Governor Appoints Members To The UH Board of Regents And The East-West Center

News Release from www.Hawaii.gov/gov

Honolulu – Governor Neil Abercrombie today announced his appointments for the Board of Regents of the University of Hawai'i (UH) and the Board of Governors to East-West Center.

The appointments to the Board of Regents to fill five vacancies are:

• Coralie Matayoshi
• Patrick Naughton
• Saedene Ota
• Sandra Scarr
• Jan Sullivan

The appointments to the East-West Center Board of Governors are:

• George Ariyoshi, ex-officio
• Corianne Lau
• Puongpun Sananikone
• Barbara Tanabe
• R. Brian Tsujimura
• Richard Turbin

ABOUT THE UH BOARD OF REGENTS APPOINTEES:

The UH Board of Regents formulates policy and oversees the university system through the university president.  The board is composed of 15 regents, nominated by the Regents Candidate Advisory Council, appointed by governor and confirmed by the state Senate.

City & County of Honolulu:

Coralie Matayoshi is an attorney who served as Chief Executive Officer of the American Red Cross since 2003.  She is an avid volunteer and has led three statewide nonprofit organizations including the Hawai'i Institute for Continuing Legal Education, the Hawai'i State Bar Association, and the American Red Cross.  Matayoshi was named 2010 Pacific Business News Businesswoman of the Year and has received awards from the U.S. Department of Justice, Hawai'i State Bar Association, and Hawai'i Visitors Bureau.  Matayoshi is a graduate of Punahou School.  She attended the University of Hawai'i for two and half years before graduating with a political science degree from University of California, Berkley.  Matayoshi received her juris doctor degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

Jan Sullivan is the Chief Operating Officer at Oceanit, an engineering, technology and science company.  She previously was the Director of the Department of Land Utilization, as well as the Department of Planning and Permitting for the C&C of Honolulu.  Sullivan served as Chair of the Hawai'i Community Development Authority board, and was a member of the Charter Commission.  Sullivan is a graduate of the University Lab School.  She earned her BA in sociology from the University of Colorado; and obtained her juris doctor degree from the William S. Richardson School of Law.

Hawaii County

Sandra Scarr is a commonwealth Professor of Psychology emerita, University of Virginia, where she was on the faculty from 1983 to 1995.  She previously was a professor at Yale University and University of Minnesota.  Scarr has published in more than 200 articles and four books on intelligence, childcare, and family issues.  In 1985, she won the National Book Award of the American Psychological Association for Mother Care/Other Care.  Since retiring to Hawai'i in 1997, she served on various boards including the Kona Outdoor Circle, Kona Coffee Council, and Hawai'i County Water Board.  Scarr earned her Ph.D. in Psychology and Social Relations from Harvard University.

Patrick Naughton runs a small nonprofit that provides tutoring for children with dyslexia and other reading disabilities. He is an active community volunteer and a member of the Hawai'i Lions in Hilo and the Hawai'i Island Chamber of Commerce.  Naughton received his commission as a lieutenant through the UH Army ROTC program and is a Vietnam combat veteran, twice being decorated for valor.  He taught high school in Jamaica and was an assistant professor at the University of the West Indies and Memorial University of Newfoundland.  Over a span of 20 years, Naughton worked as an academic administrator in the UH system and is a former chancellor at Hawai'i Community College in Hilo.  He earned his MA in Higher Education and PhD in Geography from UH.

Maui County

Saedene Ota is the owner and creative director of Sae Design.  She has received a number of awards for her advertising business including Hawai'i Advertising Federation Pele Best of Show, Advertising Women of the Year, 18 Pele Awards and 44 Pele recognitions.  In 2005, she was awarded U.S. Small Business Advocate of the Year “Women in Business Champion.”  She is also the owner of Maui Thing, a lifestyle apparel retail located in Wailuku.  Ota has served on the boards of the Maui Economic Development, American Institute of Graphic Arts, Hawai'i State Art Museum, Maui Young Business Round Table, Maui Memorial Medical Center Foundation, and A Keiki’s Dream.  Ota studied graphic design and packaging at UH, California State Northridge and Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, Calif.

ABOUT THE APPOINTEES TO THE EAST-WEST CENTER BOARD OF GOVERNORS:

The East-West Center promotes better relations and understanding among the people and nations of the United States, Asia, and the Pacific through cooperative study, research, and dialogue. Established by the U.S. Congress in 1960, the Center serves as a resource for information and analysis on critical issues of common concern, bringing people together to exchange views, build expertise, and develop policy options. The Center is an independent, public, nonprofit organization with funding from the U.S. government, and additional support provided by private agencies, individuals, foundations, corporations, and governments in the region.

