Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 36, Number 12, 1 December 2019 — OHA names Dr. Sylvia Hussey new Chief Executive Officer [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA names Dr. Sylvia Hussey new Chief Executive Officer

By Sterling Wong On November 21, 2019, the OHA Board of Trustees appointed Sylvia Hussey, Ed.D., as the agency's new Ka Pouhana/Chief Executive Officer, who is the Board's sole employee, responsible for implementing Board policies and directives and leading the agency's 145 administrative employees. Under the terms of her contract, Dr. Hussey will earn an inihal salary of $170,000 for a term of five years commencing on December 1, 2019. "This is a critical moment in the forty-year history of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs," said OHA Chair Colette Machado. "The Board and administration have been collaborating on a number of critical projects that will transition OHA into a new chapter of the agency's mo'olelo. Among these projects are our new strategic

plan that will set OHA's course for the next 15 years, as well as initiatives focused

on improving the agency's fiscal and governance policies. Dr. Hussey's professionalism, executive experienee and collaborative nature are

precisely what we need to hel lead OHA through this transi tion." Dr. Hussey served as the interim OHA CEO since July 1,

2019, after Dr. Kamana'opono Crabbe's contract expired, bringing his seven-year tenure as OHA Ka Pouhana/CEO to a

close. Dr. Hussey had previously served as OHA's Ka Pou Nui/Chief Operating Officer. Her selection as CEO was the result of a three-month

search led by Kumabe HR, a loeal executive recruit-

ment firm. "I am humbled to be granted this opportunity to continue this important work at OHA on behalf of the Lāhui," said Dr. Hussey. "I look forward to strengthening our 'ohana, our mo'omeheu (culture) and our 'āina. These are the

foundations of the Native Hawaiian community, and we must make sure that these foundations are front and center in all of our decision-making here at OHA." Dr. Hussey brings more than 30 years of experience in education administration, policy development and implementation, finance, operations, and information technology. She served in leadership positions at various institutions throughout the state, most recently as the executive director of the Native Hawaiian Education Council (NHEC), and previously was with Kamehameha Schools for more than a decade where she was the vice president of administration. Dr. Hussey is also a certified public accountant (not in public practice) and previously worked as a director at Candon Consulting Group, senior manager at KPMG Consulting, and finance director at the Honolulu Board of Realtors. In 2019, Dr. Hussey was re-appointed by the Board of Education to serve as a commissioner of

the State Public Charter School Commission. Dr. Hussey received a bachelor of science

degree in accounting from Brigham Young University, and has a master's degree in r Education Foundations and doctorate k of education from the University of

Hawai'i at Mānoa. She is currently a member of the American Institute i of Certified Public Accountants, the I American Educational Research " Association, the American Evalu-

' ation Association, and their state counterparts, among other affiliations. "I am humbled to join the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and to continue

working toward empowering Native Hawaiians," said Dr. Hussey. "I look forward to working together to inspire positive change

and strengthen our families and eom-

nunities." Dr. Hussey was born and

raised in Kohala and e u r r e n 1 1 y lives in 1 Kāne'ohe I with her I husband Brian. ■