Cabinet

Mark Bennett
Attorney General
One of Bennett’s key roles as Attorney General is helping Governor Lingle interpret and litigate issues involving federal, state and county laws. He previously worked as a government litigator and served seven years as an Assistant United States Attorney in Honolulu and two years as a U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C. Bennett also represented the State of Hawai`i and City and the County of Honolulu between 1999 and 2001 as a special deputy prosecuting attorney general. He is a graduate of Cornell University Law School and Union College in New York.

Visit the Attorney General website.

Darwin Ching
Director, Department of Labor and Industrial Relations
As director of the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, Ching works with Governor Lingle to address the challenges facing Hawai`i’s working people. He was previously appointed by the Governor to fill a vacant O`ahu-at-large seat on the Board of Education. As a BOE member, Ching was the chair for labor negotiations for the Hawai‘i Government Employees Association (HGEA) Units 6 and 10 and participated in negotiation sessions with the Department of Education and the union.  In his private practice, Ching represented workers before the Disability Compensation Division of the DLIR and the Labor Board of Appeals as well as labor arbitrations.  He also was a labor arbitrator on cases involving the HGEA and United Public Workers (UPW) versus the state.

Visit the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations website.

Chiyome Fukino, M.D.
Director, Department of Health
Dr. Fukino serves as the chief health and environmental official for the state. She works with Governor Lingle to ensure the development of public health and prevention programs and to increase the availability and affordability of healthcare. Her experience includes serving as a medical director, contract consultant and physician. Dr. Fukino’s research has largely focused on improving the health of Native Hawaiians. She is a graduate of University of Hawai`i John A. Burns School of Medicine, Brandeis University and Kamehameha Schools.

Visit the Department of Health website.

Micah Kane
Director, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands
Kane works with Governor Lingle to fulfill the state’s obligations to Native Hawaiians, which includes providing opportunity for homeownership or land stewardship on homestead lands. The former chairman of the Hawai`i Republican Party, Kane was also a government affairs liaison, a business consultant and a Honolulu City Council legislative aide. He is a graduate of Menlo College and the University of Hawai`i at Manoa.

Visit the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands website.

Kurt Kawafuchi
Director, Department of Taxation
Kawafuchi is responsible for all aspects of tax administration for the state, including audits, collections, criminal tax investigations, legislation, administrative guidance, operations, taxpayer services and research and planning. Kawafuchi's hard work was recognized in August 2008 by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, who selected him as the 2008 Outstanding CPA in Government in State government. Prior to his current appointment, he supervised the Attorney General’s Tax Division, which represents the state in tax litigation in all federal and state trial and appellate courts, and acts as parens patriae in supervising charities and nonprofits. Prior to November 1999, Kawafuchi practiced law at Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel. His practice focused on tax law, international and domestic business and estate planning, and representing clients in civil and criminal tax controversies and litigation. From 1986 1992, Kawafuchi was a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice, Tax Division, Washington, D.C., and represented the Internal Revenue Service in federal and state courts in Hawai`i and California. Kawafuchi is licensed as an attorney and certified public accountant in Hawai`i and California. He is also a certified tax law specialist. Kawafuchi has served as chair of the Hawai`i State Bar Association Tax Section and the Hawai`i Society of Certified Public Accountants Tax Committee. He received a master’s degree in taxation laws in 1987 from Georgetown University.

Visit the Department of Taxation website.

Georgina Kawamura
Director, Department of Budget and Finance
Kawamura’s key role is administering the state budget and managing short-term and long-term financial plans for the Lingle-Aiona Administration. Under the overall objective of safeguarding public funds, she maintains a special focus on improving the state budgetary process through the use of performance measures and development of a new budget format that is more relevant and user friendly. Kawamura previously served for more than 11 years as budget director for Maui County. She is a graduate of Maui Community College and Kamehameha Schools.

Visit the Department of Budget and Finance website.

Lillian Koller
Director, Department of Human Services
Koller ensures that Hawai`i’s people receive appropriate assistance and support, including providing training and services to help families and individuals become self-sufficient. Her experience includes serving as an attorney and a drug court program coordinator for the Second Circuit Court. She was also deputy corporation counsel and deputy prosecuting attorney for Maui County and a private attorney in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Maui. She graduated from the Martin Luther King, Jr. School of Law at the University of California, Davis and from UCLA.

Visit the Department of Human Services website.

Sandra Lee Kunimoto
Chair, Board of Agriculture
Kunimoto’s responsibilities include working with Governor Lingle to advance the agriculture industry and develop viable markets for Hawai`i-grown and Hawai`i-made agricultural products. Her career has focused on the management, business development, marketing and science and research aspects of the agriculture industry. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Hawai`i.

