About Jeanne

Jeanne Unemori Skog
Partner

Jeanne Skog grew up on a 150-acre pineapple farm in Peahi, Maui. She is the fourth generation of Japanese who came to Hawai‘i in the late 1800s as part of the wave of imported laborers for the pineapple plantations. Her earliest childhood memories are of living in the remote countryside where neighbors were in the next farm, the school bus route ended a mile away from her home, her family shared a party line phone system, and play included hikes to the stream lacing through their property.

Although both her parents honored the traditions of Buddhism, she attended a small Catholic elementary and high school with other children of immigrant backgrounds whose heritage included Portuguese, Filipino, Chinese, Hawaiian, and Japanese. The blend of ethnicities also meant weaving in traditions of other ethnicities and eating bagoong, poi, chow mein and vinha daos in the same buffet. Her upbringing set a deep appreciation for the values and benefits of a rural environment and a childhood nurtured by the richness of ethnic diversity.

After earning her Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from St. Catherine’s University in Minnesota, she worked in sales of designer fashions and then interior design. She relished working with a variety of customers and translating their vision into reality.

Jeanne joined Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) in 1984 where she continued to nurture the organization’s network of partnerships that have been a hallmark of the its success in community-based economic development. In 1999, she was elected as MEDB’s fourth President & CEO, the first Maui-born resident to assume the position. Over her 33-year span at MEDB, she built on its foundations to fulfill its mission of diversifying Maui County’s economic base through high technology.

Under her leadership, the steady growth of the innovation-based sectors led to the construction of the Ke Alahele Center in the Maui Research & Technology Park. The 35,000 square foot incubation center is now home to innovation-based companies who benefit from a menu of MEDB’s business assistance services. She also channeled her lifelong interest in education into the expansion of quality STEM education in our remote, three-island county. MEDB’s reach in education grew to over 52,000 students and teachers statewide annually. Through innovative programming, MEDB’s industry-driven workforce initiative became a national model for enabling women and underrepresented minorities to realize their potential in STEM careers.

In keeping with MEDB’s value of responsible design and development, Jeanne undertook economic development actions while respecting Maui County’s cultural and environmental values and promoting a spirit of inclusiveness in decision making about our future. Accordingly, in 2003, MEDB led Focus Maui Nui, a groundbreaking community visioning process that reached 1,700 residents about the priorities for our future. The outcomes provided guiding principles for Maui County’s future and emphasized the importance the community placed on weaving and balancing, cultural, infrastructural, environmental, and social values and priorities into our economic goals.

On a personal level, she served as a PTA officer or school board member throughout her children’s K-12 life. From 2011-2016, she served on the Commission on Presidential Scholars, an appointment by President Obama.  More recently, she joined and now chairs the St. Anthony School board of directors as it undertakes major restructuring and revitalization of her alma mater. At the statewide level, she serves on the advisory board of the Hawai‘i Budget and Policy Center and chairs the Economic Development Alliance of Hawaii.