Licenses and Affiliations
Tom is a member of the Hawai`i and California State Bar Associations (inactive status). He does not practice law now.
He is a certified mediator at the Mediation Center of the Pacific, where he specializes in divorce, civil rights and homeowner association disputes. Tom was recognized by the Mediation Center as “Mediator of the Year” (2016) and as “Mediator Who Goes Above And Beyond” (2017).
Tom is a member of the neutrals panel of Dispute Prevention & Resolution, Inc., specializing in business and commercial matters.
Specialization: Facilitated Mediation
Mr. Mitrano specializes in what is often described as "facilitated mediation."
"In facilitative mediation, the mediator structures a process to assist the parties in reaching a mutually agreeable resolution. The mediator asks questions; validates and normalizes parties' points of view; searches for interests underneath the positions taken by parties; and assists the parties in finding and analyzing options for resolution. The facilitative mediator does not make recommendations to the parties, give his or her own advice or opinion as to the outcome of the case, or predict what a court would do in the case. The mediator is in charge of the process, while the parties are in charge of the outcome."
On occasion, Mr. Mitrano is engaged to assist with evaluative or transformative mediation, such as in managerial or staff personnel matters. In these cases, clients will engage Mr. Mitrano to evaluate potential adversarial outcomes as an aid to mediation by the parties, and assist parties to adopt behaviors consistent with workplace improvement practices or norms.
Engagement Highlights
An experienced facilitator-mediator in the community, government, private, and non-profit sectors, Mr. Mitrano has facilitated hundreds of training sessions, partnering workshops, strategic planning meetings, single- and multi-party conflict-resolution sessions, visioning meetings, and brainstorming sessions. He has mediated hundreds of Hawai`i Family Court cases and has coached mediation on dozens of occasions. Mr. Mitrano has provided facilitation services to three gubernatorial administrations, several legislators, government agencies, many local communities, public and private sector unions, dozens of for-profit and not-for-profit companies, educational institutions, and churches, often in settings of controversy.
Mr. Mitrano has served as facilitator for:
- The Early Learning Council established by act of the Hawai`i State Legislature to design and foster development of pre-school learning initiatives
- Facilitator for the task force convened to develop a state-mandated plan for 4-year-old early education
- Statewide community Environmental Impact Statement meetings regarding the Hawai`i Superferry (Hawaii Department of Transportation)
- Statewide community meetings regarding the state water management plan (Hawaii Water Resources Management Commission)
- A citizens and users Ad Hoc Group to advise the Board of Land and Natural Resources on long-term parking alternatives for the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor in Waikiki
- A complex multi-agency bottom-fish regulatory planning workshop for the Pacific Islands Fisheries Council
- Formation of a water management working group for the Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, Big Island (National Park Service)
- Strategic planning for the YWCA - Hawai`i Island (Hilo)
- The Hawai`i Coalition for Dads
- The Wai`alae Public Charter School, and Ho`ala School
- Conducted public meetings related to gill-lay-net regulations
- EIS and DEIS hearings for the U.S. Navy related to a munitions wharf in Apra Harbor, Guam
- Remediation efforts at the Iao Stream, Maui, for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- Co-facilitator of a series of public meetings to help develop the State of Hawai`i, Department of Transportation, Kahului Harbor 2030 Plan
- Co-facilitator of a five-year series of community visioning workshops for a large regional mixed-use development near Mililani, O`ahu, Hawai`i
- The Honolulu City Council engaged Mitrano to facilitate a panel representing divergent opinions to provide recommendations for improving a controversial county ordinance and, in a separate engagement, for improving private streets in Kaka`ako, Honolulu.
Employed Positions Held
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Since moving to Hawaii in 1984, Tom has held managerial, operational, and planning positions in the high-tech, architecture, and visitor industries, as well as in banking and in the non-profit sector. He is a talented writer, speaker, and legislative lobbyist.
His employment history includes:
* Outrigger Hotels (VP, Systems/Procedures, Legislative Advocacy)
* Bank of Hawaii (VP, Community Reinvestment Act Compliance)
* WATG (Hawaii In-House General Counsel/Operations Officer)
* The Ohana Foundation (Legal Services Coordinator and Business Development Director)
* The Nature Conservancy
* AM Partners, Inc. (Principal and General Counsel)
Before moving to Hawaii, he was:
* In-house counsel at Autolease, an automobile leasing and partnership syndication firm in Monterey, Ca., and at Inns By the Sea, manager and syndicator of small hotels in Carmel By the Sea, California
* An associate attorney at law firms in New York, Tokyo, Los Angeles, and Monterey, California
Tom has taught contracts and business associations at a law school in California and a graduate seminar in complex public-private collaborations at the University of Hawai`i, Manoa.
Tom has been a self-employed business consultant for almost twenty years.
Education
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Mr. Mitrano is a graduate of the University of Toronto (BA Honours in Chinese language and cultural studies) and Harvard Law School.
