News Release
Office of Hawaiian Affairs
The Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board of Trustees yesterday unanimously selected Maui Island Trustee Carmen “Hulu” Lindsey as its board chair, a position she has held since December of 2020. The board also selected the rest of its leadership during its first meeting since the November elections.
“I am beyond honored to see the faith and confidence that my fellow trustees have placed in me, and I promise them that I will continue to work as hard as I have since first accepting this leadership role two years ago. We will continue to share our message of working together in a spirit of unity and lōkahi and we will strive to do our very best in bettering the lives of the Native Hawaiian community because that is what our people truly deserve.”
Lindsey is a former properties administrator for Maui Land & Pineapple Co. as well as a former administrator for the County of Maui’s Land Use and Codes Division. She has also owned her own real estate company for more than 40 years. She is a long-time member of the ʻAhahui Kaʻahumanu and an active member of the Central Maui Hawaiian Civic Club. She is also an award-winning recording artist.
Office of Hawaiian Affairs trustees yesterday also selected the vice chair for the full board; and named the leadership for the board’s two standing committees. OHA’s new board leadership is:
Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board:
- Chair: Hulu Lindsey, Maui Island trustee
- Vice Chair: Mililani Trask, Hawaiʻi Island trustee
Committee on Resource Management:
- Chair: John Waiheʻe IV, At-Large trustee
- Vice Chair: Luana Alapa, Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi Island trustee
Committee on Beneficiary and Advocacy:
- Chair: Kalei Akaka, Oʻahu Island trustee
- Vice Chair: none
Yesterday’s board meeting was the first since the general election, during which six Office of Hawaiian Affairs board seats were voted upon. Six trustees were elected to four-year terms. At-Large Trustees Brickwood Galuteria and Keoni Souza are OHA’s newest trustees, joining incumbent At-Large Trustee John Waiheʻe IV. Mililani Trask was elected Hawaiʻi Island Trustee and Lindsey and Oʻahu Island Trustee Kalei Akaka were re-elected.
The Honorable Todd Eddins, an associate justice on the Hawaiʻi State Supreme Court, administered the Oath of Office to the newly elected trustees during investiture ceremonies held at Kawaiahaʻo Church on Dec. 8.
About the Office of Hawaiian Affairs
Established by the state Constitutional Convention in 1978, Office of Hawaiian Affairs is a semi-autonomous state agency mandated to better the conditions of Native Hawaiians. Guided by a board of nine publicly elected trustees, OHA fulfills its mandate through advocacy, research, community engagement, land management and the funding of community programs.
Learn more at www.oha.org.
