Department Directors and Deputies
Department of Accounting and General Services
Audrey Hidano, Comptroller
Audrey Hidano will be the state comptroller and head of the department effective Oct. 21, 2022. Hidano has served as the deputy director since April 2015. Prior to joining DAGS, she served as deputy director at the departments of Transportation and Labor and Industrial Relations. In addition, Hidano is the co-founder of Hidano Construction, Inc., was a co-owner of Rim-Pac, Inc., and served as a public affairs analyst at Hawaiian Telcom (formerly Verizon and GTE Hawaiian Tel).
“Audrey is well positioned to facilitate the management and supervision of the wide range of programs and activities handled by the department,” said Gov. Ige.
Meoh-Leng Silliman, Deputy Comptroller
Meoh-Leng Silliman is being appointed to fill the deputy position at the department beginning Oct. 21, 2022. She has been the business management officer at DAGS since 2017. She previously held other managerial positions in the state, having served as a Branch Chief in the Department of Budget and Finance and the Business Management Officer at the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. Prior to relocating to Hawaiʻi, Silliman held a series of progressively more responsible managerial positions during a ten-year tenure at the New York District Attorney’s Office, including the positions of Deputy Director of Fiscal Affairs and Deputy Director of Operations. She earned a B.A. from Hamilton College in New York and a M.B.A. from George Washington University in D.C.
Phyllis Shimabukuro-Geiser, Board of Agriculture Chairman
Shimabukuro-Geiser is a long-time agriculture advocate who was previously employed at Mikilua Poultry Farm, Inc. in Waianae, having served as vice president and administrative and fiscal assistant. She was also vice president at Associated Producers Corp. in Honolulu.
Morris M. Atta, Deputy to the Chair
Morris served as head of land acquisition for the city’s Honolulu Rail Transit Project, state lands administrator and special projects coordinator for the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, and research attorney for the Senate Majority Research Office, Hawai‘i State Senate.
He has also worked as an attorney in various capacities in the public and private sectors.
Morris is a graduate of Roosevelt High School, Yale University where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, and New York University School of Law where he earned his Juris Doctor.
Department of the Attorney General
Holly Shikada, Attorney General
Shikada is a 30-year veteran with the Department of the Attorney General, having served 18 years as the Supervising Deputy Attorney General for the Education Division. Prior to that, she led a unit within the Department focused on ensuring compliance with a class-action settlement known as the Felix Consent Decree. Shikada also served in the Department’s Family Law Division and started her career in private practice with the Fujiyama Duffy & Fujiyama law firm. Shikada attended the University of Hawai‘i, Manoa, where she earned a B.A. in accounting and earned her law degree from the William S. Richardson School of Law.
Valerie Kato, First Deputy
Kato has over 20 years of experience practicing law in the State of Hawai‘i, starting her legal career clerking for Judge Corinne K.A. Watanabe at the Hawai‘i Intermediate Court of Appeals then working in private practice with the law firm of Ning Lilly & Jones. After joining the Department, Kato served in the Commerce and Economic Development Division and, most recently, in the Health Division, advising the Department of Health. A graduate of Pearl City High School, Kato earned a B.A. in English from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.
Department of Budget and Finance
Craig Hirai, Director
Hirai served as executive director of the Hawai‘i Housing Finance & Development Corporation (HHFDC), State of Hawai‘i since 2013. He is also the sole member of Craig K. Hirai, CPA, LLC. Previously, Hirai was a consultant (shareholder/director) at Bowen Hunsaker Hirai Consulting, Inc. and Bowen Hunsaker Hirai, Certified Public Accountants. In addition, Hirai worked as a tax attorney in private practice. Hirai is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) where he earned an M.S. in accounting and an M.B.A. He went on to earn his J.D. at Hastings College of Law at the University of California San Francisco, and his LL.M – a Master of Laws (in taxation), a post-graduate law degree from New York University
Gloria Chang, Deputy Director
Chang joined the Department of Budget and Finance after a 43 year career with First Hawaiian Bank, from which she retired as Vice President in 2017. Her career at the bank encompassed positions in corporate banking, managed assets, and commercial loan documentation. She is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College, and received her MBA from the University of Hawai‘I at Mānoa.
Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism
Mike McCartney, Director
McCartney is the past president and chief executive officer of the Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority, the state’s tourism agency. Prior to serving in this role, he was the executive director of the Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association. He also served as the director of the Department of Human Resources Management and was president and CEO of PBS Hawaiʻi. He served in the Hawaiʻi State Senate for 10 years.
Chung I. Chang, Deputy Director
Chang most recently served as the coordinator of DBEDT’s Office of Aerospace Development. He has worked a legislative session as a bills researcher in the State Senate’s Ways and Means Committee and spent over a decade in the non-profit sector at HMSA as a senior analyst, section supervisor, and a marketing coordinator. He has owned and managed small businesses and currently serves on the Space Policy Committee of the Aerospace States Association.
Scott Glenn, Chief Energy Officer
Glenn served as director of the Office of Environmental Quality Control (OEQC) since 2015, where he led the modernization of the state environmental review process by developing new administrative rules and updating best practices.
In addition, Scott was the co-chair of the Sustainable Hawai‘i Initiative, and liaison to the U.S. Climate Alliance – a coalition of U.S. governors committed to the Paris Agreement. In these roles, he worked with state, county, and federal agencies, as well as communities across the state, and stakeholders nationally and internationally to coordinate state policy development on energy, climate change, and key sustainability initiatives.
Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs
Catherine Awakuni Colón (Cat), Director
Colón will continue as the director of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, a position she’s held since January 2015. Prior to this she was the cable administrator in the DCCA’s Cable Television Division and served as the department’s executive director for its Division of Consumer Advocacy from 2006 to 2009. She previously served as chief legal counsel and commission counsel for the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission. Awakuni Colón holds a Bachelor’s of Business Administration from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and a J.D. from the William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaiʻi.
Jo Ann Uchida Takeuchi, Deputy Director
Takeuchi has been the deputy at DCCA since April 2012. Prior to this she served in various staff and leadership capacities at DCCA including as the complaints and enforcement officer with DCCA’s Regulated Industries Complaints Office, as the executive director of DCCA’s Office of Consumer Protection (OCP) and senior attorney to the OCP. Uchida Takeuchi earned B.A.s in English and political science at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and a J.D. from the William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaiʻi.
Major General Kenneth Hara, Adjutant General
Maj. Gen. Hara served as the Deputy Adjutant General since Jan. 2019. In addition, he has been the Assistant Adjutant General – Army since Jan. 2018, and since Feb. 2018 Hara was dual-hatted as the Deputy Chief of Staff, Army National Guard, Operations, G3, Eighth United States Army Korea. In addition, he has served as the chief of the Joint Staff for the Hawaiʻi National Guard where he was responsible for day-to-day operations. Prior to that, he served as commander for the 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Hawaiʻi Army National Guard. Maj. Gen. Hara has served in command positions during deployments to Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan. In addition to his federal mobilizations, Hara has served on several state missions in support of local authorities. Most notably he played key roles in the response following Hurricane Iniki in 1992, after an earthquake struck the island of Hawaiʻi in 2006, and as the Dual Status Commander of Joint Task Force 5-0 in support of the Kīlauea volcanic eruption and Hurricane Lane responses in 2018. Brig. Gen. Hara earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in human services from Hawaii Pacific University and a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College.
Brigadier General Stephen F. Logan, Deputy Adjutant General
Brig. Gen. Logan served as the chief of staff of the Hawai‘i Army National Guard since Mar. 2017. Previously, he served as commander for the 29th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, commander of the 103rd Troop Command, and as the state Army aviation officer for more than a decade, flying and managing both fixed and rotary wing aircraft. Logan is also a 22-year veteran of the Honolulu Police Department, retiring in 2004 as a patrol watch commander at the rank of Metropolitan Police Lieutenant. Logan served in key positions during his deployment to Afghanistan, working closely with Afghan National Police and Security Forces. In addition, Logan has served on several state missions in support of local authorities – most recently as the deputy commander of Joint Task Force 5-0 in support of the Kīlauea volcanic eruption and Hurricane Lane responses in 2018. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Chaminade University and a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College.
