The Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT), in partnership with Enterprise Honolulu, Hawaii Island Economic Development Board, Kauai Economic Development Board, Maui Economic Development Board, Hawaii Science & Technology Council, High Technology Development Corporation and Kama‘aina Careers, will hold a Kama‘aina Come Home™ event in San Diego on Thursday, June 19, 2008, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Roy’s La Jolla.

Kama‘aina Come Home™ is trademarked by and used with permission from the Hawaii Island Economic Development Board. The program was established a decade ago through the collaborative grassroots efforts of the Economic Development Boards as a means of increasing the state’s labor pool by targeting Hawaii college students and expatriates living in the continental U.S. to return to Hawaii. The program has been successful in bringing qualified kama‘aina back to the Islands and in doing so, reuniting families.

“Because Southern California is a place where many kama‘aina live and attend college, and because there will be a contingent of Hawaii public and private sector representatives in San Diego for the BIO 2008 International Convention, it seemed a perfect opportunity to hold a Kama‘aina Come Home event to recruit students and Hawaii expats in the science and tech sectors, as well as other fields such as public safety, education, health care and hospitality,” stated DBEDT Director Ted Liu.

Attendees will get an overview of the economy and workforce trends in Hawaii, hear about the specific needs on each of the islands, and learn about resources available to help them search for jobs.

Kama‘aina Come Home™ will be preceded by the Hawaii Technology Showcase, an event featuring seven Hawaii life sciences companies and their products and plans. These companies include Nanopoint, Cardax Pharmaceuticals, Manoa Biosciences, Kuehnle AgroSystems, Risk Assessment Laboratories, Cellular Bioengineering and PixiTag. Some of these companies will also be participating in Kama‘aina Come Home™.

• Hawaii Employment Information Resources

PROGRAM

6:30 p.m. Opening/Welcome

6:35 p.m. Overview of the Hawaii job market, Jamie Lum, DBEDT

6:45 p.m. County Presentations: (5 min. each)

• Mauai, Jenilynne Gaskin, MEDB
• Kauai, Mia Ako, KEDB
• Hawaii Island, Jon Sakurai-Horita
• Oahu, Mark Ritchie, EH

7:05 p.m. Resource Presentations: (5 min. each)

• Hawaii Science & Technology Council, Lisa Gibson
• High Tech Development Corp, Yuka Nagashima
• Kama‘aina Careers, Jon Sakurai-Horita

7:20 p.m. Self-introduction of Hawaii company representatives in attendance

7:25 p.m. Q&A

7:35 p.m. Program pau – resume networking