Moani Wright-Van Alst

Moani Wright-Van Alst is a Communications Resource Manager with the Hawaii Medical Service Assocaition.  Prior to joining HMSA, Moani worked as the Acting Information Officer for the Honolulu Board of Water Supply where she oversaw the communications for Hawaii's largest municipal water supply.  Previously she was a senior account executive at Communications Pacific, where she provided strategic counsel and implementation for a variety of communications programs, marketing and promotions, and organizing and executing events including the christening and debut of NCL America's Pride of Hawaii, Island Air's rebranding launch and Hawaii Superferry's unveiling. Her clients included NCL America, Island Air, Hawaiian Telcom Yellow Pages, Hawaii Superferry, Pasha Hawaii, MW Group, the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, and Ho‘okako‘o.

Before beginning her career in public relations, Moani worked as an assignment manager for KGMB 9 News. At KGMB 9, Moani managed the weekend newsroom, assigned reporters stories, gathered information in the field and wrote stories for the nightly newscasts.

The PRSA Hawaii Chapter and the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Hawaii Chapter have honored Moani with more than a dozen awards for public relations work done on behalf of her clients. In 2008, PRSA awarded her the prestigious Hokupaa Award for demonstrating exceptional leadership potential and achievement in her initial years in the public relations profession.

Moani sits on the board of directors for the PRSA Hawaii Chapter, is a member of the Pearl Harbor Hawaiian Civic Club, the Junior League of Honolulu and dances for Halau I Ka Wekiu.

Moani graduated from the George Washington University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, with a minor in journalism. She is also a proud graduate of the Kamehameha Schools.