Representing the staff of HPU

Staff Council Chair Maile Lee, Vice Chair Joanne Nakano,
Secretary-Treasurer Deneen Kawamoto

Maile Lee, Office Manager for Admissions, serves as the Chair of the Staff Council, which was established in July, 2015.

Lee, who joined Hawai‘i Pacific University in 2008 to work in the Bookstore at Hawaii Loa campus (HLC), appreciated the sense of community and family-like atmosphere of HLC. In her current position, she — like many members of the HPU ‘ohana — enjoys interacting with students from many different countries who choose to come to HPU and Hawai‘i. 

“It gives me a worldly sense, assisting students from around the world,” said Lee.    

With the end goal to help the university achieve its mission and ultimately to help HPU students succeed, Lee has chosen to get involved with the campus community through the Staff Council. The Staff Council is the executive body of the Staff Assembly, which represents the collective staff voice for the shared governance of the university.

Lee’s participation with the Council dates back a couple years as a leader on the Staff Council Committee, which was charged with creating the structure for the Staff Council. To complete their charge, Lee and fellow members of the Council Committee researched staff councils of other universities and engaged with HPU staff through a forum, a survey and ongoing dialogue.     

“I wanted to see change with the staff,” said Lee. “In essence, I wanted to be part of the change and not speculate what the change should be.” 

Staff Council leadership includes Vice Chair Joanne Nakano, Faculty Assembly Administrator, and Secretary-Treasurer Deneen Kawamoto, Disability Resources Manager. Division representatives of the Council are Lisa Ishikuro, Office of Academic Affairs, Missy Correia, University Administration, Darcy Query, Office of the Chief Financial Officer, Derek Enoki, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Darren Vorderbruegge, Office of the President, and Kilei Nelson, University Relations. Janet Kloenhamer, Executive Vice President for Administration, serves as an ex-officio member. 

The Personal and Professional Development Committee of the Council was pleased to kick off in August Mini open houses of HPU departments and programs and brown-bag lunch workshops. Workshops included one focused on how best to support international students and another concentrated on stress management. These open houses and workshops will continue this academic year, and departments and programs interested in hosting an event are encouraged to reach out to the Council.

School of Education Mini Open House, Aug. 7

In addition to the Personal and Professional Development Committee, there is a Staff Relations Committee and a Special Events and Recognition Committee. HPU staff interested in getting involved with a committee are welcome to contact a Staff Council member or email staffcouncil@hpu.edu.