Keith Hayashi, Superintendent
The Board of Education on May 19, 2022, voted to hire Keith T. Hayashi to lead Hawai‘i’s public school system as superintendent for a term to begin Jul. 1, 2022.
Hayashi, who was tapped from his position as principal of Waipahu High School to serve as interim superintendent on Aug. 1, 2021, was one of three finalists for the permanent position.
Hayashi’s 32-year career with the Department spans the school, complex area and state level. He led Waipahu High School as principal since 2009, a position for which he received numerous awards, including Hawai‘i High School Principal of the Year and the collegiate Shirley B. Gordon Award of Distinction. He is credited with pioneering the Early College program in Hawai‘i public schools and earned the distinction for Waipahu High as the state’s first nationally recognized wall-to-wall academy model school.
Hayashi began his education career at Lehua Elementary as a teacher and went on to serve as a district resource teacher in Leeward O‘ahu. He also served as a vice principal and principal at the elementary, middle and high school levels before becoming Pearl City-Waipahu Complex Area Superintendent. At the state level, he served as interim deputy superintendent and as interim superintendent in 2017. Hayashi earned his bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. He also holds two Master of Education degrees — in curriculum and instruction, and educational administration — from UH Mānoa.
Heidi Armstrong, Deputy Superintendent
Heidi Armstrong was named deputy superintendent on Sept. 2, 2022. She served as interim deputy superintendent since Jul. 1 and as assistant deputy superintendent from April–June to ensure a smooth leadership transition for the Office of the Deputy Superintendent.
Deputy Armstrong brings over 30 years of experience spanning school, district and state leadership positions.
She previously served as assistant superintendent for the Office of Student Support Services (OSSS) and as complex area superintendent for the Campbell-Kapolei Complex Area. Prior to becoming CAS in 2012, she was the principal of Iroquois Point Elementary, where she made continuous improvements in school performance and quality. She began her career with the Department as a math teacher at Pohakea Elementary, where she later became vice principal. She holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s degree in educational administration from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
Curt T. Otaguro, Deputy Superintendent
Curt Otaguro was named deputy superintendent of operations on Aug. 18, 2022, and is responsible for the streamlining of department operations to increase effectiveness through the modernization of systems, elimination of duplicate functions, identification and prioritization of needs, increasing and improvement of support for school operations, and the recruitment and retention of qualified staff at the school, complex areas and state levels.
He most recently served as the state comptroller and head of the state Department of Accounting and General Services. Otaguro’s past work includes serving as executive vice president and division manager of the digital banking division at First Hawaiian Bank, where he spent most of his career. He has experience in personal, retail and electronic banking, management and customer service, and holds a bachelor’s degree in management from the University of Redlands.
Tammi Oyadomari-Chun, Deputy Superintendent
Tammi Oyadomari-Chun was named deputy superintendent of strategy on Aug. 18, 2022, and is responsible for leading, directing and supervising the strategic planning, transformation and modernization, and implementation of the strategic initiatives of the Department.
She rejoins the Department, having previously served as assistant superintendent of the Office of Strategy, Innovation and Performance from 2015 to 2017. Oyadomari-Chun most recently was interim associate vice president for academic affairs for the University of Hawaii community college system, where she helped secure and implement more than $25 million in grants and contracts for strategic initiatives.
Oyadomari-Chun’s past work also includes serving as vice president at the Hawaii Community Foundation, policy analyst for former Gov. Neil Abercrombie, and executive director of Hawaii P-20. She holds a doctorate in education with a concentration in educational administration from the University of Southern California, a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University, and a bachelorʻs degree from Pomona College in government and public policy analysis.
