Regent

Barry T. Mizuno

For 19 years, Barry T. Mizuno has been in the geothermal power business. He was on-site manager for Puna Geothermal Venture from its infancy in 1992 through 2006, when PGV supplied 20 percent of the Big Island’s electricity needs. He retired in 2006 to form BTM LLC, a private energy consulting firm.

Mizuno also served Hawai‘i County as managing director and finance director under two Big Island mayors. A Certified Public Accountant, he has been a Big Island resident since 1983, when he became CFO, treasurer and controller for Hamakua Sugar Company. He previously lived on O‘ahu and worked for TheoDavies and Hawaiian Electric Company.

He co-chairs Hospice of Hilo’s $10 million community capital campaign to construct a 12-bed in-patient facility and is treasurer for Hawai‘i Island Beacon Community, which is using information technology to improve healthcare quality and cost-efficiency under a $16 million federal grant. He serves on the Mayor’s Healthcare Sustainability Taskforce and Geothermal Energy Working Group; the island’s Economic Development Board and Japanese Chamber of Commerce; and W. H. Shipman, Ltd. He served on the county’s Salary Commission, United Way and Chamber of Commerce and the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawai‘i Authority and High Technology Development Corp.

Active with Honpa Hongwanji Hilo Betsuin, he is past president of Hilo Betsuin, vice president Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawai‘i and president of the Hawai‘i Island Hongwanji Council and the Hawai‘i Island Lay Association.

Mizuno grew up on a Kaua‘i sugar plantation, graduated from Waimea High School and earned a BA in business administration/accounting from Central Washington University. He and his wife of 40 years, Carolyn, have two grown daughters and three grandchildren.