Volunteer Activities
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Tom Mitrano has served in many volunteer capacities, including:
* Special Education Center of Hawaii (Director, President)
* Mediation Center of Hawai`i (Volunteer Mediator)
* Hawaii Community Foundation (Governor)
* Felix Monitoring Board (Director)
* Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii (Government Affairs and Visitor Industry Committees, Chair)
* Rotary Club of Metropolitan Honolulu (President)
* Rotary International Group Study Exchange (Chair, China)
* Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund (Advisory Board Member)
* Hawaii Convention Park Council (President)
* Hawaii Business Roundtable (Hawaii Plan Chair)
* Hawaii Council on Economic Education (Governor)
* University of Hawai`i, Community Scholar in Residence at the College of Social Sciences
Representative Clients
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Some of the companies and agencies Tom has helped to produce results include:
* American Civil Liberties Union
* Asian Productivity Organization (Tokyo)
* Bank of Hawaii
* Belt Collins Hawaii
* Bowers & Kubota Consultants, Inc.
* Building Industry Association – Hawaii
* Carter & Burgess
* Castle & Cooke Hawaii Homes
* Catholic Charities
* Church of the Holy Nativity
* CW Associates, CPAs
* dck Pacific Construction LLC
* Department of Business Economic Development & Tourism
* Department of Education
* Department of Labor and Industrial Relations
* Elite Pacific Construction
* Environet
* ESH, Inc.
* Good Beginnings Alliance
* Hale Kipa, Inc.
* Hanahau`oli School
* Hanalani School
* Hawaii Association for the Education of Young Children
* Hawai`i Business Roundtable
* Hawaii Coffee Company
* Hawai`i Commission on Water Resource Management
* Hawai`i Community Development Authority
* Hawai`i Community Foundation
* Hawai`i Convention Park Council
* Hawaii Dental Association
* Hawai`i DLNR, Division of Boating & Ocean Recreation
* Hawai`i DOT, Airports Division
* Hawai`i DOT, Harbors Division
* Hawaii Dental Association
* Hawaii LGBT Legacy Foundation
* Hawaii Small Business Regulatory Review Board
* Hawaiian Dredging
* Helber Hastert & Fee
* Ho`ala School
* Holy Nativity School
* Honolulu City Council
* Kiewit
* Le Jardin Academy
* Maui Community Food Bank
* Mutual Housing Association of Hawaii
* Nan Hawaii, Inc.
* National Park Service
* National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
* NAVFAC Hawaii
* North Hawai`i Community Hospital
* Outrigger Hotels
* PrimaTech Construction, Inc.
* Queen Liliuokalani Children’s Center
* Queen's Medical Center
* Ronald McDonald House
* Sacred Hearts School
* SAN Construction
* Segawa & Associates
* Shiroma Construction
* Specialty Equipment Market Association (Los Angeles)
* Swinerton Builders
* TEK Pacific
* Temple Emanu-El, Honolulu
* Trinity Properties
* University of Hawai`i (Family and Consumer Science, College of Education, Travel Industry Management School)
* U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
* Wai’alae Elementary Public Charter School
* Hawaii State Senate, Ways and Means Committee
* Wilson Okamoto
* YWCA - Island of Hawai`i
Testimonials
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"I would especially like to thank Mr. Tom Mitrano for his role as the facilitator. The couple of times the team derailed his agenda during the first 30-minutes or so of the meeting proved to be very useful and sincerely I appreciate his ability to not only 'reign us in' but to focus the group into a methodical 'problem solving' manner for that unexpected outcome."
Jim Richards, Quality Control Manager
PrimaTech Construction, Inc.
"I think our Board absolutely recognized the importance of utilizing a professional facilitator but more importantly, to a person they felt that we had the right facilitator. I heard more than a few comments that this was our most productive board meeting anyone could remember."
Mitch Williams, Chairman
Specialty Equipment Market Association
Services
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Tom can help you with:
Facilitation
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* Construction partnering
* Strategic planning
* Public meeting management
* Family meetings
* Board meeting management
* Annual retreats
Training
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* Team building
* Personal and business development
* Interpersonal skills
* Public speaking
* Private coaching
Policy, Systems, and Procedures Improvements
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* Public campaign process management
* Operations planning and management
* Systems assessments and improvements
* Recruitment planning
Neutrals Services
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* Mediation of family, workplace, business, civil rights, and other conflicts
* Investigation and fact finding
* Conflict prevention and resolution
Additional Information
Tom speaks conversational (non-technical) Mandarin Chinese.
He is an Eagle Scout and member of the Order of the Arrow and was awarded the Silver Beaver Award by the `Ohana Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
He is an experienced emcee and public speaker.
Tom officiated at high school football games in California.
Contact Information
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Thomas J. Mitrano
Consultant
1487 Hiikala Place, No. 29
Honolulu, Hawaii 96816
Tom@Mitrano.com
(808) 735-6055 (direct)
(808) 554-1817 (mobile)
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