Sandra Fujiyama is the new executive director of the University of Hawaii's Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship, or PACE, UH officials recently announced.
In her new role, which began Tuesday, Fujiyama will lead community outreach efforts, alongside the board of directors and corporate partners, to improve upon and promote entrepreneurship education on the local, national and global level. As executive director, she will also be charged with overseeing PACE's more than 20 educational and training programs for UH students and faculty.
Fujiyama will also direct entrepreneurial programming at the Residences for Innovative Student Entrepreneurs, or RISE, an entrepreneurship and student housing facility that is slated to be completed in the fall of 2023.
“We are thrilled to welcome Sandra to PACE,” said Shidler College of Business Dean Vance Roley in a statement. “Given her immense experience in intellectual property law, time spent at Silicon Valley-based law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati and current work at UH, we are confident in her vision and plans to lead at the helm. Her varied work history, Hawaii roots and legal expertise set PACE up for continued success.”
Ben Godsey, PACE board chair and president of ProService Hawaii, added in a statement, “After a thorough search, we are excited to have Sandra join PACE and continue to grow its impact. Today, businesses are evolving very rapidly following the disruptions from Covid; Hawaii is seeking to build up entrepreneurship to strengthen our economy, and PACE is expanding its impact with the RISE development and enhanced programming. We look forward to Sandra’s leadership, collaboration and partnership with the board of directors and the business community.”
Prior to her new role helming operations at PACE, Fujiyama was the innovation and business development officer at UH’s Office of Innovation and Commercialization, where she spearheaded a grant proposal that resulted in $2.7 million from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to support pandemic recovery efforts related to innovation, entrepreneurship and workforce development. She also directed the Innovation Impact Challenge program, Small Business Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer program with Hawaii Technology Development Corp.’s Innovate Hawaii, and the UH Ventures Accelerator.
Born and raised in Hawaii, Fujiyama earned her bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from the University of California, Los Angeles and her law degree from the UCLA School of Law. Earlier this month Fujiyama was named as one of Pacific Business News' Women Who Mean Business honorees for 2021.
“PACE has inspired and fostered an impressive list of local startups with its comprehensive set of programs and resources that guide innovators and entrepreneurs on their journey from idea to small business to social and economic impact,” Fujiyama said in a statement. “I am grateful and humbled to be appointed to this role, to serve our students and community and advance the mission to diversify Hawaii’s economy by educating entrepreneurial thinkers and innovative problem solvers.”
