Jean Sakai Howard was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii.  She graduated from the University of Hawaii at Manoa with a Bachelor's degree in Communications.  During college, she began a background in real estate with focus on property management.  She was the assistant manager for a college dormitory enforcing rules, regulations, accounting, and public relations.  She used her marketing skills through many contacts statewide and to international countries and helped to design brochures and contents to the website.  Her marketing skills enabled the non-profit company to gain years of full occupancy with a waiting list which started from a high vacancy percentage.  After college, she worked for another non-profit business organization and became the Director of Communications.  Some of her achievements include receiving grants to assist one of her major events, a Senior's Health Fair, which enabled a huge crowd to the event to gain awareness about health, exercise, and good diet.  The funds were also devoted to free bus transportation to pick up senior citizens at retirement homes, recreation centers and communities islandwide.  Jean also organized many other fundraising and business-related events for the members and the public.