About us
On July 10, 2006, at the Susannah Wesley Community Center in Kalihi, Governor Linda Lingle signed into law a key bill designed to improve state and state funded services to immigrants with limited English proficiency. Act 290, Session Laws of Hawaii 2006 - Relating to Language Access, requires the state, as well as state-funded programs, to develop plans to provide interpretation services and translated documents to those immigrants and residents that have limited ability to read or speak English. The Act also established the Office of Language Access within the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.
“Act 290 represents the state’s commitment to ensuring that no one individual living in the State of Hawaii is denied their right to the services we provide, based upon their inability to speak or read English," said Governor Linda Lingle. “Those using state services are the usually most vulnerable and the most in need of assistance in order to survive. Language should not be a barrier to such things as housing, food, job training, or medical coverage."
According to the 2000 U.S. Census survey, 26.6 percent of persons in Hawaii speak a language other than English. Nationally, only 17.9 percent of the population speaks a language other than English. Additionally, the 2000 Census reports that the majority of persons immigrating to Hawaii come from Asia and the Pacific Islands. Of the population that (at home) speaks a language from Asia or from the Pacific Islands, 20.2 percent do not speak English well or at all.
The Team
Serafin "Jun" Colmenares
Executive Director
serafin.p.colmenares@hawaii.gov
M. Uilani Pauole de Sa
Senior Legal Analyst
monique.u.pauoledesa@hawaii.gov
Jeremy D. Low
Research Analyst
jeremy.d.low@hawaii.gov
Kendall T. Zukeran
Research Analyst
kendall.t.zukeran@hawaii.gov
Gail P. McGarvey
Clerk
gail.p.mcgarvey@hawaii.gov
\\\
Legal Clerk
...@hawaii.gov
Language Access Advisory Council
Click here for bios
Dominic Inocelda
Chair, Inter-Agency Council on Immigrants/Refugees
Gerald Ohta
Affirmative Action Office, DOH
Earnest Chung
Sr., Social Policy Director, Catholic Charities Hawaii
Canisius Filibert
President, Micronesian Community Network
Lito Asuncion
Planner, Hawaii County Office on Aging
Dr. Suzanne Zeng
UH Center for Interpretation & Translation Studies
Mrs. Namaka Rawlins
UH-Hilo Hawaiian Language Center and Aha Punana Leo
M. Alohalani Boido
Hawaii Interpreter Action Network
Dr. Tin Myaing Thein
Director, Pacific Gateway Center
Bill Hoshijo
Executive Director, Civil Rights Commission
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