Kamehameha Schools finalists have wide experience
All three finalists to replace outgoing Kamehameha Schools trustee Constance Lau were born and raised in Hawaii and have decades of experience working in the state's financial and legal circles.
The finalists are Honolulu attorneys Allen K. Hoe and Ivan M. Lui-Kwan and First Hawaiian Bank Executive Vice President Corbett A.K. Kalama.
Hoe, 59, has been practicing law in Honolulu since 1977, first as a deputy corporation counsel for the city and then in private practice since 1981. He has also served as a state per diem judge for Honolulu District Court, state Probate Court special master for the Kamehameha Schools Trustee Compensation Committee and hearings officer for the Hawaiian Homes Commission.
Hoe is a decorated Vietnam War veteran.
If selected, Hoe said he would like to increase the delivery of Kamehameha Schools' educational programs for Hawaiian children.
Lui-Kwan, 61, started his legal career in 1971 as a law clerk to William S. Richardson, then chief justice. He later joined the law firm Carlsmith Ball.
From 1995 to 1999, Lui-Kwan worked for the Queen's Health Systems as executive vice president and chief operating officer and as Queen's Development Corp. chairman of the board and chief executive officer.
In 2002, Lui-Kwan joined Mayor Jeremy Harris' administration as director of the Department of Budget and Fiscal Services. He left that job when Harris' term as mayor ended in 2005 and has been an attorney in Starn O'Toole Marcus & Fisher since March.
Over the years, he has served as manager for Daniel Akaka's political campaigns for the U.S. House and Senate and is political director for Akaka's current re-election campaign.
If selected, Lui-Kwan, 61, said he would like to invest his time addressing the legal challenge to Kamehameha's admission policy.
Kalama has been working for First Hawaiian Bank since 1982 and was promoted to executive vice president in 2003, according to a news release.
He was also chairman of the community working group that provided input to Akaka on his unsuccessful bill for federal recognition for Hawaiians.
Kalama declined to comment on his selection.
Hoe, Lui-Kwan and Kalama were selected as finalists by the Probate Court's Trustee Screening Committee. The Probate Court will make the final selection.
The public has until Dec. 1 to submit written comment.
Whoever is selected will fulfill the remainder of Lau's term as trustee, which is scheduled to expire June 30, 2008. Lau announced her intention to step down in February when she was named chief executive officer and president of Hawaiian Electric Industries.
