We want to introduce you to CDH International’s Hawaii Ambassador, Denise Lin DeShetler. Denise is the mom to cherub Kai.
Denise lives in Honolulu with her husband and three active children. Denise loves to learn about different cultures and how that plays into health. She hold an M.A. in Medical Anthropology and an M.P.H. in Community Health Sciences. Her career path has always guided her towards research: after more than 15 years conducting both clinical and community-based research, Denise turned to research administration. She is an active member of Hawaii’s research community, and advocates for research volunteers by educating research investigators, physicians and students on how to conduct ethical research through her position as Operations Manager of the Research Regulatory Office at a local hospital .
Outside of work, she is very involved at her church. Her cherub son is the main reason she became Catholic in 2016. Despite not having extended family around during Kai’s journey, Denise was blessed with many loving friends and strangers who brought so much ALOHA to her and her family in their time of need. To this day, fellow church members still pray for Kai and call him the “miracle baby.” It is through this shared aloha that Denise now hopes to support other families in their time of need.
