Our Team
Donna Apilado-Schumacher
Founder / Accountant / Small Business Advocate
Donna was born in Oahu and raised in Kilauea, Kauai. She graduated with Honors from the University of Hawaii West Oahu with a Bachelors of Arts in Business Administration in 1999. When she started the Bachelor’s program, she had plans to sit for the CPA exam after graduating. This meant extra accounting classes, which she took and completed by the time she received her B.A.. While she was working on her Bachelor’s, Donna was working full time at a local CPA office in Kapaa. She worked there for about 4 years.
When it came time to preparing for the CPA exam, Donna had a change of heart. Instead, she decided to move to California and experience life out of Hawaii. She also wanted to offer her son, Philip (who was 13 at the time), the opportunity for schooling on the mainland. In California, Donna worked for a couple of start-up tech companies as well as for the City of Capitola, all positions were in Finance.
Donna gladly returned home to Kauai in 2003. Let’s just say the time away gave her a greater appreciation for her home. From 2003 to 2006 she worked for a couple of local small businesses and decided in August of 2006 to start AkamaiBooks.
In her spare time, Donna enjoys surfing, hiking, and exploring new places with her family.
Heather Aguilar
Bookkeeping Division Manager (AkamaiBooks)
In 2009 Heather decided to visit her family on Kauai and Oahu. She had been considering moving near her grandfather on Oahu, but she fell in love with the beauty and peace of Kauai. She moved to Kauai soon after in 2010. Family pulled her away for a few years, but in 2014 she came back to visit her soon to be husband. She has loved living on Kauai ever since.
Heather has enjoyed working in accounting for a number of local businesses. She started out handling the bookkeeping for her own small business, and that of her husband. Later she was brought on as a bookkeeper for a local company with approximately 20 employees, and 4 locations.
Heather loves heading down to the beach with a cup of coffee for sunrise. She and her husband also enjoy playing cribbage, eating poke on the beach, floating, and snorkeling.
Saryta Croesér
Senior Bookkeeper (for AkamaiBooks) / Accounting & Operations Manager (for PayrollHR Hawaii)
Saryta decided to make Kauai her full-time home in January 2019. In 2008, on a whim, Saryta and her husband, Gary, decided to take a 10-day vacation to Kauai. They instantly fell in love with the island and couldn’t wait to return. Shortly thereafter, in 2019, they bought their home on the north shore of Kauai. For the next decade, Saryta and her family made Kauai their part-time home. Finally, in 2019, Saryta fulfilled her dream of becoming a full-time resident of Kauai.
Saryta’s past work history has been predominantly in accounting, human resources, and operations. Some of her prior positions were: Bookkeeper/HR Manager in a large medical practice with 54 employees and two locations in San Antonio, Texas. Director of Operations for a developer and manufacturer of medical devices in San Antonio, Texas. Other companies serving in accounting and bookkeeping capacity: marketer of engineered plastic products, digital advertising, and insurance.
Loving being on Kauai, Saryta swims a mile in the ocean just about every day. She also enjoys working in her yard, cooking, baking, and creating fun, handcrafted toys and clothing for her grandchildren.
Helen Merle
Administrative Support (for AkamaiBooks) / HR Generalist, Client & Safety Liaison (for PayrollHR Hawaii)
A long-time resident of Toronto, Canada, Helen vacationed on Kauai in late 2004 and fell in love. Soon after, in 2005, she moved to Kauai and married the man she fell in love with. In 2006, she and her husband launched a beauty distribution business, which they later dissolved in 2012. Helen’s prior work history has mostly been in corporate, in marketing and research in the banking industry, IT services and a Fortune 100 company.
Helen has been with AkamaiBooks/PayrollHR Hawaii since mid 2015. She took a hiatus in 2016 to mid-2017. Helen loves people and has a great passion for serving the community. She works closely with client employers and serves as an employee advocate on the PEO side of the business as well administrative support for AkamaiBooks.
In her spare time, Helen loves to cook. She’s an amazing artist of flavorful and creative dishes. She also enjoys long walks on the beach with her daughter, Lea, and her dog, Nalu.