Department of Hawaiian Home Lands
William Aila Jr., Hawaiian Homes Commission Chair
Ailā will also be continuing in his role as the deputy director to the chairman at the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, a position he’s held since 2014. He is the former chairman of the Department of Land and Natural Resources and served as the Harbor Agent for the Wai‘anae Boat Harbor from 1987-2010. In addition, Mr. Ailā has participated on several boards and task forces centered around native Hawaiian rights and natural resource management including the Hawai‘i Invasive Species Council, Mohala I Ka Wai, Hui Malama ‘O Makua and others. Ailā holds a B.S. degree from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
Tyler Iokepa Gomes, Deputy to the Chair
Gomes most recently served as the partnership manager at Elemental Excelerator, where he oversaw the Elemental Hui – a partnership network of local business, non-profit, educational, and philanthropic institutions. Previously, Gomes served as deputy public defender in the Office of the Public Defender, and co-authored and co-edited legal pleadings in Waters v. Nago, which successfully overturned the 2018 election results in the District IV Honolulu City Council race. A resident of Maunawili, O‘ahu, Gomes is a graduate of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, having earned a bachelor’s degree in Hawaiian Language and a J.D. and certificate in Native Hawaiian Law from the William S. Richardson School of Law.
Dr. Libby Char, Director
Char is an emergency physician and graduate of the University of Hawaiʻi, John A. Burns School of Medicine. After completing residency training in California, she returned to Hawaiʻi to the clinical practice of emergency medicine at The Queen’s Medical Center. She provided administrative oversight for the City and County of Honolulu EMS system for many years. Dr. Char currently focuses her efforts on developing systems of care, training, protocols and emergency response utilizing best practices in the pre-hospital environment. She provides medical direction for several EMS, Fire, and Ocean Safety agencies across the state of Hawaiʻi and is the current chair of the State of Hawaiʻi EMS Advisory Committee.
Cathy Ross, First Deputy Director
Ross, who was deputy director for administration in the Department of Public Safety during Gov. Ige’s first term, has been appointed first deputy at the Department of Health where she previously held several positions before moving to Public Safety in 2012. Cathy earned three degrees at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa – a B.A. in psychology, M.P.H. in public health, and an M.B.A. from the Shidler College of Business Executive MBA program.
Danette Wong Tomiyasu, Deputy Director for Health Resources Administration
Wong Tomiyasu was re-appointed to serve as Deputy Director of Health Resources at the State of Hawai‘i Department of Health. She has served in this position since 2015. The Health Resources Administration (HRA) oversees the divisions of Family Health Services, Disease Outbreak Control, Communicable Disease and Public Health Nursing, and Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. In addition, HRA includes the Emergency Medical Services and Injury Prevention System Branch and the Office of Health Care Assurance. Tomiyasu previously served as Chief of the Family Health Services Division overseeing statewide public health surveillance, systems, programs, and policy development for Maternal and Child Health; Children with Special Health Care Needs; Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children; Primary Care and Rural Health; and Oral Health. Tomiyasu also served as Chief of the Chronic Disease Management and Control Branch from October 2001 – August 2011.
Marian Tsuji, Deputy Director for Behavioral Health Administration
Tsuji was appointed to serve as Deputy Director of Behavioral Health at the Department of Health, effective June 28, 2021. Tsuji served as the O‘ahu Branch Administrator, state Department of Human Services, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation since 2020. She also spent 14 years as president and CEO of Lanakila Pacific, a social services organization that includes programs for adults with disabilities. Tsuji earned her M.A. in criminal justice from City University of New York, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and a B.A. in sociology and criminal justice from Long Island University, C.W. Post College. The Deputy Director of Behavioral Health assists the Director of Health in the management and administration of behavioral health programs and services and provides leadership as the state mental health and substance abuse authority. The deputy oversees four divisions: Adult Mental Health, Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Alcohol and Substance Abuse, and Developmental Disabilities.
