Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 32, Number 9, 1 September 2015 — Victor named OHA Chief Operating Officer [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Victor named OHA Chief Operating Officer

By Garett Kamemoto The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has hired Lisa Victor as new Ka Pou Nui (Chief Operating Officer) responsible for running the day-to-day operations of the 170-person agency. Victor has spent more than 25

years in technology, heahhcare systems and strategic development. She comes to OHA from Kaiser Permanente where she served as Director of Information Technology, Application Development and Technology Consulting. For the last 6 years, she was Senior Director of Strategic Planning, Service Delivery Planning and Business Development. Lisa Victor. - Photo: Francine Murray

"1 was impressed with OHA's mission and strategic plan," Victor said. "This is my dream job. This job found me, and I could not ignore it. Who does not want to make a difference with the people, places and culture that you care about the most?" She believes this is an important time for the Hawaiian people. She believes momentous change is coming, saying the next generation is primed to move Hawaiians forward

by leaps and bounds. Her belief is fueled by her view of

our keiki who are now just beginning to eome of age. They started in a plaee where being Hawaiian, k speaking Hawaiian and eonK tinuing our cultural practices

are onee again natural. "I think we have a generation that has been taught to be more Hawaiian than the generation I eame from, many cultures are realizing this gap." Victor said. She said she constantly

asks herself, "Have we prepared a plaee for them that they ean be successful? What is that plaee? Is this all we ean do to ensure that plaee exists for them? How are we going to do it? I'm not sure anybody has a foolproof recipe yet, but we have the right intent at OHA to do it." She added: "That plaee that I describe cannot limit where the next generation leads us. It must foster a blend of generations, wisdom and knowledge." And that is a challenge she relishes. Victor added: "It will take a lot of discipline. It will take a lot of transparency and some selfless strategies. It will take fundamental infrastructure and systems in plaee so we ean be successful when we get there. It will take an entire eommunity to get there. " "Our responsibility is not only to make sure we get there but we are successful in it," she said. In hiring Victor, OHA Ka Pouhana (Chief Executive Officer) Kamana'opono Crabbe said: "Lisa Victor impressed me with her passion for OHA's mission and vision. She has mueh experience in implementing strategic plans and improving organizations' structure. She has the passion and skills to make this a stronger organization." ■

www.oha.org/kwo | kwo@OHA.org NATIVE HAWAIIAN » NEWS | FEATURES | EVENTS