The Conversation: Local Businesses Born Out of the Pandemic

Catherine Cruz is the Host of The Conversation and a member of HPR’s news team. She has been a television reporter in Hawai‘i since 1983 and has won a number of awards and respect from a statewide audience. She spent more than thirty years at KITV, covering beats from government to education and health. Originally from Guam, Cruz is also a co-founder and former Board member and programming chair of Pacific Islanders in Communication (PIC). Catherine is a graduate of San Francisco State University with a degree in Broadcast Journalism.

Russell Subiono has been with Hawai‘i Public Radio since 2019. Born in Honolulu and raised on Hawaiʻi Island, he’s spent the last decade working in local film, TV, and radio. He got his start at HPR as a Production Assistant on The Conversation from 2016-2017. Prior to his return, he spent two years as a producer at KITV4 Island News, where he oversaw Hawai‘i’s only hour-long evening broadcast. He also served as HPR’s Fund Drive Producer for two years before returning to The Conversation as Executive Producer. In the moments when he’s not working at the station, you can find him visiting donut shops, making top-5 lists, and developing comedy videos that never get made.

Jason Ubay is HPR's news editor. Send your story ideas to him at jubay@hawaiipublicradio.org.

Lillian Tsang is Senior Producer with The Conversation. She has been a part of the talk show team since TC first aired on February 14, 2011. Born and raised in Honolulu, she received her BFA from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Her art career melded with radio after her glass-blowing partner, Anthony Borgioli, introduced her to the college radio station, KTUH. Bitten by the broadcasting bug, Lillian went on to produce and host a her own show “Planet of Sound” for almost a decade. It was a fellow KTUH DJ who told her about a job opening at Hawaiʻi Public Radio as an overnight/weekend board operator. She's since transitioned to a full-time day job and happily part of the HPR ʻohana.