Name: Mona K. Wood
Age: 37
Position: Public relations manager, Hyatt Regency Waikiki
First job: At 16, lei greeter at airport
Favorite pastime: Tennis, hula

Making the Hyatt more Hawaiian

Mona K. Wood wants to bring more Hawaiian culture to the Hyatt Regency Waikiki as the hotel brings back its public relations department.

"We have an in-house group, Ho'o Kela ('to surpass') to decide on ways to make the Hyatt more Hawaiian," Wood said.

The hotel places cards and plaques in suites to describe the estates of Hawaiian royalty in Waikiki.

Wood speaks Hawaiian and Japanese, a language she learned while on a fellowship and living in Kyoto for two years. She also worked for Castle Resorts & Hotels and the Hawaiian Regent Hotel.

She also was Japanese guest services coordinator at the Legends in Concert, and a Japanese language instructor for Kamehameha Schools adult education program. Wood graduated from Kamehameha Schools and earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Hawaii.

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By Jerry Tune, Star-Bulletin