Visit the Department of Agriculture website.

Marie Laderta
Director, Department of Human Resources Development
As administrator of the state’s human resources program for civil service employees, Laderta oversees classification and compensation plans, recruiting, employee benefits, safety and Workers’ Compensation. She also coordinates labor-management relations and manager-employee performance programs. Laderta served previously as deputy tax director and replaced Kathleen Watanabe, who the Governor appointed and the Senate confirmed to serve as circuit court judge for the island of Kaua`i.  Laderta graduated from Maryknoll High School, Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and John Marshall Law School in Chicago.  She also attended the East China Institute of Law & Politics in Shanghai, China.

Visit the Department of Human Resources Development website.

Major General Robert Lee
Adjutant General, Department of Defense
Major General Lee supervises Hawai`i’s National Guard Forces, maintains the readiness of the Hawai`i National Guard for state and federal active duty and coordinates civil defense and homeland security activities. He formerly served as commander of the 9th Regional Support Command, where he was responsible for the Army Reserves in Hawai`i, Alaska, Guam, Saipan, American Samoa, Japan and Korea. He was also the Superintendent of Nuclear Regional Maintenance at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard. A mechanical and nuclear engineer, he graduated from the United States Army War College, the University of Hawai`i and McKinley High School.

Visit the Department of Defense website.

Ted Liu
Director, Department of Business and Economic Development and Tourism
Liu plays a key role in implementing Governor Lingle’s plans to expand and diversify Hawai`i’s economy. He is focused on reshaping the department to encourage investment and to better support the business community. Liu, who was born in Taiwan and raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil, has more than 20 years of experience as an attorney and as an executive in the international venture capital and investment banking industry. He is a graduate of the New York University School of Law and the University of Michigan.

Visit the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism website.

Brennon Morioka
Director, Department of Transportation
Morioka is responsible for upgrading and modernizing the state’s transportation systems, including airports, harbors and highways.  Morioka previously served as the deputy director - highways for the department.  Prior to that, Morioka was as a senior geotechnical engineer in the Honolulu Office of URS Corporation, one of the largest engineering firms in the world.  He also was as an engineer with Harding Lawson Associates and Metcalf & Eddy, Pacific.

Visit the Department of Transportation website.

 
Lawrence Reifurth
Director, Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs
Reifurth focuses on protecting the interests of Hawai`i’s consumers and businesses. Prior to joining the Lingle-Aiona Administration, Reifurth worked for the law firm of Oshima Chun Fong & Chung.  He also has had extensive experience working for and with DCCA under a prior Administration, serving as the state’s insurance commissioner in 1994 and representing the Division of Consumer Advocacy and other state agencies as a deputy attorney general from 1989-1994. Reifurth is a graduate of Northwestern University School of Law, the J.D. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, and Marquette University.

Visit the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs website.

Russ Saito
Director, Department of Accounting and General Services
Saito’s department includes the Accounting Division, Audit Division, Information and Communication Service Division, Hawai`i State Archives Division, Automotive Management Division, Central Services Division, Public Works Division and Land Survey Division, plus district offices on Kaua`i, Maui and the Big Island. He also has seven attached agencies: the State Procurement Office, State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, Stadium Authority, King Kamehameha Celebration Commission, Office of Elections, Campaign Spending Commission and Wireless E911 Board. Saito has widespread experience as a manager and director of engineering, planning, operations, and product management in the telecommunications industry. He has a business degree from Central Michigan University and engineering degrees from the University of Hawai`i.

Visit the Department of Accounting and General Services website.

Laura Thielen
Director, Department of Land and Natural Resources
As director of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Thielen works to ensure that the state’s natural and cultural resources are managed responsibly and efficiently, while allowing the economy to expand and diversify. Thielen has an extensive background in land use and environmental law and previously served as executive director of the state Office of Planning which assists the Administration in planning the overall framework to guide development in Hawai‘i.  A graduate of Case Western Reserve School of Law and the University of Colorado, Boulder, Thielen also earned a master’s in public policy from the Georgetown University Public Policy Institute.

Visit the Department of Land and Natural Resources website.

Marsha Wienert
Tourism Liaison
As the state’s first tourism liaison, Wienert works with the visitor industry, government agencies and the community to coordinate and help implement the state’s long-term tourism strategy. Wienert has been directly involved in Hawai`i’s tourism industry for the past two decades. She previously served as executive director of the Maui Visitors Bureau and earned "The Most Powerful Woman in Travel" award from Travel Agent magazine for seven years. Wienert was also voted "U.S. Destination Person of the Year" in 2002 by the senior and associate editors of Travel Agent magazine.