SSCR3525

STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3525

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE: GOV. MSG. NOS. 817, 819

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Education, to which was referred Governor's Message Nos. 817 and 819, submitting for study and consideration the nominations of:

Board of Education

G.M. No. 817

KEITH AMEMIYA,

for a term to expire 6-30-2015; and

G.M. No. 819

CHERYL LUPENUI,

for a term to expire 6-30-2015,

begs leave to report as follows:

Your Committee has reviewed the personal histories, resumes, and statements submitted by the nominees and finds Keith Amemiya and Cheryl Lupenui to possess the requisite qualifications to be nominated to the Board of Education.

KEITH AMEMIYA

Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination of Keith Amemiya from the Governor, Board of Education, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Hui for Excellence in Education, and two individuals.

Your Committee finds that Keith Amemiya received his Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He received a Juris Doctorate degree from the William S. Richardson School of Law.

Since March 2010, Mr. Amemiya has served as the Executive Administrator and Secretary to the Board of Regents of the University of Hawaii. Prior to his service with the Board of Regents, Mr. Amemiya spent nearly twelve years as the Executive Director of the Hawaii High School Athletic Association.

Mr. Amemiya also worked previously as an attorney with the law firms of Paul, Johnson, Park & Niles, and Bays, Deaver, Hiatt, Kawachika & Lezak. As an attorney, Mr. Amemiya specialized in civil litigation, arbitration related to commercial transactions, construction, real estate, wrongful termination, and personal injury.

Mr. Amemiya is extensively involved with for-profit and non‑profit boards. Specifically, Mr. Amemiya serves on the Board of Directors of The Learning Coalition, Shane Victorino Foundation, Boy Scouts of America, and Susannah Wesley Community Center. He is also a member of the Department of Education's Advisory Commission on Gender Equity in Athletics and the City and County of Honolulu's Sports Commission.

As a current Board of Education member, Mr. Amemiya has actively contributed to fostering stakeholder engagement. For example, Mr. Amemiya testified that in creating stronger high school diploma standards, the Board of Education worked with various interest groups to come up with standards to help ensure Hawaii's students are ready for a post-secondary education and successful career.

Mr. Amemiya's professional and personal experiences have given him a deep appreciation for Hawaii's public school system and an understanding of the challenges and obstacles it faces. The Board of Education will continue to benefit from Mr. Amemiya's service as a board member.

CHERYL LUPENUI

Your Committee received testimony in support of the nomination of Cheryl Lupenui from the Governor, Board of Education, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Read Aloud America, Hui for Excellence in Education, and fourteen individuals.

Your Committee finds that Cheryl Lupenui received a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Tulane University.

Ms. Lupenui has an extensive background in business administration. She is the Founder and Principal of The Leadership Project, which provides shared leadership for social change initiatives. Prior to founding The Leadership Project, she served for ten years as the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Young Women's Christian Association of Oahu (YWCA) where she was responsible for directing the strategic planning, development, and overall management of an organization with more than $10,000,000 in assets. She has been instrumental in raising $2,200,000 for the new economic and youth programs at the YWCA through private grants. Ms. Lupenui also led the revitalization of the YWCA's community-building strategy in an environment of very limited resources. She has succeeded in creating a more sustainable business model to assist the YWCA accomplish its mission and objectives.

Prior to working at the YWCA, Ms. Lupenui was a small business owner and business development consultant. She hosted and associate-produced "Entrepreneurship", a televised course for the Department of Education which educated high school students on self-employment and business plan writing skills.

Ms. Lupenui has honed her constituency-building and leadership skills through her involvement in a number of community boards and committees. She is a Board member of the Hawai‘i Alliance for Non-Profit Organizations, Aloha United Way, Hawaii Tourism Authority, Public Broadcasting Service Hawaii, and the Center for Asian Pacific American Women. She also serves as a committee member of the Kamehameha Schools Trustee Selection Committee.

Ms. Lupenui strongly believes in community involvement and participation. As a member of the Board of Education, she took the lead in organizing and developing the first community meeting in Windward Oahu. She has worked to ensure that the Board of Education, Department of Education, and key stakeholders work collaboratively to further the State's educational goals.

Ms. Lupenui is a current member of the Board of Education. As the Chair of the Board's Student Achievement Committee, Ms. Lupenui has set the tone for how the Board of Education works with the Department of Education on critical education reforms. Ms. Lupenui was integral in the adoption of stronger high school diploma standards to ensure that Hawaii's graduates will meet the Common Core State Standards. She is also currently involved in developing the educational strategic plan for the State that will set the priorities for the Department of Education.

Ms. Lupenui's business acumen and passion for community service continue to make her a great asset to the Board of Education.

As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committee on Education that are attached to this report, your Committee, after full consideration of the background, experience, and qualifications of the nominees, has found the nominees to be qualified for the positions to which nominated and recommends that the Senate advise and consent to the nominations.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Education,

____________________________

JILL TOKUDA, Chair