Michael Kai Mayeda
Behind the Scenes at Ke Ola Noa | Co-Founder & Operations Unicorn
- Role
- Operations Unicorn at Ke Ola Noa
- Location
- Kaneohe, HI, US
- LinkedIn followers
- 500 followers
About Michael Kai Mayeda
I\'m honestly impressed you\'re reading this. I can’t remember the last time I read someone’s About section and thought, “Wow, that changed everything.” But hey—maybe you’re the kind of person who looks past the surface. I like that.Here’s what I want you to know: I’m a good person trying to do good work for other good people. I care about integrity, clarity, and doing right by the people I work with—even when things get messy (and they always do, eventually).Career-wise, I’ve wandered a winding path: grad school researcher, startup manager, under-employed-and-rethinking-everything scientist, project manager, donor, and general chaos wrangler. I’ve worked in labs, led cross-functional teams, managed global timelines, and made peace with uncertainty more times than I can count.I’ve learned that progress isn’t always linear, titles aren’t everything, and most people just want to be seen and supported as they figure it out. Same here.If you\'re building something complex, meaningful, or just need someone who knows how to navigate the mess and still get it done—I’d love to connect.
Experience
Operations Unicorn
May 2025 — Present · Honolulu, HI, US
I tackle several roles: Donna’s husband, office MacGyver, and snack procurement specialist.I don’t wear a cape (most days), but I do fix the Wi-Fi, chase down missing lab supplies, and explain what “direct primary care” means to people who think Donna is a life coach.Officially, I’m the office manager. But in all seriousness, I’m just the guy who Googled “how to start a clinic” and then became part of one. I handle everything that’s not medicine: payroll, janitorial, website tweaks, snack runs, and making sure the printer only jams when I’m not around.I’m also the person Donna turns to and says, “Can you just fix this real quick?” Which, of course, means an entire afternoon of creative problem-solving involving duct tape, YouTube tutorials, and maybe a Home Depot run.
Education
UC San Diego Extended Studies
Quality Assurance and Control Certificate
University of Delaware
PhD, Chemical Engineering
Harvey Mudd College
BS, Engineering
King's College London
non-degree seeking, Electrical Engineering
Skills
- Matlab
- Uv/Vis
- Materials Science
- Customer Service
- Tem
- Afm
- Research and Development (R&D)
- Nanotechnology
- Ftir
- Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (Nmr)
- Uv/Vis Spectroscopy
- Thin Films
- Polymer Characterization
- Characterization
- Spectroscopy
- Chemistry
- Scanning Electron Microscopy
- Surface Chemistry
- Chemical Engineering
- Polymers
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