REPORT FROM OHA – HONOLULU – The Office of Hawaiian Affairs announced today that its Board of Trustees has created an executive committee meant to improve the organization’s effectiveness as a major landowner in the state.
Maui Trustee Carmen “Hulu” Lindsey has been named chairperson of the board’s newly-created Committee on Land and Property, which will oversee the acquisition and management of all lands owned by OHA, which is the state’s 13th largest landowner, controlling 28,226 acres statewide, including Waimea Valley on the North Shore of O‘ahu, the Palauea Cultural Preserve along the West Coast of Maui, and 30-acres of mostly waterfront property at Kaka‘ako Makai near downtown Honolulu.
The new committee brings to three the total number of committees that OHA trustees can now sit on. The board’s other two committees are: the Committee on Asset and Resource Management as well as the Committee on Beneficiary Advocacy and Empowerment.
“We believe that this new committee makes strategic sense as we continue to work to strengthen our organization for the benefit of all Native Hawaiians,” said OHA Chairperson Colette Machado. “It represents our commitment to building a strong and diverse asset base that could help improve conditions for Hawaiians.”
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) is a unique, independent state agency established through the Hawai‘i State Constitution and statutes to advocate for the betterment of conditions of all Native Hawaiians, with a Board of Trustees elected by the voters of Hawai‘i. OHA is guided by a vision and mission to ensure the perpetuation of the culture, to protect the entitlements of Native Hawaiians, and to build a strong and healthy Hawaiian people and nation. For more information, visit www.oha.org.