Kathleen Ho, Deputy Director for Environmental Health Administration
Ho was appointed to serve as Deputy Director of Environmental Health at the Department of Health, effective July 1, 2021. Ho has served as Deputy Attorney General of the Health Division, Department of the Attorney General since 1992. She earned her J.D. from the University of California Hastings College of Law in San Francisco, her LL.M in environmental law from Lewis and Clark Law School in Oregon, and a B.S. in Biology from the University of San Francisco. As Deputy Director of Environmental Health, Ho oversees all environmental regulatory issues and protection for the state. This includes oversight of the department’s Environmental Management Division, Environmental Health Services Division, State Laboratories Division, Hazard Evaluation and Emergency Response Office, Environmental Resources Office, and Compliance Assistance Office.
Department of Human Resources Development
Ryker Wada, Director
Wada has served as the director of DHRD since Dec. 2017, prior to that he was the department’s deputy director. He has also served as the Certificated Personnel Regional Officer for the Windward District of the Department of Education (DOE) where he was responsible for human resources and labor relations. Before joining DOE he served as the Managing Attorney for the Honolulu Office of the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii. Wada earned a B.A. from the University of Washington and a J.D. from the University of California Hastings College of the Law.
Andrew Garrett, Deputy Director
Garrett has served as associate vice president of post-acute care and operations at the Healthcare Association of Hawai‘i since 2015. Previously, he was acting president/CEO at the Hawai‘i Institute for Public Affairs, where he also served as a project director. Garrett was also vice president of community building at Communications Pacific. A graduate of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Garrett has a Master of Public Administration (MPA). He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Hawai‘i Pacific Gerontological Society, Malama Mānoa, and the Mānoa Girls Athletic Club – where he’s also head coach for softball and volleyball. Garrett also chairs the Chamber of Commerce of Hawai‘i’s Public Health Fund Committee.
Catherine Betts, Director
Betts served as the deputy at DHS since September 2017. Prior to this she was the executive director of the Hawai‘i State Commission on the Status of Women. Betts previously practiced law in both the private and government sectors. Betts earned a B.A. in sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles and a J.D. from the University of Hawai‘i William S. Richardson School of Law.
Joseph Campos II, Deputy Director
Campos has served as a State of Hawai‘i employee in various capacities; at the University of Hawai‘i, Department of Accounting and General Services, and most recently Department of Human Services. He has extensive administrative experience with a strong understanding of the State system. Campos completed his Ph.D. from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa in security studies and international relations in 2005.
Department of Labor and Industrial Relations
Anne Perreria-Eustaquio, Director
Perreria-Eustaquio was the department’s deputy director and has spent her career in various capacities in DLIR’s unemployment division, most notably as administrator of the unemployment insurance program.
Perreira-Eustaquio was born and raised in Hilo and is a graduate of Waiākea High School. She also attended Chaminade University of Honolulu where she earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting and a Master of Business Administration.
JoAnn A. Vidinhar, Deputy Director
Vidinhar served as administrator for DLIR’s Disability Compensation Division since 2015. Vidinhar previously worked at the Department of Community Development for the City of Bremerton in Washington, where she was an assistant director and city building official, as well as a development manager and planner. Prior to her work with the City of Bremerton, Vidinhar was employed with Kitsap County’s Department of Community Development where she served as a senior planner, and building and planning supervisor.
Department of Land and Natural Resources
Suzanne Case, Chair
Case reappointed as Chair of the State of Hawai‘i’s Department of Land and Natural Resources in April 2015. In this role she has focused on good government, inclusion, and implementation of Gov. Ige’s Sustainable Hawaiʻi Initiative. Prior to this, she served as the Executive Director of The Nature Conservancy’s Hawai‘i Program. She also served as Western and Asia/Pacific regional counsel for The Nature Conservancy. In addition, she practiced real estate transactions law at the law firm of Pettit & Martin in San Francisco. Case attended Williams College and Stanford University, where she graduated with a B.A. in History. She received her law degree from Hastings College of the Law, University of California, San Francisco.
