OHA’s Board of Trustees (BOT) is composed of nine trustees who are elected in public elections open to all State of Hawai‘i voters. Four of the nine positions are designated as at-large seats representing the state as a whole, while the other five trustees represent each of the following districts: Hawai‘i Island, Maui, Moloka‘i and Lāna‘i, O‘ahu, and Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau. Trustees are elected to four-year terms, and there is no limit on the number of terms a trustee may serve.
The Board of Trustees is responsible for setting OHA policy and managing the agency’s trust. The Board meets regularly at the agency’s headquarters in Honolulu, and at least once annually on each of the major islands.
Kaiali’i Kahele
Chair
Hawaiʻi Island Trustee
Keoni Souza
Vice-Chair
At-Large Trustee
Dan Ahuna
Kauaʻi & Niʻihau Trustee
Kalei Akaka
Oʻahu Trustee
Keli‘i Akina
At-Large Trustee
Luana Alapa
Molokaʻi & Lānaʻi Trustee
Brickwood Galuteria
At-Large Trustee
Carmen Hulu Lindsey
Maui Trustee
John D. Waiheʻe IV
At-Large Trustee
Each of the trustees sits on the Board’s three standing committees: Committee on Beneficiary Advocacy & Empowerment (BAE), the Committee on Budget and Finance (BF), Committee on Investment and Land Management (ILM).
The BAE Committee focuses on the agency’s legislative and advocacy efforts, as well as OHA programs that address issues relating to health, human services, education, housing, land use, environment and natural resources.
The BF Committee convenes every other Wednesday and the committees’ approved actions and recommendations are forwarded to the full Board for consideration and final approval.
The ILM Committee convenes every other Wednesday and the committees’ approved actions and recommendations are forwarded to the full Board for consideration and final approval.
OHA’s Board of Trustees (BOT) meets regularly, usually twice a month on Thursdays. Agendas, board packets (aka meeting folders), and minutes for BOT meetings are posted to the BOT Meeting Calendar (below) as they become available. Periodically, the BOT calls for additional meetings at the discretion of the Chair of the Board of Trustees. Meetings are open to the public, but portions of the meetings may be held in executive session and closed to the public. A minimum of five (5) Trustees is required to hold meetings.
Meeting agendas serve as public notice of the meetings and are posted on an electronic calendar maintained by the State of Hawaiʻi, posted at the OHA main office, and sent to postal and email lists maintained by OHA. To be added to the postal or email list to receive future meeting agendas, please email info@oha.org or contact one of our OHA offices.
Public testimony can be submitted to the OHA Board of Trustees as either: (1) written testimony, or (2) as live, oral testimony given during the meeting.
The BOT meets at least once annually on each of the islands of Hawaiʻi, Maui, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, Oʻahu, and Kauaʻi. Typically, the BOT will schedule back-to-back meetings, starting with a community meeting in the evening and a regular board meeting the following morning. These meetings are usually scheduled once a month beginning in May and ending in October.
Please click here to view past Board of Trustee meeting recordings. To view a Board of Trustee meeting currently in progress, click the live stream button below:
