Department of Hawaiian Home Lands

HHC – Hawaiian Homes Commission

Pursuant to section 202, Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, the Department is headed by an executive board, the Hawaiian Homes Commission, whose nine members are appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. Three of the members are residents of the City and County of Honolulu; two are residents of the County of Maui, with one being a resident of the island of Moloka‘i; two are residents of the County of Hawai‘i, one being a resident of East Hawai‘i and the other a resident of West Hawai‘i; one is a resident of the County of Kaua‘i; and the ninth member is the Chairman, who is appointed by the Governor from among the members of the Commission. Members must be residents of the State at least three years prior to their appointment. At least four of the members must have not less than one-fourth Hawaiian blood. The Chairman of the Commission serves as the full-time administrator of the Department; other members of the Commission serve without pay.

Hawaiian Homes Commission Meetings 2017
Hawaiian Homes Commission Meetings 2016
Hawaiian Homes Commission Act
Hawaiʻi Title 10 – Administrative Rules – Eff. Oct. 26, 1998
Strategic Goals & Objectives 2012-2017
Affordable Housing Credits Policy

Hawaiian Homes Commission Members

Contact Hawaiian Homes Commission members

	Jobie Masagatani Chair Term: May 16, 2012 – December 31, 2018 Jobie Masagatani joined Hawaiian Home Lands after working at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) where she was Special Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer. Prior to serving at OHA, she owned a small consulting practice, and was also an assistant to the President and CEO of The Queen’s Health Systems, where her area of focus was Native Hawaiian health. Masagatani previously served as DHHL Deputy Director from 1995 to 2002. She also previously served as a Land Investment Analyst for Kamehameha Schools. Masagatani earned a master’s degree in public affairs/urban and regional planning from Princeton University. She earned a bachelor of science degree in education from Northwestern University. A graduate of Kamehameha Schools, Masagatani is a resident of Kailua.
	Kāhele Richardson O’ahu Term: July 1, 2014 – June 30, 2018 William Kāhele Richardson, a Honolulu attorney and entrepreneur, brings years of legal experience and business acumen to the Hawaiian Homes Commission. His term begins on July 1, 2014.
	Michael P. Kahikina O’ahu Term Begins: July 1, 2011 – June 30, 2019 Commissioner Kahikina is the executive director of Kahikolu ‘Ohana Hale ‘O Wai‘anae and a former state representative representing the Leeward Coast. He has been active in the homestead community, sitting on the Executive Board of the Nānākuli Hawaiian Homestead Community Association and working with the Sovereign Councils of the Hawaiian Homelands Assembly.
	Wren Wescoatt III O’ahu Term: December 1, 2015 – June 30, 2019 Commissioner Wescoatt brings with him nearly a decade of experience in renewable energy project development. Since 2007, Wescoatt has served as Senior Director of Development in Hawai’i for SunEdison (formerly First Wind). Prior to that, Wescoatt founded College Connections Hawaiʻi, a statewide non-profit organization providing educational services including a Native Hawaiian Scholars Program and SAT preparation classes for rural high schools with high percentage Hawaiian populations. Commissioner Wescoatt received an M.A. in Education from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, a B.A. in Communication from Stanford University, and is a 1986 graduate of Kamehameha Schools.
	Doreen Nāpua Canto Maui Term: December 13, 2013 – June 30, 2019 Doreen Nāpua Canto, a resident of Kula, was appointed by Gov. Neil Abercrombie and assumed the Maui seat on the Hawaiian Homes Commission on Dec. 3, 2013. Employed by Palekana Permits since 2009, Canto was previously a Health Unit Assistant at Kula Hospital. She is president-elect of the Maui Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce, serves as a commissioner for the County of Maui Department of Fire and Public Safety, and is a member of the ‘Ahahui Ka’ahumanu Society. Canto also served as director of Hui No Ke Ola Pono Inc. from 2009 to 2011 and on the Maui Police Department Commission from 2005 to 2010. In addition, Canto is an advocate for the American Cancer Society and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, and she has been a Maui County Health Volunteer since 2007. Canto earned an associate’s degree in general studies from the University of Phoenix.
	Gene Ross Davis Moloka’i Term: July 1, 2012 – June 30, 2020 Gene Ross Davis was nominated by Gov. Abercrombie and confirmed by the 2012 Legislature. A former State of Hawai‘i Livestock Inspector and a self-employed livestock inspection contractor on Moloka‘i, Commissioner Ross Davis’ duties include assisting Veterinary Services with annual TB testing of Moloka‘i cattle ranches, quarterly inspection and reporting on conditions of swine facilities, and issuing livestock movement permits. He is homestead born-and-raised.
	Kathleen Puamaeʻole “Pua” Chin Kaua’i Term: November 10, 2014 – June 30, 2017 Kathleen Puamaeʻole Chin was appointed to fill the vacant Kauaʻi Commission seat on November 10, 2014, by Gov. Neil Abercrombie. Chin presently serves as Kauaʻi Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) Executive Administrator and previously served as Administrative Assistant to the KIUC Board of Directors since 2006. She has served as a construction industry administrator, worked in commercial aviation and is an entrepreneur and small business owner. She is a Hawaiian Homes lessee and an active member of the West Kauaʻi Hawaiian Homes Association and the Kauaʻi Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce. She is a graduate of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and the Kamehameha Schools, Kapālama.
	Wallace A. Ishibashi East Hawai’i Term: Agusut 6, 2013 – June 30, 2017 Wallace A. Ishibashi, Jr. fills the East Hawaii seat on the Hawaiian Homes Commission. A retired full time officer of ILWU Local 142, Ishibashi draws from a range of experience that includes his current position as UH Hilo’s cultural monitor for the Office of Mauna Kea Management as well as time as a business agent, contract and benefits negotiator, workers compensation specialist, and youth basketball and baseball coach. He is also currently the chair of the Hawaii County Windward Planning Commission and a member of the Big Island Community Coalition, an organization that works to reduce the high cost of electricity through alternative energy.
	David B. Ka’apu West Hawai’i Term: April 24, 2014 – June 30, 2017 Commissioner Ka’apu is a practicing attorney at law in Kailua-Kona with emphasis in quiet title, business law, wills and trusts, general litigation and land use. He graduated from the University of Hawai’i with a BA in anthropology (Hawaiian archaeology) and received his JD from Santa Clara University in 1988.