Department of Hawaiian Home Lands

Kali Watson was appointed Chairman of the Hawaiian Homes Commission by Gov. Josh Green and confirmed by the Senate on March 23, 2023. He previously served as Chairman from 1995 to 1998 under Gov. Cayetano where he was responsible for coordinating the development of over 3,100 residential lots on Hawaiian Home Lands, and implementation of the $600 million State settlement, including the transfer of 16,518 acres of State lands to make the trust whole. He was also instrumental in the passage and transfer of over 900 acres of Federal lands into the trust under the Hawaiian Home Lands Recovery Act of 1995.

As the President & CEO of the native Hawaiian nonprofit Hawaiian Community Development Board, he worked with Nanakuli Hawaiian Homestead Community Association and oversaw the development of the Nanakuli Village Center, which includes a commercial center, several medical clinics, the Kalaniho’okaha Cope Hawaiian Cultural-Learning Center and a 48-unit Hale Makana O Nanakuli affordable housing project.

Over the last 10 years, to expand HCDB’s reach into the private non-homesteading areas, Kali established successful HCDB partnerships with various private developers of low-income housing tax credit projects primarily located on Oahu, Maui and Kauai. Projects include single family residential, townhouses, mid-rise and high-rise buildings.

He is a graduate of UH Law School, Business School and Kamehameha Schools. Wife Judith Pavey and 3 sons Kala, Kealii and Nainoa.

• O’ahu
• Term: July 1, 2019 – June 2023

Patty Teruya has served as an elected board member on the Nanakuli Hawaiian Homestead Association for several years. She has years of extensive public service along the Wai’anae Coast.  Kahanamoku-Teruya was employed under Mayor Jeremy Harris, Mayor Mufi Hannemann, Mayor Peter Carlisle, and Mayor Kirk Caldwell with the Mayor’s Office of Culture and the Arts, as the City’s Special Events Coordinator, and with Senator Mike Gabbard in his City Council seat as his Legislative Community Liaison for West O’ahu.

She serves as the President of the Wai’anae Coast Community Foundation, which oversees two Hawaii Food Bank distribution centers along the Wai’anae Coast. Kahanamoku-Teruya is involved in the U.S. Marine Reserve Toys for Tots Program islandwide, Nanakuli High School’s after-school sports program, and with special community cultural events that provide economic development for the Wai’anae Coast.  She is an active member of the Council of Native Hawaiian Advancement, Nanaikapono Protestant Church Outreach Team, Nanakuli Hawaiian Homestead Association, Nanaikapono Hawaiian Civic Club, a Message of Peace Ministry Outreach Project Coordinator, and is on the O’hana of Duke Kahanamoku Ocean Fest Committee.

• O’ahu
• Term: January 2020 – June 2023

Russell Kaupu is the owner and operator of Pohaku Development LLC, a real estate development consultation and project management company. He was the former Corporate Counsel for The MacNaughton Group in Honolulu, providing in-house legal services for TMG and its projects and principals, and a former practicing attorney for Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel in Honolulu.

Kaupu is a member of the Hawai`i State and American Bar Associations and is a past Chair, Board Member, and current committee member of the Hawai`i Conference Foundation’s Real Property, Finance & Investments and Audit committee.

He is a graduate of Willamette University in Salem, Oregon and Kamehameha Schools.

• Maui
• Term: September 2017 – June 30, 2023

Randy Awo most recently served as the Administrator for the Department of Land and Natural Resources for the Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement.

A longtime beneficiary of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, Awo brings over 32 years of experience in government and community relations to the Commission. He has an extensive background in conservation, being one of the creators of the Ahupua’a management model, which is aimed at protecting, managing, and conserving Hawaii’s natural resources.

Awo is a graduate of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science.

• O’ahu
• Term: October 2018 – June 30, 2026

Pauline Namuʻo has spent recent years as a substitute teacher in the Hawaiʻi public school system with several long-term assignments, including one at Dole Middle School, where she works with students living in public housing. Prior to teaching, she spent most of her professional career in State government. During the Cayetano administration, Namu`o served as the Governor’s Legislative Liaison and as the Deputy Director for Administration in the Department of Public Safety.

In addition, she has held roles as a Probation Officer and as the Administrator of the District Court’s Division of Driver Education, worked as a Consultant to the Kaho`olawe Island Reserve Commission, and has been active in various Hawaiian organizations. She is currently the Pelekikena of Ahahui Kaʻahumanu and has served on various boards and commissions. Namuʻo is a member of the Kalihi Palama Hawaiian Civic Club.

• Moloka’i
• Term: April 2018 – June 30, 2024

Zachary Helm has 30 years of experience working with the Department of Parks and Recreation for the County of Maui, with most of his tenure spent as the District Supervisor for the Molokaʻi District.

Helm is active in his community, serving on various boards, including the Kalamaʻula Hawaiian Homestead Association, Friendly Isle United Way, Molokai Catholic Community Council, and Molokaʻi Little League Association.

• Kaua’i
• Term: April 2019 – June 30, 2025

Dennis Neves currently serves as the second Vice President of the Kalalea Anahola Farmer’s Hui. He brings over 27 years of public service and has an extensive Executive Management background, including a role as executive manager for the San Francisco Airport, reporting to the Director. In 2012, he accepted a position with the State of Hawaiʻi as the Kauai Airports District Manager, which he held until December 2017.

As a native Hawaiian beneficiary residing in Anahola, Kaua’i, Neves is dedicated and passionate about working towards fulfilling the mission of Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole and improving the lives of beneficiaries and those on the waitlist.

• East Hawai’i (Hawai’i Island)
• Term: January 2020 – June 30, 2025

Michael Kaleikini has worked in the power generation field for the past 34 years, having spent six years in the United States Navy and 28 as an employee with Puna Geothermal Venture in Pahoa, Hawaiʻi Island. His responsibilities have ranged from plant operations to administration to his current role in business development.

Kaleikini resides in Waiakea, Hawaiʻi Island.  He is active in his community, serving on the East Hawai’i Advisory Council for the American Red Cross, the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Hawai’i, the Hawai’i Island Chamber of Commerce, the Hawai’i Island Economic Development Board, the Hawai’i Leeward Planning Conference, and the Mainstreet Pahoa Association Boards, respectively.

He attended college in California and at Brigham Young University – Hawaiʻi.

• West Hawai’i (Hawai’i Island)
• Term: January 2023-June 30, 2025

Makai Freitas is an experienced labor leader grounded in collaborative solutions to support the needs of today’s working men and women, all the while balancing this with 21st-century economic, social, and cultural realities.

He has 20 years of labor experience that has led to elected leadership within the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU). His kuleana has included all aspects of union representation. Concurrently, he works on the docks across the state as a Longshoreman and understands the daily work conditions, health and safety, and core issues of working men and women.

Freitas is a long-time youth sports volunteer coach and a member of the Waimea Community Association. He lives in Waimea with his wife, Aulani, and two daughters, Wailea and Mahina.