Featured Speakers and Chefs

Born and raised in Hawaiʻi, lei maker, creative director, designer and author, Meleana Estes, attributes her style to her Hawaiian heritage and upbringing and regards it as a thread of inspiration throughout all of her creative endeavors.  

Meleana graduated from Boston College and continued her time on the East Coast choosing to study design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in  New York City.  After launching her career with a handbag collection, Meleana returned to Hawaiʻi, and in this time, deepened her knowledge for her own lei practice which she had learned at an early age from her Tūtū (grandmother).  She shared her enthusiasm of lei through workshops, photo shoots, and social media collaborations, helping to inspire a new generation of lei makers and flower shops in Hawaiʻi.  She published LEI ALOHA: Celebrating the Vibrant Flowers and Lei of Hawaiʻi (Ten Speed Press, Penguin Random House), which has been celebrated by The New York Times, Vogue, Sunset Magazine as well showcased on Good Morning America, HGTV and the CBS Morning show.

With Noel Shaw, Meleana also recently launched HIE | Heirlooms of Hawai’i, a fine jewelry collection inspired by the women of Hawaiʻi, past and present. In its first year, HIE was awarded “Hawaiʻiʻs New Business of the Year” by Pacific Edge Magazine, and has been featured in Harper’s Bazaar, Town and Country Magazine, and the Rob Report. The duo was also named the top “Women of Style” in Honolulu’s Sept/Oct 2023 edition of Modern Luxury Magazine. 

Meleana lives in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi with her 12-year-old son and husband.

Born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, Monty graduated with Honors from the University of Hawaii-Manoa College of Business with a degree in accounting. After passing the CPA exam and working in public accounting, Monty left public Accounting for Watanabe Floral to be their Accountant. After a few years, Monty migrated away from Accounting and became Sales and Marketing Director and later General Manager. Monty has now been at Watanabe Floral for almost 29 years!

In 2009, Pacific Business News recognized Monty as one of Hawaii’s 40 Under 40 and in July 2023, he was honored as one of Hawaii’s Community Givers by Pacific Edge Magazine.  In 2024, Monty was recognized as a Top 20 Most Influential Business and Community Leaders by FAMES. He is proud of the team at Watanabe Floral, voted Hawaii’s Best Florist by the Honolulu Star Advertiser 2003-2025, Best of Hawaii by KITV, 2020-2025 and a Retail Merchant of the Year honoree as well. Monty is an advocate for businesses’ role in working for and with the Community.

Away from Watanabe Floral, Monty is the Chairman of the Leeward YMCA Board of Managers, serves on the board for Hawaii Floraculture and Nursery Association (HFNA), Bloomnation Advisory Board, Vivia Advisory Board, Hawaii State Business Revitalization Task Force and served as the past President of the Alaka’i Networking Roundtable, a Business Networking group. Monty also coached Soccer for nearly 15 years at all levels and relished the opportunity to mold young ladies and instill belief and confidence to strive for excellence in all they do.  Monty is married to Lori Pereira and has two daughters, Tiana and Crystal.

Carver Wilson is the President and co-founder of Maui Floral. Established in 1974 — along with with his wife, Maureen — Maui Floral began by growing protea flowers in Kula, Maui, and is now celebrating 50 years in business. The company continues to cultivate protea in Kula while expanding into flower distribution and lei making. From its early days, Maui Floral has played an important role in the development of protea becoming a mainstream floral product. Carver continues to lead the company with a commitment to quality, innovation, and Hawai‘i’s floral heritage.