SENECA KLASSEN
FOUNDER, CEO
Following a lifelong passion for chocolate, in 2004 Seneca co-founded a chain of chocolate cafes located in the San Francisco Bay Area. A new generation of chocolate makers was laying the groundwork for today’s craft chocolate industry.
At Bittersweet, he started to sell these new craft chocolates, and imported bars from producers around the world, so that his customers could educate their palates by tasting bars from many origins. This led to Seneca’s own bean-to-bar experimentation and he began buying beans from various countries, bringing them to California, and making chocolate as fast as he could learn.
Inspiration through chocolate
In 2008, Seneca curated the chocolate panel at the Slow Food Nation conference in San Francisco, with leaders from the artisanal chocolate industry. Nearly 100,000 attendees, chefs, farmers, and consumers learned how to better connect with their food and achieve food-chain transparency.
With that inspiration in mind, he set his sights on creating an estate-grown chocolate company.
Educating for global change
Seneca continues to educate throughout the U.S. on both what it takes to start an estate-grown chocolate company and why it’s so important to change the current global business model.
He assists in leading chocolate adventure trips with his life partner and fellow chocolate entrepreneur Sunita de Tourreil, and together they have produced a five-part video series about cacao and chocolate across the globe.
Award-Winning Chocolate
Lonohana has earned multiple awards for chocolate since its inception and perhaps most importantly, has allowed Seneca to continue to play a leading role in helping to establish Hawaii as a world-class origin for cacao and the young chocolate industry that has blossomed since his dream began a reality.
LAWRENCE, VIRGINIE
& MILES BOONE
CO-FOUNDERS, DIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING
Lawrence and Seneca grew up together in a small farming community in Central California, and in 2011 he, his wife and their son, Miles, joined in this adventure.
Both Lawrence and Virginie spent several decades in the California wine industry, and the concept of launching an estate-grown chocolate company was not dissimilar to what began in the Napa Valley a half-century ago. They also wanted their son to experience and respect the importance of farming, to have exposure at an early age of what it means to work hard and dream big.
Lawrence oversees the sales & marketing aspects of Lonohana. Virginie makes sure our marketing and media are on point. Their son, Miles, currently attends college at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo majoring in Agricultural Sciences.
RUSSELL GHEEN
PARTNER, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Russell joined the Lonohana management team in 2024 after having spent nearly two decades working in agriculture. He worked every job up through the ranks at Growerʻs Ice, the preeminent vegetable storage and logistics company in the Salinas Valley. Eventually becoming General Manager, Russell managed finance, HR, legal & business development, and led the company through its successful sale.
Russell brings a wealth of experience to us as we continue to grow, making sure that we have the strong operational and financial controls required of a vertically integrated farming and manufacturing company. Russell was born and raised only a few miles (as a crow flies) from Seneca & Lawrence and shares the same love for farming, land preservation and wild entrepreneurship.
LISA LEE & EMMA KLASSEN-LEE
CO-FOUNDERS
Lisa and Emma joined Seneca in the move from Northern California to Hawaii in 2010 to assist with the dream of building Lonohana Estate Chocolate. Over the years they have planted, pruned and picked cacao; helped build the chocolate factory; wrapped more bars in foil than any one can imagine; and loved (nearly) ever minute of it.
Today, Lisa is a marketing professional at an Hawaii-based Insurance Company and helps with marketing and local partnerships. Emma has worked in both the factory and our retail store and thereʻs no one better to explain the entire process, because she has lived it. Emma is also a wonderfully talented artist, graduating in 2026 from the Art Institute of Chicago and creates the gorgeous illustrations for our Onomea chocolate products.
ANI IZUTA
VP Sales & Marketing
Ani oversees all of our sales at the store and factory, as well as manages our wholesale accounts. She joined Lonohana after three years as Director of Retail at The Ritz-Carlton Turtle Bay Oʻahu, Turtle Bay. Previously, she worked as in-house sales for Burton, HAYN and Billabong in Hawaii, Japan and Guam.
Born and raised in Hawaii, Ani has a real passion for the promotion of Hawaiian companies and sustainable agriculture. She cares deeply about helping to leave the aina better than before. Aniʻs love for retail traces back to her childhood where she accompanied her mother to trade shows, and she thrives in and excels at customer relationships and helping to create authentic guest experiences. up with the most organized, thoughtful and efficient operational plans.
