Our Founder

Meet Kim Smythe

If you have met Kimberly, or Kim, as her close friends and family call her, you know she is introspective, curious, spiritually connected, and someone who believes that as a community, we can do better, be better and know better. Kimberly grew up in a military family that moved every two years until they finally settled in Hawaii in 1972 when she was twelve. Kimberly met her husband Tim in Hawaii, where they married in 1982 and raised their three children.

Kimberly and her family relocated to the mainland in 1998 in order to grow their business, Structus Building Technologies (originally Drywall Systems International). It was Structus that taught them the power of connection, of working together, and sharing ideas for a common goal. After nearly twenty years, and with a heavy heart, they sold their company in 2015.

Personally, Kimberly is someone who has worked to become more aware and at peace with her past. In 1977, at barely 17 years of age, she gave up her first child to adoption. In an uncharacteristic move, she decided to write about her struggles with the experience of adoption and reunion in an award-winning book, “Letting Go Again.” It was, at the time, critical for her to find her voice, to lay claim to a story few had written about.

It was during the publishing process that Kimberly realized another calling: to build a place where people can come to remember that we are all more alike than different; a multi-generational, non-denominational space that reminds us we are all connected and should never have to feel alone. The Hanai Foundation was born of this inspiration.

Kimberly and her husband of 38 years love living in the Great Northwest. When Kimberly is not out connecting with the community, you will find her roaming the trails around Central Oregon, on her bike with her husband Tim, or with their wonderful extended family and friends. Learn more about Kimberly’s journey by reading her blog on the experiences that have shaped her, and guide her today.