Matthew Nagato joined Stupski Foundation in 2022. As deputy communications director, he implements thoughtful, innovative, and dynamic strategies that honor the work of the Foundation and all of its stakeholders, with a particular emphasis on storytelling that respects the diverse cultures and voices of communities in the Bay Area and his home state of Hawai‘i.
Born and raised in rural Waimānalo on the island of O‘ahu, he witnessed firsthand the inequities at the heart of our collective social challenges, and those experiences directly influenced his work on the documentary “Ola – Health Is Everything,” which Matthew wrote and directed in 2013. The film, which he describes as his love letter to Hawai‘i, remains his personal call to action for creating a more just, equitable world.
For over 30 years, he worked for Hawai‘i’s most vital health care organizations, including the Hawai‘i Medical Services Association and the Hawai‘i Primary Care Association, applying his diverse expertise in communications, strategic planning, process redesign, marketing, and information systems.
Matthew’s portfolio of award-winning campaigns and education projects helped to overcome conventional public health messaging barriers and drove cross-sector efforts in addressing disparities as well as social determinants of health. He’s a frequent speaker on systems thinking, social determinants of health, and transformation. In 2013, he was an invited speaker at the TEDx Honolulu event “Cultivating Community.”
In his spare time, Matthew continues working on the Great American Novel.