CYNTHIA CRUZ
Fulfillment manager
Cynthia has so many skills she’s the one who keeps everything rolling. With a decade of project management & marketing experience, primarily in the natural and specialty food industries, Cynthia primarily manages our fulfillment department, but she also makes sure that all the daily challenges that pop up in a small business are professionally tackled.
Before joining Lonohana, Cynthia spent 10 years working in the marketing department at Down to Earth Organic & Natural Market here on Oahu and is passionate about helping Hawaii make further strides towards food sustainability.
Super passionate about craft chocolate, Cynthia brings fresh ideas and a level headed analysis to how to help Lonohana both thrive and make a bigger impact on the cacao industry here in Hawaii.
ROBERT "DUKE" MORGAN
FARM MANAGER
Duke joined us in 2021 as our farm manager after spending the prior six years as the Horticultural Specialist at Waimea Valley Botanical Garden. He brings over a decade of experience farming in Hawaii after graduating from University of Hawaii with a degree in Tropical Plants and Soil Structure.
Duke is deeply committed to and holds a wealth of knowledge in regenerative agriculture, the main farming philosophy we adhere to on our North Shore cacao farm.
Not only is Duke passionate about cacao and its potential here in Hawaii, his skillset includes aquaculture, breadfruit cultivation, forest preservation, nursery and orchard maintenance, indigenous plant propagation and protection, and continues a decade of consulting for Kohala Forest Reserve and its native endangered plants.
Pictured here with our most tenured and essential worker “Coco” the tractor.
Jadie Geil
FULFILLMENT COORDINATOR
Jadie joined us in 2025 to work closely with Cynthia and head up our expanding fulfillment department.
They bring their endless passion and commitment to the people, causes and businesses dedicated to making a difference here in Hawaii. With a background in project management, problem solving and retail food they are a great addition to our team.
Jadie worked previously at Kokua Natural Market, FitNFresh and Hapa Market & Grill where they led teams, worked in the trenches, and still always finds time to volunteer for causes in our local community.
In addition to managing all our wholesale orders, Jadie maintains our direct retail as well as website storefront.
MATT ANDREASSEN
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Matt joined Lonohana in 2026 as our production manager bringing with him over seven years of experience in food production, factory operations and manufacturing quality control.
Matt has an incredible ability to work meticulously, encourage his team and operate gracefully under pressure, especially when the unexpected challenge rears itʻs head.
With a diverse background in restaurant management, baking, massage therapy, gelato production, ice cream sandwich manufacturing and medical cannabis QC and compliance, Matt brings his calm demeanor to the factory every day keeping production operating seamlessly.
MAZIE FEEBACK
RETAIL & EVENTS MANAGER
Mazie joined us in November 2025 on the same day we were opening a pop-up retail location in Waikiki. To say she jumped in the deep end with both feet and hit the ground running is putting it gently.
Drawing on seven years of retail management and customer experience she manages our retail staff as well as our outside events team. She always has everyoneʻs back and navigates every day and every interaction with grace and humility.
Prior to Lonohana, Mazie worked locally at Malie Organics and House of Mana Up as store manager, and before moving to Honolulu she built her career at West Elm, Louis Vuitton & Kate Spade. Originally from Tampa, Florida, Mazie graduated from The Art Institute of Tennessee with a degree in textiles marketing management.
ORION KIBBEE
MARKETING ASSOCIATE
Orion joined us in Fall 2024 as a part-time retail associate at SALT while he was working on his marketing degree at University of Manoa. Within a matter of weeks he was getting rave reviews from our customers and really threw himself into a world (chocolate) that he hadn't known before.
Orion started helping out Cynthia with improving our shop experience and then with our social media content. He is always greeting you with a huge smile and boundless positive energy.
In May 2025, having completed his Marketing Degree, we are excited that Orion has joined full-time with Lonohana helping to elevate our marketing, sales and community outreach efforts.
ROLLIE GARCIA
FACTORY TOURS & FULFILLMENT
When there is any task, any challenge or just a deluge of work to be done, you are guaranteed that Rollie is the first to show up, last to leave and keeps you laughing throughout.
Rollie joined us in Fall 2024 just as the holiday crush was getting out of control. Making deliveries to wholesale, covering shifts at the shop, producing drinks and specialty items - whatever was needed.
Rollie has been a huge addition to our team because he has worked in every department, and tackled every task from farm to factory. Rollie leads our factory tours and excels at sharing our story, how chocolate is grown, and invites everyone to get curious and eat a lot of samples!