Robert K. Masuda, First Deputy Director
Masuda reappointed to be the first deputy director at DLNR. Masuda has held the position since August 2017, and he previously served in this position from May 2005 to May 2007. Prior to that Masuda served as senior advisor for special programs development at the USDA’s U.S. Forest Service’ Institute for Pacific Islands Forestry. Masuda holds a B.S. in applied behavioral science and group work education from George Williams College and an Executive M.B.A. from the University of Hawai‘i.
Kaleo Manuel, Deputy Director for the Commission on Water Resource Management
Manuel currently serves as the Deputy Director for the Commission on Water Resource Management that administers the State Water Code created in 1987. Kaleo manages a team of hydrologists, geologists, engineers, planners, and support staff to protect and manage water for present and future generations. He completed traditional ‘ūniki rites as a Ho‘opa‘a in 2017 with Kumu Hula Victoria Holt-Takamine of Hālau Pua Ali‘i ‘Ilima. He also holds a B.A. in Hawaiian Studies, a Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning, and a Graduate Certificate in Historic Preservation, all from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
Max Otani, Director
Otani was a board member for the Hawai‘i Paroling Authority (HPA). He has worked in a variety of positions in the state’s corrections and judicial systems for more than three decades. Otani began his criminal justice career with the Judiciary, as a Family Court officer and Circuit Court probation officer from 1985 to 1987. From there, he served more than two decades with the HPA in various positions. Otani became the Oahu Intake Services Center manager from 2003-2005, before he was promoted to Intake Service Center Division Administrator from 2011-2013. He then moved on to become PSD’s deputy director for Corrections from 2013-14, before returning to his previous position as administrator of the Intake Service Center Division, where he remained until his retirement from PSD in 2016.
Otani’s was born and raised in Hilo, Hawai‘i. He is a graduate of Hilo High School and the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo. Otani also attended the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa where he earned a master’s in social work.
Maria Cook, Deputy Director for Administration
Cook was a veteran deputy attorney general with 20 years of experience working in the Employment Law Division of the Department of the Attorney General, representing the interests of the state’s Executive, Legislative, Judiciary, and other state agencies in all employment and labor matters. Cook has a wide range of experience in public employment and labor matters, including civil litigation and related appeals, agency appeals, workers’ compensation, and collective bargaining, including interest arbitrations relating to new collective bargaining focused on presentation and analyses of state finances. She also provides advice and counsel to all state departments and agencies relating to personnel, employment, and labor matters. She earned her law degree from Loyola Law School in California, with membership in the Phi Delta Phi Law Honor Society, and an undergraduate degree from the University of Hawaii at Mānoa.
Jordan Lowe, Deputy Director for Law Enforcement
Jordan began his thirty-nine (39) years of public service as an internal auditor for the Office of Regional Inspector and conducted operational reviews for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). He subsequently became a Special Agent with the Criminal Investigation Division for the IRS and conducted complex financial investigations. As his career continued, Jordan transferred to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives where he served as a Certified Explosives Specialist, Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) lead agent, High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force Commander, Assistant Team Leader for Crisis Negotiation – Special Response Team, and Team Leader at the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Thailand. Jordan retired from the Bureau as the Resident Agent in Charge of the Honolulu Field Office and the Hawaiʻi County Office. After retiring from federal service, Jordan came full circle and began working for the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Taxation (DOTAX) as a Supervisory Special Agent for the Criminal Investigation Section. Upon his departure from DOTAX as the Chief Special Agent, Jordan joined the Honolulu Department of Prosecuting Attorney as the Chief Investigator for the Investigative Services Division.
Tommy Johnson, Deputy Director for Corrections
Johnson was the Parole and Pardons Administrator for the Hawai‘i Paroling Authority (HPA), a position he has held since 2001. He also served as PSD’s Deputy Director for Corrections from June 2007 to December 2010, when he returned to his current HPA position.
