Meet Our Staff
Meet Our Staff
Kulani Mahikoa | President
Kulani Mahikoa is President of Purity Laboratories, Inc. She has had successful careers both as a journalist and as an entrepreneur.
After graduating from Lewis and Clark College, she worked for the Oregonian, KATU-TV and Community Press Newspapers in Portland, Oregon.
Ms. Mahikoa also lived in Honolulu, Hawaii where she started Hawaiiana Products, that manufactured fragrances and bath products. That company was sold to General Atlantic Corporation, a major stock holder of Duty Free International.
She also founded Honolulu Premium Products, which became Maui Gold, Inc., the country's largest manufacturer of gemstone rings and also sold a range of products from country themed promotions to stuffed animals and luggage. Honolulu Premium Products won the distinction of being named one of the top companies in Hawaii by Hawaii Business magazine after only seven years in business and was also named by Inc. magazine to its list of 500 fastest growing companies in the nation for four consecutive years. She served as President of Maui Gold, Inc., until she and her partner-husband David Humphrey sold the company to the international conglomerate, Jardine Matheson of Hong Kong.
Ms. Mahikoa and her husband also founded American Business Systems, Inc., a sales training organization and Winchester, Inc., a jewelry company, in Reno, NV.
Contact: KMahikoa@gmail.com
David Humphrey | V.P., CEO
David Humphrey is Vice President and CEO of Purity Laboratories, Inc.
Humphrey is also an attorney and entrepreneur who founded several other large companies, including Maui Gold, Inc., formerly, Honolulu Premium Products that was named by Inc. Magazine to its Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies in the nation for four consecutive years. He also founded the Humphrey corporation that manufactured most of the frisbee type flying saucers in the world.
Humphrey graduated from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon and the
University of Washington Law School. He became a member of MENSA International
during law school. He also founded a public interest law firm called WashPIRG based in
Seattle, Washington. WashPIRG was initially funded by an annual contribution from over
250,000 college and university students in the State of Washington. It became the model
for Ralph Nader's PIRG organizations across the county. This year, WashPIRG is celebrating its 30th year of public service. He also taught business and marketing at Hawaii Pacific University in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Board and Affiliations
• Co-founder, MAPs (Medical Academy of Pediatric Special Needs)
• Co-founder, The Forum
• Former President, Made in Hawaii Association
• Board member, American Academy of Cannabinoid Medicine
Contact: DKHumphrey@gmail.com
Zahara Kashi PhD, HCLD | Laboratory Director
Zahra Mehdizadeh Kashi, PhD, HCLD, is a board-certified molecular immunohematologist with over 33 years of experience in clinical laboratories with extensive leadership. Dr. Kashi completed her undergraduate studies in Clinical laboratory Science (CLS) at Oregon Health & Sciences University (OHSU). Dr. Kashi pursued her graduate studies by attending Portland State University (PSU), where she obtained her Masters degree in Immunology. Dr. Kashi obtained her doctorate degree in molecular immunohematology from Portland State University, and completed her doctoral thesis under the mentorship of Dr. Michael Heinrich at Oregon Health Sciences University. She also completed the Michigan Ross Executive MBA Program at the University of Michigan.
Shortly after graduation, she successfully obtained her Board certification and was appointed as the Histocompatibility Laboratory Director of the American Red Cross. It was during this tenure that she
recognized there were unmet transplant/transfusion-related needs in the Histocompatibility community. Consequently, despite the progressive advancement of responsibilities in her career with the ARC, Dr. Kashi proceeded with establishing another clinical laboratory (Kashi Clinical Laboratories) to better support cellular therapy advancements. Her goal was to offer services that provided better patient care before and after transplantation. She is currently serving as the Director and Clinical Consultant of both laboratories.
Dr. Kashi has managed a quality operation in the field of transplantation and transfusion support for over 33 years. Her main research interest is the role of histocomatibility molecules in the pathophysiology of Transfusion-Related Acute Lung injury (TRALI); she has multiple publications on the topic.
Dr. Kashi has significant expertise in clinical laboratory development, quality system auditing, GMP development, project management, regulatory compliance, strategic planning and business development. She is a highly sought clinical laboratory consultant, with dozens of peer-reviewed publications and abstracts, as well as numerous invited presentations.
Dr. Kashi is active in various regulatory agencies including the American Society of Histocompatibility & Immunogenetics (ASHI), College of American Pathologists (CAP) and American Association of Blood Banks (AABB) where she has served in many roles ranging from inspecting laboratories to serving on the Board of Directors.
In addition, Dr. Kashi has served as a clinical assistant professor in the department of pathology/CLS at Oregon Health & Science University and has held a number of other education and research positions at local universities, hospitals, and corporations.
