About
Why pryzm?
Aloha and Mahalo
Our Story and Our Name
Once upon a time all of us worked together at a different engineering company in Honolulu, Hawaii. For many years, many islands, throughout the Pacific. We all eventually left one by one to go our separate ways, but one day this same group of professionals realized we have always enjoyed working with each other, so we decided to embark on a new journey with Pryzm.
New and Improved
Pryzm is new in name but we are seasoned professionals who have worked and traveled together for nearly a decade. We’re certified, professionally licensed and have 10-30 years’ experience in our fields. Continuing education keeps us up on the latest criteria, trends and methods.
Not Our First Go-Around
Our team has a proven track record of successfully completed projects. We’ve worked in Hawaii (Oahu, Kauai, Maui & Hawaii Island), Guam, Palau, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Micronesia (Yap, Kosrae, Pohnpei & Chuuk), Marshall Islands, American Samoa, Tonga and a few other islands in-between. We understand local cultures, regulations and tropical environments.
Something Different
We provide civil engineering, environmental engineering, and planning services, but we can also help you with contracting office representation, grant writing, loan application, and funding assistance.
Scope, Schedule, Cost, Client, Team, Quality
The Pryzm team manages all of these and more. We never forget that our success depends on your success.
A Global Design Philosophy
Our design solutions address sustainability, energy efficiency, environmental protection and cultural sensitivity. There may be only one world, but we’ll help you come up with many practical, creative and cost-effective solutions.
Who we are
Kai Austin
Our native Hawaiian founder and president, Kai, comes from a banking background, so he understands your financial needs, commitments and restraints. He provides daily oversight and guidance for all our projects, and is always eager to meet and help clients achieve their goals. A well-respected baseball player who once played for Punahou, he knows how to make the right pitches to win. He’s also good at catching…fish.
Kekoa McClellan
Well-known in Hawaii’s political circles, Kekoa has worked with top elected government officials and knows the ins and outs of the processes needed to accomplish difficult but important goals. A native Hawaiian with deep roots in the community, he also has a background in banking and finance as well as management experience with Pelatron Power Evolution. He serves on numerous community boards and enjoys the spectacular island sunsets from his home on the Waianae coast.
Pat Campanella
Originally an electrical engineer from Boston, Pat has become an expert on Pacific Island projects and program management for many years. He has worked closely with agencies like the US Department of Interior and with foreign governments like the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. He reviews and handles all Pryzm contracts and teaming agreements, and is known for providing a wonderfully sarcastic dry wit when the occasion calls for it.
Gary Coover
A former City Engineer and Plan Reviewer, Gary has worked from Texas to Delaware to North Dakota to Guam and Pago Pago. He has engineering and management experience and specializes in site civil infrastructure, planning, design, cost estimates and QA/QC. He also has significant community planning and historic preservation experience. He has published books and given presentations on marketing, history and music, and even knows how to play a concertina.
Marisol Tacon
Our Filipina Powerhouse, Marisol is well-known for her thoroughness and attention to detail on every project. This, along with her cheerful good nature makes her a client favorite and a welcome leader of most of our design teams. Fluency in Tagalog provides yet another plus for coordinating with Filipino clients, engineers and agencies. She’s also the official band mom for the popular reggae group “Hirie”.
Gavin Nishimura
Gavin knows AutoCAD Civil 3D and is not afraid to use it. He also has significant design coordination experience and knows exactly what the reviewing agencies like to see in submittals. A graduate of Mid-Pacific Institute, he is an avid golfer, bowler and softball player. And his mother makes really delicious cupcakes, too.
Tommy Reiher
Tommy is our CAD Technician, proficient in Autodesk Revit to develop 3D renderings and AutoCAD drafting. He obtained his major in architectural, engineering and CAD technologies from the University of Hawaii. For larger enterprises he is also in charge of coordinating projects. Originally from the Marshall Islands, so he is fluent in the Marshallese and Pohnpeian languages. Tommy is a basketball player who also enjoys fishing and eating big yellowfin tuna after a successful game.
Jenny Lee
Jenny is our newest member of the Pryzm’s staff. She supports the team with coordinating and managing projects as well as writing proposals and looking out for marketing opportunities. She was born and raised in Germany and brings the European flair into the Pryzm ohana. Once moving to beautiful Hawaii, she became a surfing addict and rides every wave she comes across.
Mimi Campanella
It’s Mimi who handles Pryzm's accounting, project set up, time keeping and document management system. She also knows a lot about engineering since she’s married to Pat Campanella. And she’s fluent in Mandarin and Japanese so be sure to say “Ni hao” or “Kon’nichiwa” the next time you meet.