Kim Gennaula, Board of Education appointee, former television news anchorwoman and occasional actress, will take the reins June 13 as president and chief professional officer of Aloha United Way. Her last day as director of philanthropy for Kapiolani Health Foundation will be Friday.

Gennaula, 46, will succeed Susan Au Doyle, who was in the leadership role for six of her 10 years at AUW. Doyle, 59, is leaving to care for her aging mother and aunt, who live with her. "It’s just time for me to spend time with them," she said.

Doyle will overlap with Gennaula during the transition. "I think the job is fairly complex, so I’ll be on call for a time," Doyle said.

While Doyle is stepping down to care for aging family members, Gennaula had left her Hawaii News Now anchorwoman job in 2008 to be more present in her children’s lives, and husband "Guy (Hagi) and I really talked long and hard about what impact this role would have on my time with the kids. I wanted to make sure it wouldn’t be a negative," she said. Son Luke is now 9 and daughter Alia is 7. Additionally, her unpaid position with the BOE involves two meetings a month and committee work, she said.

In her three years with Kapiolani Health Foundation, Gennaula was responsible for identifying, soliciting and stewarding donors for Kapiolani Medical Center’s operations. She "definitely wasn’t looking for a change," but after being contacted about the position and learning more about it, "the more I started getting excited about the idea of … helping hundreds agencies instead of just one," she said. Gennaula is "100 percent confident" the philanthropy staff at Kapiolani will continue to move forward. The career change also resulted from being in her 40s, Gennaula said, when she got to thinking, "What difference am I going to make in this world?"

She is "superexcited" about the opportunity to take AUW on "a new course in the future," and is working with the board to determine that path. Part of her application process involved preparation of a three-year strategic plan for the organization. "For me that plan includes taking a look at just about every level of the company and reassessing if, in this economy, that’s the best way to operate." Not wanting to slight anything the organization has done in the past, she sees only positives in reviewing everything to determine how "we can better serve both sides," meaning the nonprofits it serves and AUW donors.

Her first experience with Aloha United Way was in her previous role as communications director for Liberty House, where she ran the 36-store company’s AUW campaign, "so I saw it from that perspective, but there is a lot going on the administrative side, so I’m grateful that (Doyle) is going to be there to help ease the transition."

Gennaula never imagined in her news reporting and anchoring days that she would one day work as a high-ranking executive in the nonprofit sector, but "community service has been very fulfilling for me — rewarding." The storytelling skills honed in her news career have proved crucial in her fundraising role. Key in garnering donations is "finding the perfect story that gives the donor the satisfaction of doing good."

Doyle worked in several capacities at Aloha United Way, including roles as vice president of community building and as chief operating officer, before she took the helm. Prior to her decade at AUW, Doyle served as CEO of the YWCA.

Asked about key accomplishments, Doyle cited AUW’s nearly yearlong efforts in responding to human services needs as Hawaii’s economy struggled following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. She also cited the organization’s shifting of focus on "the way we distribute funds (to see) that they address the biggest needs of the community." Through its work with the community, those needs were identified as early childhood development, homelessness, financial well-being, crime, drug use and emergency and crisis services, she said. She only wishes "we could have raised more money, because everybody who works in nonprofits is doing it for love and for the good of the community, and you just wish you had all the resources in the world to support them," Doyle said.

"Susan has done a tremendous job over the years, cultivating the respect of staff, donors, other nonprofit leaders and state policymakers alike," board Chairman Robert Hale said in a statement. "There are so many great opportunities ahead of us, as we evolve to meet the needs and concerns of the community," adding that "Kim is the ideal person to lead charge, with her great energy, creativity, insight and leadership."