champions for Children, who were nominated by community members and selected by a panel of judges. Sunny Kazama, co-founder of nonprofit Cue collaborative received the Unsung Hero award; Dr. Suma Metla of Three Little Ducks received the Innovator award; Dr. Rachael Aquino, co-founder and executive director of Hawai’i workforce pipeline was honored with the Family-Friendly Employer award; Ryan Arias, a senior at Kea’au High School, was named Youth Advocate of the Year; and Rep. Trish La Chica was recognized as Advocate of the year.
“Strong families are supported by strong workplaces … which benefits not only the workplace, but our entire community,” said Dean Wong, the nonprofit’s board president and CEO of Maui-based nonprofit Imua Family Services, who was emceeing the event.
Local artist Dominique Hill, known professionally as Daju, closed out the celebration with music and dancing.
A spokesperson for HCAN told ASD last week that they were still calculating final numbers for the amount raised from the fundraising gala but were so far near $100,000, counting both monetary and in-kind donations.
For updates, check out the organizationʻs Instagram (HCAN and HCAN Speaks!).
Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros can be reached at kelsey@alohastatedaily.com.
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