Governor-elect Josh Green recently announced nominees to serve as Director and/or Deputy Director for fourteen state departments in his cabinet.
Green secured twenty executive nominees for fourteen state departments to ensure that workflows are not disrupted. With these announcements, every state department will have an executive in place on Monday, Dec. 5th. The Chairpersons for Departments of Agriculture, Land and Natural Resources and Hawaiian Homelands have terms that end December 31, 2022. Appointments for those departments will be coming soon.
In a press release Green said, “I am assembling a cabinet that will move the State of Hawai‘i forward and commit to a strong sense of service to the people of Hawai‘i. This is a group of high caliber individuals with strengths in their respective fields. They join together as leaders of Hawai‘i with an urgency to make change and face our challenges head on.”
Below is further information on the appointees.
Appointments to Director of state departments:
Anne Lopez – Attorney General for the Department of the Attorney GeneralLopez joins with extensive legal experience across multiple state departments. Most recently as Vice President and General Counsel for the Hawaiʻi Health Systems Corporation she brings executive managerial experience to the department and crucial understanding of government affairs. She is prepared to take on the legal challenges facing the state and provide effective leadership to the Department of the Attorney General.
Luis Salaveria – Director of the Department of Budget & FinanceSalaveria has over twenty years of experience in the public and private sector working on budget and policy issues. He most recently worked with SanHi government solutions and previously served in the Ige Administration as the Director of the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, and in the Abercrombie Administration as Deputy Director of Budget and Finance under Kalbert Young.
Major General Kenneth Hara – Adjutant General for the Department of DefenseMaj. Gen. Hara will continue to serve as the Adjutant General. His leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and experience with disaster management are important sources of continuity for the Green Administration and the state, especially with the volcanic eruption at Mauna Loa.
Ed Sniffen – Director of the Department of TransportationSniffen most recently served as the Deputy Director for Highways with the Department of Transportation and will drive the department to build on his work, paving lasting change for the State’s infrastructure demands.
Brenna Hashimoto – Director of the Department of Human Resources DevelopmentHashimoto previously served as a Human Resources Officer in the Department of Human Services where she oversaw the human resources program for over 2,300+ positions and served as member of the negotiating teams for bargaining units 9 and 10. She brings important state institutional knowledge to her new role leading the Department of Human Resources Development.
Keith Regan – Comptroller for the Department of Accounting and General ServicesRegan recently served as a Business Management Officer with the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. He previously worked as the Chief Administrative Officer for the Hawaii Tourism Authority and was Managing Director for the County of Maui.
Chris Sadayasu – Director of the Department of Business, Economic Development & TourismSadayasu has over seventeen years of experience as an expert in economic development in the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, and in the department’s various attached agencies including HTA, HCDA, and HHFDC. He most recently served as the Charities Program Administrator with the Department of the Attorney General.
Nadine Ando – Director of the Department of Commerce and Consumer AffairsAndo has over 40 years of commercial litigation experience including complex work on regulatory and professional licensing. She has a proven background with insurance investigations, financial institutions, and consumer protection. Catherine Awakuni Colón will holdover through mid December.
Jade Butay – Director of the Department of Labor and Industrial RelationsButay has executive experience working as a deputy and director for State departments including workforce development, unemployment, occupational safety and health.
Dr. Kenneth Fink – Director of the Department of HealthDr. Fink is an experienced physician executive with a proven background working on health policy at the state and federal levels. He is currently with Hawai‘i Medical Service Association of Hawai‘i as Vice President of Medicaid and Medicare programs and will join the Green Administration in January 2023. Dr. Libby Char will continue as Director of Health with her team until Fink’s start in January 2023.
Cathy Betts – Director of the Department of Human ServicesBetts will continue in her role as Director of the Department of Human Services. Under her leadership the department worked to meet the dramatic increase in demand for social services head on during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jordan Lowe – Director of the Department of Law EnforcementLowe will continue in his role as Director of Law Enforcement. He has over 41 years of experience in Law Enforcement which will help the newly created department form, develop its investigation program, and centralize its enforcement functions.
Tommy Johnson – Director of the Department of Public SafetyJohnson recently served as the Deputy Director for Corrections at the Department of Public Safety. His experience at the Hawai‘i Paroling Authority is critical as he leads the effort to transition the department to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in 2024.
Gary Suganuma – Director of the Department of TaxationSuganuma recently served as the Supervising Deputy Attorney General for the Tax and Charities Division at the Department of the Attorney General where he supervised and coordinated on legal matters related to the Department of Taxation.
Appointments to Deputy Director of state departments:
Kathy Ho, Deputy Director for Environmental Health Administration for the Department of HealthHo and her team will continue leading efforts following the Red Hill disaster to ensure the defueling and closure of the tanks is done expeditiously and safely. She has over 30 years of leadership taking on environmental issues for the State of Hawai‘i.
Sabrina Nasir, Deputy Director of the Department of Budget and FinanceNasir most recently served at the Department of Budget and Finance in a role focused on federal funds and as a Senior Special Assistant to the Office of the Governor where she worked on budget and policy issues statewide.
Dane Wicker, Deputy Director of the Department of Business, Economic Development & TourismWicker most recently worked at the Department of Planning and Permitting with the City and County of Honolulu and previously worked for the Hawai‘i State Senate Committee on Ways and Means.
Brigadier General Stephen F. Logan, Deputy Adjutant General of the Department of DefenseBrig. Gen. Logan continues in his role as Deputy Adjutant General. His background leading the Hawai‘i Army National Guard and work on natural disaster management are critical to emergency management efforts in the state.
Marian Tsuji, Deputy Director for Behavioral Health of the Department of HealthTsuji has 30 years of experience working with disadvantaged populations and has served in various executive administrator positions.
Joseph Campos II, Deputy Director of the Department of Human ServicesCampos will continue in his role as Deputy Director of the Department of Human Services where he has built a positive working relationship with division leaders across the department.
Governor-elect Green, who will be sworn in at a ceremony at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center Arena today, at Noon, encourages interested Hawaiʻi residents to apply to serve at every level of government through the hiring portal of the State of Hawaiʻi: jobs.hawaii.gov.
Photo courtesy of Officer of Governor-Elect Josh Green and The Associated Press