For Hawaii Petroleum’s Safety Director, Every Shift Ends the Same Way: All Employees Go Home Safe

Palisbo’s path to safety leadership wasn’t a straight line. Her first real job was at Budget Rent-A-Car, where she spent 11 years working her way from greeter to supervisor. From there, she joined Na Hoaloha Ekolu, the parent company of Old Lahaina Luau, Star Noodle, Leoda’s Kitchen and Pie Shop, and Aloha Mixed Plate, starting as an Administrative Assistant.

She stayed 18 years. By the time she left, she was HR Director and Facilities Manager.

The move to Hawaii Petroleum wasn’t the result of a calculated job search. It came, she says, after a quiet moment of prayer.

“I asked for a new door of opportunity to open for me and my family,” she said. “Two days later, I got a call from a recruiter about a safety position at HP. I never applied for it. To this day, it’s one of my greatest testimonies.”

She took the role, and the fit was immediate.

As Health and Safety Director, Palisbo manages employee injury incidents, analyzes what went wrong, and uses that data to improve processes. She trains employees in CPR, First Aid, and AED use. She works to keep the company compliant, while pushing the culture well beyond compliance.

“Compliance is just the starting point,” she said. “True safety goes beyond that. It’s about commitment to one another and taking courageous actions every day.”

That philosophy is baked into Hawaii Petroleum’s Courageous Culture Safety Map, a framework Palisbo helped build from the ground up. It centers on how employees THINK, ACT, and INTERACT, and it draws directly from the values of the islands.

“The Aloha Spirit is more than just a phrase. It’s a way of life grounded in care, respect, and connection,” she explained. “Our safety culture reflects that. One ʻOhana. One commitment to safety.”

As you might expect, her favorite part of the job isn’t the paperwork or the compliance audits. It’s the field.

“I make it a priority to engage with employees, build relationships, and positively influence their attitudes and behaviors toward safety, not just at work, but hopefully in their everyday lives as well,” she said.

Hawaii Petroleum’s footprint spans Maui and the Big Island, covering everything from bulk marine fueling and wholesale petroleum distribution to a network of Minit Stop convenience stores. Each operation carries its own risks and requires a different safety mindset.

“From a safety perspective, it really challenges me to think broadly and adapt quickly to changing environments,” Palisbo said. “It requires a deep understanding of each area, along with strong collaboration with both frontline teams and leadership.”

The diversity, she says, doesn’t dilute the priority. It sharpens it.

“As diverse as our operations are, they all share one common priority: safety. At the end of the day, everything we do comes back to making sure every employee goes home safely to their families.”

That same commitment extends to the community in which its employees reside and was visible after the 2023 Lahaina fires. Hawaii Petroleum provided free fuel to affected community members and delivered meals to first responders for weeks. ʻOhana Fuels, part of the Hawaii Petroleum family, has continued to support nonprofit organizations across both islands since.

When Hawaii Petroleum hosted nearly a dozen members of the Saltchuk Companies Safety Working Group, Palisbo wanted visitors to experience the culture, not just hear about it.

“What they saw reflects who we are and what our Courageous Culture Safety Map is all about,” she said. “That how we THINK, ACT, and INTERACT with Aloha really means something, and that our actions speak louder than words.”

Her team felt it, too. Getting to showcase their work to peers from across the Saltchuk family of companies energized the frontline.

“I truly believe our employees are my number one customer,” she said. “It’s important to me that I provide them with the support, respect, and level of service they deserve to do their jobs safely and confidently every day.”

The exchange went both ways. Direct conversations with safety professionals from sister companies gave Palisbo insights that would have taken months to develop on her own. She’s now partnering with a colleague from another Saltchuk company to develop a joint Incident Management Team training workshop, bringing leaders from across the family of companies together to train on their specific roles.

“A lot of what they shared would have taken me forever to research,” she said. “Having that direct conversation was so helpful.”

Away from the warehouse and the fuel docks, Palisbo is still taking care of people. She volunteers with the American Red Cross and serves on a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). She’s a board member of the Hāʻikū Community Association and is active with Maui Hui Mālama, an organization that supports at-risk youth in preparing for adulthood.

After the Lahaina fires, she helped coordinate the delivery of more than 300 laptops and school supplies to children in the community. She’s mentored countless young adults, helping them write resumes, prep for interviews, and plan Project Graduation celebrations for their high schools.

“If I could get paid to do community service and volunteer my time, sign me up,” she laughed.

At home, she describes herself as a maker: someone who sees a project on TikTok and decides to build it, even if she’s not sure how. Her husband and adult children, whom she affectionately calls her “kid-dults,” know to brace themselves for what comes next.

“I tell them, ‘I have an idea, now make my dreams come true,’” she said, laughing. “They roll their eyes. And then they do it.”

She’s unapologetic about the chaos.

“I live in a very perfect world, in my head.”

Back at work, the philosophy stays simple. The operations are complex. The stakes are real. But the goal never changes.

“Mahalo for the opportunity to share a little bit about me, but more importantly, about the people we have here at Hawaii Petroleum,” she said, “and the safety culture we built together to ensure we can all get back to our ʻOhana safely, every day and every night.”

Love people, love safety. Love safety, love people.