Stanton Enomoto, OHA COO

Stanton Enomoto, the new Chief Operating Officer of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, will help guide the implementation of OHA's new strategic plan intended as an efficient and effective blueprint for the betterment of Native Hawaiians in these six key areas: economic self-sufficiency, health, education, culture, land & water, and governance. Since 2006, Enomoto has served as an advisor to OHA's senior leadership and as a special projects manager and resource administrator for OHA's division managers. Prior to joining OHA, he was director of planning for the Hawai'i Community Development Authority and a special liaison for the Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission. A graduate of the Kamehameha Schools, he earned a Bachelor's degree in geology and environmental studies from Macalester College in Minnesota. He is the proud father of three girls, ages 6, 4, and 4 weeks. In this KWOL interview, he describes the personal and professional experiences he brings to a new leadership position that heralds a new day for OHA and its beneficiaries.

Ka Wai Ola Loa: What were some of the early personal experiences that gave rise to your interest in working for the progress of the Native Hawaiian community?

Stanton Enomoto: My father was an avid outdoorsman. He was Hawaiian and taught me to read the ocean not only for surfing and fishing, but also for an appreciation of the natural environment. This helped focus me in that regard. As a family, we spent time camping, lots of time at the beach and hiking Haleakalā. After Kamehameha Schools, I went away to college and did a double major in environmental science and geology. I have always been fascinated about how we – on an island – interface with limited land resources in the middle of a large body of ocean. So I pursued this first as an academic field and then later at OHA, where one of my main areas of interest has been land and its relationship to Hawaiian culture.

KWOL: You were a long away from your Maui roots when you went away to Macalester College in Minnesota. How did this experience influence your view of Hawai'i?

Enomoto: Immersed in Hawai'i life, you sometimes don't see the fullest context until you are away. I was grateful to have this chance. A unique thing was the school's international student population. I met people from everywhere — from Madagascar to Sweden, so this further shaped me by opening my eyes to how others lived. Another thing was that there are a lot of Native Americans in Minnesota. When I had the opportunity to experience our college's Pow Wow celebration, it was a wake up call and reminder of our native culture. It said to me, 'you have some kuleana back home.'

KWOL: In your new position, you have said that you will be working closely with OHA managers who will go forward with various actions based on the strategic plan, intended to result in positive changes for Hawaiians. Can you cite any professional experiences where you worked to translate a plan into effective action?

Enomoto: My job with KIRC (Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission) gave me valuable preparation (for the new OHA position). It was a matter of looking at how the Navy had used the land for military purposes for 50 years, where the ordnance hazards were, what the commission through its consultation with the Native Hawaiian community envisioned for the island, and how did all those things marry up and become a map for how to then direct the Navy in its clean-up. So (any skepticism) that a strategic plan is necessarily a document that will just sit on the shelf was definitely not the case in my experience at KIRC. The planning effort guided the $400 million clean-up that was executed and was realized. This effort also had a very Hawaiian foundation. There were a lot of cultural values, thought and research that went into prioritizing the actions that took place.

KWOL: Comparing OHA's new strategic plan to the last one, what differences are there in the one you will be managing?

Enomoto: The new plan is very different, beginning with our approach in creating it. We set out not to react to individual needs but to be proactive in the issues that Native Hawaiians will face in the future. Through a survey launched in the early part of 2009, we listened to concerns of Hawaiians across the state and the continental U.S. The feedback from the survey identified a number of trends, reflecting the change in the (U.S. Presidency), the recession effects still being felt at home today, health and education issues, a sense of loss of cultural lands and identity, and, of course, issues surrounding Native Hawaiian self-determination. The (internal OHA) steering committee distilled this input down to the six priority areas (see list above). These priorities were adopted by the Board of Trustees in May 2009. Thus, this plan is not so much about OHA as it is an expression of what Native Hawaiians as a community want to experience—such as an increase household income or improved health, as a result of our focusing on these priorities.

KWOL: Was there any debate by the OHA steering committee as to whether these six priority areas are equally weighted by the Native Hawaiian community?

Enomoto: As we talked through these six priority areas, we saw an inter-connected circle. If Native Hawaiians advanced their education, they could have access to greater economic opportunities, though this in turn is predicated on good health and home life. This is another distinction from past planning efforts at OHA, where previously, we have sought to take on these issues independently and even organize ourselves by subject area. By really listening to the Native Hawaiian community, we've come to the realization that we can't say, for example, that we are going to focus on only economic self-sufficiency and everything else will fall into place. I think the strategic plan gives us a way to work on these priorities in a relational manner.

KWOL: In addition to the six priority areas, the strategic plan defines research, advocacy and asset management as essential areas of action for OHA. Can you discuss the significance of each of these three roles, beginning with research?

Enomoto: Research is a lot of work, but a lot of the data-gathering has already been done. One of the first things we want is to have dialogue and build bridges with the entities that have a tremendous amount of expertise, whether it's the University of Hawai'i, or the Department of Health or a number of small Native Hawaiian non-profits. The work ahead is to build the dialogue that serves every party, so we all have better access to knowledge about our people. We should combine and share our information in a way that is better for us instead of everyone doing their own thing. This will make us so much the wiser and so much the stronger to do the work that we each need to do.

KWOL: As a trust, OHA manages assets. The strategic plan singles out this role for its importance. Do you expect assets management to assume greater importance for OHA?

