2024 HCES Engineer of the Year
TERRANCE ARASHIRO
Since 2013, Terrance Arashiro has served as only the 5th President of Austin, Tsutsumi, and Associates, Inc. (ATA), a 90-year old kamaaina civil engineering firm established in 1934. After completing his B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 1985, Mr. Arashiro earned project experience at Sam O. Hirota, Inc. and Wm. Dean Alcon & Associates, Inc. civil engineering firms before joining ATA in 1995 as a Project Manager, culminating in nearly 40 years of work experience within the local engineering community.
Some of Mr. Arashiro’s earliest work experience has contributed to his perspectives of what should be instilled to being a well-rounded engineer. His first job was as a custodian in his church at age 14, while also working with his father, a middle school math teacher, during summer breaks renovating and painting homes. He says his dad was the hardest working person he knew and taught him how to approach any problem logically. Later, he gained his first engineering working experience through an internship and entry level position with Sam O. Hirota, Inc., where he enjoyed in-field work with survey crews, cutting lines and holding rods in deeply vegetated gulches and working on the master plan and design for the Hilton Hawaiian Village Resort’s first major renovations which still stand to this day. He shared that the late Mr. Sam O. Hirota was the Territorial Engineer prior to statehood, and was an “engineer’s engineer” who had an encouraging spirit to all staff. Eventually, moving to Alcon & Associates, he joined what would be a 3-man engineering company, doing all forms of work from field surveys and hand-plotting maps, to preparing invoices and managing clients. It was there that his understanding of what goes into running a business was honed. The company worked on a number of affordable housing projects for the Hawaii Housing Authority which helped shape Mr. Arashiro’s understanding of serving communities with the most basic of needs, housing, and the sense of reward that it brought.
While much of his time today is focused on managing the ATA business, Mr. Arashiro is passionate about civil engineering, and continues to focus on all types of residential housing projects. His running joke or mantra (albeit true) is all civil projects start with grading and drainage. As he mentors other engineers at all levels, he remains actively involved in managing projects, most notably working on the Pulelehua and Honua’ula communities on Maui, the Rehabilitation of Streets and Complete Street projects for the City and County of Honolulu, and the Kukuiula development on Kauai. Within the walls of ATA, Mr. Arashiro is committed to fostering a strong company culture, building and growing a great staff of dedicated professionals. He participates in the company’s Health & Wellness initiatives, ESOP activities and events, Olelo O ATA newsletter, and various outreach and Career Days. Under his leadership, ATA has received several top 3 company recognitions as Pacific Business News’ Best Workplaces and Hawaii Business Magazine’s Best Places to Work. He says, “The secret sauce is having a company of ‘giving’ people, and great people attract great people. It ultimately makes working at ATA highly rewarding.”
Mr. Arashiro has served on the board of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Hawaii (ACECH), and currently serves the Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP) Association of Hawaii, the Board of Directors of Hawaii Baptist Academy, and his home church, Olivet Baptist. He has been recognized as a Hawaii Business News Black Book Top 250 Executive and Pacific Business News 40 Under 40 Honoree.
In his free time, Mr. Arashiro enjoys spending time with his grandchildren and family, volunteering with his church, skiing, golfing, surfing, painting, UH sports, and tinkering on home projects.