Johnson began his career in corrections 1996 as a Correctional Service Officer in Florence, Arizona. He moved to the Hawai‘i Youth Correctional Facility as a Youth Corrections Officer in 1997. In 1999 he served as a Personnel Management Specialist for the Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii before moving on to his current Hawai‘i Paroling Authority position in 2001.
Isaac Choy, Director
Choy is currently controller of Ko‘olauloa Health Center in Kahuku, ensuring all areas of compliance and regulatory reporting. He also maintains the clinic’s accounting records and prepares and administers the annual budget. Choy also lectures on ethics across the state. Previously, Choy served in the House of Representatives, Hawai‘i State Legislature, from 2008 to 2018. He is also a licensed certified public accountant and once headed his own firm – Isaac W. Choy CPA, Inc. Choy has a B.S. degree in Business Administration from San Jose State University and is a graduate of Roosevelt High School.
Jade Butay, Director
Butay will continue to oversee the state’s 15 commercial and general aviation airports, 10 commercial harbors, and nearly 2,500 lane miles of state highways, tunnels, and bridges. He began his tenure with the DOT as the first deputy director in 2011 until being appointed as deputy director of the department of labor and industrial relations in November 2013. He returned to his position as first deputy at transportation in January 2015 and was appointed director in October 2017.
Patrick McCain, First Deputy for Administration
Patrick McCain joined the DOT as first deputy director on December 1, 2021. Prior to that he served at the city, state and federal levels of government in both the legislative and executive branches of government.
Ross Higashi, Deputy Director for Airports
Higashi is being re-appointed to serve as the Airports Division deputy director, overseeing 15 state airports across the state. Higashi is overseeing billions of dollars in modernization and facility improvement projects. He has served as HDOT interim director, interim deputy director and fiscal management officer for the Airports Division. Higashi has more than 25 years of public service in state government. He received his B.A. in accounting from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.
Eduardo Manglallan, Deputy Director for Harbors
Eduardo Manglallan was recently a Legislative Aide and Special Projects Coordinator with the City Council Chair, City & County of Honolulu. Manglallan also served in former Mayor Caldwell’s cabinet as Deputy Director of the Department of Facility Maintenance. Prior to entering city government, he worked as a Construction Manager for Actus Lend Lease, which built 10,000 military housing units for the Army, Air Force and Coast Guard on Oahu. Ed enlisted with the U.S. Navy serving on various naval vessels beginning as a Machinist Mate. He served in several positions with the Navy and retired as a Lt. Commander after 28 years of service. Ed received a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Florida State University and a Master’s degree in Civil/Environmental Engineering from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa.
Ed Sniffen, Deputy Director for Highways
Sniffen is also being re-appointed to serve as the Highways Division deputy director, overseeing improvements and maintenance of about 2,500 lane miles of state highways. Sniffen was previously executive assistant to Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell. He also served as DOT Highways Division administrator and as technical design engineer in the Highways Division Design Branch. Sniffen is a civil engineer, having received his B.S. in Civil Engineering from Santa Clara University.
David Lassner, President
Lassner was appointed interim University of Hawai‘i president effective September 1, 2013. Since joining the University of Hawai‘i in 1977, Lassner has held a series of progressively more responsible technical, management and executive positions supporting the broad use of information technologies across the full mission of the university throughout the State. Lassner is also a member of the University’s Cooperating Graduate Faculty and has taught, both in-person and on-line, in the UH Department of Information & Computer Science, the College of Business Administration, the School of Communication and the College of Education as well as at Roosevelt University. Lassner has also served on the faculty of management institutes for IT leaders nationally and internationally. Prior to joining the University of Hawai‘i, David worked at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a student programmer on courseware development teams working with the PLATO system at the Computer-based Education Research Laboratory. Lassner holds an AB summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in economics, and an MS in computer science, both from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. He earned a PhD in communication and information sciences from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa and has been recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus of the University of Hawai‘i.