Language Access Advisory Council
Dominic Inocelda
Chair, Inter-Agency Council on Immigrants/Refugees
Mr. Inocelda is the president of the Inter-Agency Council for Immigrant Services which was instrumental in the passage of the language access bill. He has a master’s degree in social work from the University of Hawaii. He is employed by the Susannah Wesley Community Center where he has served in various program management and administrative functions since 1982. He has worked with limited and non-English speakers, the elderly, public housing residents, and persons with serious mental illnesses.
Gerald Ohta
Affirmative Action Office, DOH
Mr. Ohta has been working for the Hawaii State Department of Health as its Affirmative Action Officer since 1981. He has worked with schools, universities, enforcement agencies, and public health agencies to ensure that our limited English speaking population is not denied essential government services. Mr. Ota also brings to the council a wealth of contacts with language access advocates, organizations, and agencies on the mainland.
Earnest Chung
Sr., Social Policy Director, Catholic Charities Hawaii
Sister Chung has served Catholic Charities Hawaii in various capacities for several years; including director of Catholic Charities Immigrant Services, Elderly Services, and currently as its Social Policy Director. Sister Chung holds a masters degree in public health from the University of Hawaii. She is an ardent supporter of immigrant and language access rights.
Canisius Filibert
President, Micronesian Community Network
Mr. Filibert hails from the Republic of Palau, one of the Freely Associated States of Micronesia. He obtained his masters degree in linguistics from the University of Hawaii and currently works as a program director/specialist for various educational, vocational, literacy, and cultural awareness projects for Pacific Islanders/Micronesians at the Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) where he has served since 1998.
Mr. Filibert also serves as an interpreter at the district and federal courts in Hawaii, and is the president of the Micronesian Community Network.
Lito Asuncion
Planner, Hawaii County Office on Aging
Mr. Asuncion works as a program planner for the Hawaii County Office of Aging. He previously worked as an immigration information specialist for the Hawaii County Office of Management, and as a program evaluator/trainer for the Hawaii/American Samoa Bilingual Education Support Center.
Dr. Suzanne Zeng
UH Center for Interpretation & Translation Studies
Dr. Zeng is a faculty member at the University of Hawaii’s Center for Interpretation & Translation Studies. She has a Ph.D. degree in Chinese linguistics from the University of Hawaii. She also has a certificate in simultaneous and consecutive interpreting from the University of Hawaii. Dr. Zeng brings an academic perspective on the issue of language access to the advisory council.
Mrs. Namaka Rawlins
UH-Hilo Hawaiian Language Center and Aha Punana Leo
Ms. Rawlins obtained her bachelor’s degree in Hawaiian studies from the University of Hawaii. She is an adjunct assistant professor at the UH-Hilo Hawaiian Language College, and serves as director of `Aha Punana Leo, a non-profit organization devoted to the preservation and propagation of Hawaiian language and culture.
M. Alohalani Boido
Hawaii Interpreter Action Network
Ms. Boido earned a masters degree in political science from the University of Hawaii. She speaks Spanish fluently and has served as an interpreter for nearly three decades. Ms. Boido was recommended by the Hawaii Interpreter Action Network to represent the professional interpreter’s organization in the council.
Dr. Tin Myaing Thein
Director, Pacific Gateway Center
Dr. Thein is from Burma (Myanmar) and speaks Burmese and Spanish. She holds a Ph.D. degree in medical sociology from Columbia University. Dr. Thein has over 25 years of experience in community and economic development serving both national and international organizations. Since 1997, she has been the executive director of the Pacific Gateway Center and oversees 14 community-based programs assisting immigrants, refugees and low-income individuals to succeed in their efforts to become economically and socially self-sufficient. An important part of the agency’s mission is to provide bilingual services.
Bill Hoshijo
Executive Director, Hawaii Civil Rights Commission (HCRC)
Mr. Hoshijo has a long time interest in and commitment to
civil rights, with a strong interest in language issues. In 1995, he
was one of the organizers of the Council on Language Planning and
Policy, composed of language rights advocates, representatives of state
and county agencies, teachers and experts with expertise in applied
linguistics and English as a Second Language (“ESL”), Hawaiian language
immersion advocates, interpreters, translators, immigrant and refugee
service providers, and community organizations brought together by a
commitment to recognition of language rights and development of
language resources. In 1995, he was appointed to serve as an HCRC
Commissioner, and in January 1997 was appointed Executive Director.
Mr. Hoshijo earned a law degree at the University of California, Davis
- King Hall.
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