The East-West Center Board of Governors consists of 18 members, including five appointed by the Governor of Hawai'i, five appointed by the U.S. secretary of state, five members from Asia and the Pacific Islands who are elected by the full board, and three ex-officio members who include the Governor of Hawai'i, the assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs, and the UH president.

Puongpun Sananikone is an international development economist and business executive whose career has spanned many countries in the Asia-Pacific region for over two decades. His prior employment includes Operations Officer for the Asian Development Bank, Chief Economist and Director of Asian Operations for Louis Berger International and President and Chief Operating Officer of Hawaiian Agronomics International.  In 2003, the UH Alumni Association awarded Sananikone the Distinguished Alumni Award.  Sananikone earned a BA in economics from UH, and an MA in economics from University of Colorado.  He previously served as a Board member of the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center and is a current member of the EWC Foundation board.  Sananikone, who speaks five languages, is the first EWC alumnus from Asia to be appointed to the EWC Board of Governors.  

Barbara Tanabe is owner and partner of Ho'âkea Communications and former Chief Executive Officer of Hill & Knowlton.  She is a communications and issues management specialist with 30 years of experience in public affairs, crisis and issues management, and broadcast journalism in the U.S. and Asia.  Tanabe received an Emmy award for her work on a 1971 documentary on the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.  One of 56 women in American journalism history selected for the Washington Press Club Foundation oral history project on pioneer women, Tanabe was honored with the first Pioneer Award by the Hawai'i chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association.  She is actively involved in community and civic organizations and has served on numerous state boards and commissions, including the Japan America Society of Hawai'i, and the UH Travel Industry Management School Advisory board.  Tanabe earned a BA in Communications from the University of Washington and an MBA at UH.

Corianne Lau is an attorney, Director and Shareholder at Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing.  She is co-chair of the Hawai'i State Bar Association’s Continuing Legal Education Committee and a past director of the Bar.  Lau is a past President of Hawai'i Women Lawyers and of the Hawai'i Women’s Legal Foundation.  She is a member of the National Contract Management Association, the Employment Law Committee of DRI (formerly Defense Research Institute) and the Society for Human Resource Management.  Lau serves on the boards of the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii and Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Honolulu.  She is a former Executive Director of the Hawai'i Institute for Continuing Legal Education.  Lau is the author of the Hawai'i chapter in DRI’s 2006 publication, Employment Law: A State-by-State Compendium.  A graduate of Kalani High School, Lau earned her BA in Psychology and French from Lewis and Clark College and JD from Lewis and Clark College, Northwestern School of Law.

R. Brian Tsujimura is a lawyer, land developer, and lobbyist for Imanaka Kudo & Fujimoto.  He has worked in government as a Deputy Attorney General, in business as Assistant General Counsel for AMFAC, Inc.. As previous President of AMFAC Property Development Corp., he was responsible for the Waikele development and master planning of AMFAC’s Kaanapali development.  Tsujimura currently serves on the boards of the Queen Emma Land Company and the Queen’s Development Corp., PBS Hawai'i, and the Hawai'i Family Forum.  He has served as Chair of the Zoning Board of Appeals of Honolulu; Vice Chair of the Hawai'i Community Development Authority, and President of the board of Palama Settlement.  Tsujimura earned his BA from UH and his JD from Loyola University of Los Angeles, School of Law.

Richard Turbin is Senior Attorney and President of the Law Offices of Turbin Chu Smith.  An attorney for over 37 years, Turbin founded the Consumer Lawyers of Hawai'i.  He served as the President of the Hawai'i State Bar Association and chair of the Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association, where he also served as chair of the International Committee. He also serves as chair of ABA Asia Law Initiative Advisory Board.  Turbin, who speaks three languages, is an active community member and volunteer.  He serves as chairman of the Waialae-Kahala Neighborhood Board, a Civil Rights Commissioner, and has been legal counsel for the Hawaii Jaycees, the Interscholastic League of Hawaii, and the Hawai'i High School Athletic Association.  Turbin has received numerous awards recognizing his legal work and community involvement.  He earned his BS Magna Cum Laude from Cornell University and his JD from Harvard University Law School, which recently chose Turbin as its Traphagen Distinguished Alumni.

George Ariyoshi, former Governor of the State of Hawai'i, will be one of the three ex-officio members to serve on the EWC Board of Governors.

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