Enomoto: OHA has assets, whether they are financial, land assets or perhaps even intellectual property, such as cultural or demographic knowledge. All of those things are important for future generations. So as part of our strategic plan, it is conceived that at some at some point, when a Native Hawaiian governing entity is recognized, OHA would sunset and transfer those assets to this new entity that would then be in a position to move forward. (In creating the strategic plan) around the key area of governance, we posed the question, what are the steps needed when the Akaka bill is passed? We asked, how does OHA position itself in the best possible way in the formation and standing up of this new entity? And we realized we have to develop and transfer those assets in a way that is advantageous to Hawaiians when the time comes.

KWOL: One other role highlighted in the strategic plan is advocacy. As with assets management, advocacy has always been a part of OHA's work, so will this change under the strategic plan?

Enomoto: OHA by statute is responsible for advocating for the betterment of Native Hawaiians. That's part of who we are. There have been various approaches to this with different OHA administrations. I believe the new strategic plan sharpens our focus in advocacy. We further our mandate with influencing change on a broad scale. So going forward, it might not be that we look to provide small grants for capital improvements — say re-painting a building, but, instead, we would look to leverage our assets and look to impact Hawaiians for the better everywhere. As an example, we might advocate changes to historic preservation laws that better protect our iwi kūpuna as opposed to looking at issues in a case-by-case basis. We may want to look at advocating for changes in rules in the way government does its work in relation to our six priorities.

KWOL: There's been a lot of talk about this plan being results-oriented, because it contains ten measurements of success in each of the six priority areas. How were these measurements designed to be accurate indicators of achievement?

Enomoto: The in-house steering committee went through a process of identifying measurements that would allow us to observe change over time. The theory is that no one can fully control the results. But our work at OHA is to influence results in a positive manner in relation to any particular priority. The beauty of all this is we will know where we stand in our ability to influence results. We will be able to monitor progress largely through surveys. The U.S. Census can provide us with information and some surveys we may undertake in-house, so it comes back to this notion of research and being data-driven. In past years, we would make awards for a variety of purposes. And certainly, this has been appreciated by the grantees. But through reports that come in, we have not been able to fully quantify results. And this again is one of the substantial differences with this plan. We may find we have not been able to influence our results as much as we like to. That will lead to re-evaluation of our strategies.

KWOL: Some data-driven plans such as the federal No Child Left Behind initiative have been criticized for being tools of institutions that impose homogenized or western values without recognizing nuances of cultural difference. Will cultural sensitivity be applied in measuring results of the OHA strategic plan?

Enomoto: Let's take improved family income (for Native Hawaiians) as one of the results we will measure. The result is worded (in the plan) as saying that Native Hawaiian income will equal 100 percent or more of the average household Hawai'i income. That's just the result. I think data have shown that Hawaiians tend to have lower incomes than the average statewide. So where the culture comes into this is where OHA working will be working with programs and strategies that build on a cultural perspective to influence Hawaiian families so that they can have greater economic opportunity. So we will look at these results through a cultural lens and then develop cultural strategies.

KWOL: The new strategic plan coincides with a reduction in workforce at OHA and this comes in the midst of an economic recession. To what extent then does this reflect the agency's response to hard times by doing more with less, as the saying goes, and what kinds of staffing changes do you foresee?

Enomoto: The strategic plan does involve some realigning of our capabilities. We will need to look at the work we do in a different light. We will be held to performing at a level where we can monitor our outputs for results. For example, managers will be developing work plans for their staffs, and staff will be required to execute based on those plans and the budget will be integrated in those work plans. So we will be able to monitor efficiency relative to the budget. For example, if the work output is high and we are running under budget, then that would suggest efficiency. I think being able to tell that story is important to the community that will hold us accountable.

KWOL: In describing the strategic plan, you have brought up the word change quite a bit—this year's buzzword on the national political scene. How optimistic are you about the prospect for change?

Enomoto: I am more of a realist, but I try to see the glass half-full, not half-empty. I see this plan as an opportunity and a realistic one, but it is not without risk, and it is not without hard work by all involved. As much as we at OHA will do our best to assemble knowledge, manage our assets and advocate for change in six priority areas, I think there needs to be as much response from the Native Hawaiian community to want to change. For example, on the issue of health, no matter how many grants we award, there is also a point at which it is really is up to individuals to make the changes and see the results themselves in lowering their risk factors related to chronic disease. Meanwhile, at OHA, we will do what we can to create opportunities to improve lives.

KWOL: What are some of your personal motives for taking on this job? I guess some would be curious to know what rewards you anticipate?

Enomoto: Seeing the future through the eyes of my children provides a tremendous amount of motivation to do the best job I can and to try to have a Hawai'i that they can be proud of and grow from. One thing that shaped my view on working on Hawaiian issues was being on Kaho'olawe on April 10, 2004. That was the day KIRC took control, after the Navy turned over the island to Native Hawaiians. There was a handful of us who went up and watched the sunrise. It was a liberating experience to see the island come home to Hawaiians. That was powerful. The impression it left on me is that there is a lot of work ahead, but through diligence, we can do what some people always thought of as impossible. People never thought that Kaho'olawe could come home, and, here in a very small and quiet way, the impossible is realized. The OHA strategic plan represents the same opportunity to bring about change, measure the results and have it be just as tangible as that day on top of the island, watching the sunrise on a new day for Kaho'olawe.