COMMITTEE

Travis Brown-Founder
Travis Brown and Max Robinson created this scholarship to help students follow a similar path to the one they have. After graduating from Konawaena in 1999, Travis studied marketing at San Diego State University. Through his classes and role as a resident advisor, fraternity member, and student athlete, Travis made a diverse yet tight knit group of friends and business partners. A few years out of college, Travis has already worked in the sports marketing industry and as a financial advisor on the US East Coast. Travis is currently working as the territory manager in San Diego for Borrmann Metal Center headquartered in Burbank, California. Travis is responsible for daily operations and sales for customers that compete globally in manufacturing, machining, and fabricating. 

Max Robinson-Founder
Growing up in Kona helped to spark Max's interest in the world. After graduating from Konawaena in 2000, he went on to study international relations at the University of California, San Diego. During his undergraduate years, he studied abroad in Spain, did an internship in France, and spent a semester in Washington, DC. Currently, Max is using his education and travel experience to teach Social Studies and History at The Bishop's School in La Jolla, California. He loves his job and draws inspiration from the memory of the extraordinary teachers that he had at HPA, Kealakehe, and Konawaena.  Max is currently living in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam as a Princeton in Asia fellow.  He is working for a trade and investment consulting firm, giving advice and assistance to US companies in Asia.

Travis and Max cherish their upbringing in Kona, and feel that their island spirit gives them a unique perspective on their educational and professional opportunities. They also feel that the choice to move to San Diego has been invaluable to their personal growth. Their college and career experiences have given both Travis and Max a more diverse group of friends, exciting career paths, and a broader perspective on the world. They would like to support students with a similar desire to pursue opportunities in California.

Christian Welch-Fundraising Director
Christian, originally from Los Angeles, met Travis and Max when he started college at the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) in 2000.  Their friendship has been tight, and his mate's stories of the islands prompted Christian to move to Honolulu after graduating UCSD with a degree in Biochemistry and Religious studies.  Christian loved his time in the islands, but decided to leave and return to medical school at UCSD.

Wanting to give back to Hawaii, Christian volunteered to help with the Kona-California Scholarship fund.  He is now in this third year of medical school at UCSD, and looking forward to moving back to the islands in the future.

David Miller-Marketing Director
David Miller is a Financial Representative with the Northwestern Mutual Financial Network.  He loves Hawaii and Hawaiian culture, and wants to help Big Island students achieve their goals. When not working, David likes to travel the world, and he is passionate about mediation and surfing.  He also enjoys playing the violin and has lived in San Diego for six years.