OHA hires new Chief Operating Officer

News Release from OHA

HONOLULU (October 3, 2018) – The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) today announced the selection of Sylvia Hussey, Ed.D., as the agency’s new Ka Pou Nui (Chief Operating Officer), whose responsibilities will include helping to oversee the agency’s day-to-day operations and the execution of its strategic plan and programmatic initiatives. She will start on Nov. 19.

Dr. Hussey brings more than 30 years of experience in education administration, policy development and implementation, finance, operations, and information technology. She served in leadership positions at various institutions throughout the state, most recently as the executive director of the Native Hawaiian Education Council (NHEC), and previously was with Kamehameha Schools for more than a decade where she was the vice president of administration.

“We are excited to welcome Sylvia to the OHA ‘ohana,” said Kamanaʻopono M. Crabbe, OHA’s Chief Executive Officer/Ka Pouhana. “Her progressive and well-rounded background, business acumen and extensive experience working on issues important to our beneficiaries is a good fit for OHA, and she will bring valuable and practical perspectives to the Ka Pou Nui position.”

Dr. Hussey is also a certified public accountant (not in public practice) and previously worked as a director at Candon Consulting Group, senior manager at KPMG Consulting and finance director at the Honolulu Board of Realtors. In 2016, Dr. Hussey was appointed by the Board of Education to serve as a commissioner of the State Public Charter School Commission.

Dr. Hussey received a bachelor of science degree in accounting from Brigham Young University, and has a master’s degree in Education Foundations and a doctorate of education from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. She is currently a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the American Educational Research Association, the American Evaluation Association, and their state counterparts, among other affiliations.

“I am humbled to join the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and to continue working toward empowering Native Hawaiians,” said Dr. Hussey. “I look forward to working together to inspire positive change and strengthen our families and communities.”

Dr. Hussey was born and raised in Kohala and currently lives in Kāne‘ohe with her husband Brian.

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(Editor’s Note: Former OHA COO Lisa Victor is now CTO.)

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