Olin Lagon is a Native Hawaiian technologist, U.S. Navy and Peace Corps veteran, and cofounder of Hawaiʻi-born companies and organizations that have scaled to serve millions of people worldwide, like ChipIn, the first general purpose crowdfunding service, which directed over $100 million to causes around the globe.

His community work applies large-scale engineering innovation to tough challenges in Kanaka ʻŌiwi communities, health, finance, and clean energy. He currently serves on the boards of Ceeds of Peace, Hawaiʻi Land Trust, ʻŌlelo Community Media, and the Economic Revitalization Commission. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office featured his story as a national innovator in its Journeys of Innovation series.

You can reach him by email at columnists@civilbeat.org. Opinions are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Civil Beat’s views.