 show today, Ola Ialoja. My name is Marisol Ruiz. I am the co-founder and vice president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Our president, Barbara DeLuca, a host normally with us today, won't be here, so you're stuck with me. But I'm very excited today. We have a wonderful guest. His name is Dr. Kelly Iaquina. And we have a lot to talk about. We know 30 minutes is not a lot, but we're going to try and get as much information that we can from him as possible. Okay. And he is the, sorry, I keep doing that. I'm so sorry. Dr. Kelly Iaquina is a trustee at large at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. And he's a president and CEO of the Grassroot Institute as well. Today, we're going to focus a little bit more on the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. So we're going to get right to it. And let me start off first. How can I address you? Would you like me to call you trustee Iaquina or Dr. Iaquina? What would you prefer? Well, Marisol, I'd be delighted if you just called me Kaylee. I'll try. I'll try. But thank you so much for taking time out of your day. We know you're really busy and there's a lot for you to do. But we're going to start off a little bit about if you can tell me a little bit about your background, please. Well, certainly. And Marisol, Ola Ia Loa. And thank you so much for inviting me to be on the program. And to all of the members of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and all your fans of this program, just Aloha, it's a delight to be with you. But you asked me a little bit about my background. My name is Kaylee Iaquina, Hawaiian Chinese name. And basically, my ancestors came from China and from Hawaii. I like to put it this way, a very smart Chinese boy came over here to Hawaii. And that was back in the 1800s. And the reason he was smart is he married a beautiful Hawaiian lady. And he became the Aquina clan. And so we are one of many, many people who are carrying the last name Aquina. My background is varied. I've had several careers. The first was in Christian ministry. I worked with young people, especially on the Waianae coast on Oahu. I headed a program called Youth for Christ. And then after that, I went on to complete my PhD in philosophy and ethics and became a teacher of professor here in Hawaii. And also I taught and lectured in Asia. But what I've do most recently is head up a think tank called the grassroots institute that solves our economic problems. And in the public sphere, I ran for office. So I'm in my second term as a trustee at large in the office of Hawaiian affairs, which is a wonderful organization dedicated to helping empower Hawaiians to improve their conditions in everything from economics to their social sphere. Right. I have a question. So you're in your second term. And I understand. So you started your first term 2016. So their four year terms are there. Can you continue to serve? Are there any caps on on how long you can serve as a trustee? Marisol, that's up to the people of Hawaii. Okay. How long they would like me to serve them. But there are no term limits for trustees in the office of Hawaiian affairs. Ah, okay. And then how did you how did you even decide to become a trustee of the office of Hawaiian affairs? Well, that had to do with my deciding to come back and get involved with the public world in Hawaii. I was lecturing in Asia in China at the University of Beijing and observing how the people interact with their government over there. And I realized that while there are a lot of problems outside of the United States and outside of Hawaii, we have our own problems in Hawaii that need to be solved. And so I came back and decided, you know, I'll get involved. I got involved in civic organizations and a think tank, as I mentioned earlier. And then I decided, you know, I'm part Hawaiian and I can help the Hawaiian people by running for office. And so I ran for the office of Hawaiian affairs and was elected in 2016 with about 200,000 votes. And that means that it wasn't just Hawaiians, but it was the broad spectrum of our community that felt that I could accomplish something for the sake of the Hawaiians and for the community. So that's what I've been doing ever since then. Oh, that's fantastic. And then so I'm not Hawaiian. I'm Latino. So how does, I mean, it's obvious that OLA helps and empowers Hawaiians, right? But how does it impact non-Hawaiians? You know, Marisol, that is a great question, Marisol. But before I respond to it, let me say that a trustee, a venerable old trustee many, many years ago turned to me one day at the trustee table and said, you know, Kaylee, most of us Hawaiians are mostly something else. And that's because we are people who love people and who accept people and are open to people. And so many people have come from across the world to the Hawaiian islands that my story of a mix between a Chinese man and a Hawaiian woman is the story of everyone that all races come together and combine. It's just a wonderful thing. In fact, I learned later in life that I am also Hispanic. I didn't know that. Oh, really? That we were the Hawaiian Chinese family. And grandma, who came from Chula Vista in California, would always make patele and postada. And all of these different foods that my Chinese and Hawaiian friends really didn't know about. And then I eventually learned that in our ancestry, we have a smidgen of Puerto Rico. Oh, Puerto Rico. That made my food and my life a little more spicy. But going back to your question, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs obviously is committed to helping Hawaiians. It was established by the 1978 Constitutional Convention in order to better the conditions of Native Hawaiians. And that's everything, housing, to family, to economy, to education, and so forth. And in many ways, sadly, Hawaiians are at the bottom of our demographic standards and lists in terms of being the people with the greatest number of illnesses or the most incarcerated or the most impoverished. And so the Office of Hawaiian Affairs exists in order to change that, in order to improve the conditions of Native Hawaiians. But you asked, what is the impact upon people who are not Hawaiians? And it's a big impact. Well, first of all, whether you're Hawaiian or not, you care for the people of the islands, especially the indigenous people who are here before others. And so I think that it's a wonderful place here where whether you're Hawaiian or not, you can join in with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to help the conditions of Native Hawaiians. One way in which that practically impacts people is that a lot of our homeless and houseless population is Native Hawaiian. If their needs aren't met, that becomes a burden not only on them, but also upon all other people in our community. And so when the Office of Hawaiian Affairs helps to resolve housing problems and empower people economically to rise up from homelessness and houselessness, they're doing something that not only helps Hawaiians, but helps the rest of the state. It also relieves the state from the burden of having to care for that, because OHA can provide greater resources than just welfare from the government. But there's one other which OHA affects everybody. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is the 13th largest landholder. Okay. It also is entitled to 20% of the revenues of the public lands of Hawaii. And that is about 1.3 million acres. That's the land on which we have the airport or the university or hospitals or state property and so forth. That is a substantial amount of revenue that goes to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. And in fact, it's not all the revenue they deserve. We're trying to get it all back, but it still is significant. And what's done with those revenues affects everybody. Okay. Virtually every decision in our state that has to do with land or air or water or people is something that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs weighs in on. And so if you care about everything in Hawaii, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is one of the ways in which you can be involved in helping to bring about the best solutions and the best management of all the things that affect us. Right. Now I'm going to ask you a little, maybe a little tougher question here. Speaking of revenues and kind of money coming in to OHA, with OHA the past history, there's been some controversy over the proper use of funding by some of the trustees and employees. You were personally involved in exposing and dealing with the situation. Can you, are you okay with sharing a little bit about that? Well, thanks for the opportunity, Marisol. One of the reasons that I did go into public office, and OHA is a public office in terms of the trustees, we run statewide for election. One of the reasons I went into that is because I care a lot about the quality of our government. I care that we have a government that is honest and transparent and accountable and limited to the purposes it was established. That's so important here in the United States, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is part of government. But it's not always been the case that it has been operating as best as it could in terms of accountability and transparency. When I was first elected, I remember going to my office and one day a member of the administration, the staff, came to me with an envelope and a check. And the check was for $23,000. And I said, well, what do I do with this? She said, well, you just put it in your bank account, keep track of it. And it's for miscellaneous expenses that you have. And I thought about that. And I said, this is kind of strange because I know that in real estate, you don't commingle funds. You don't take money from your clients and put it in your own personal bank account. And then as I looked at that, I started to learn that other trustees, some of them, not all of them, but some of them had used those funds for all kinds of personal expenses or lavish dinners or other things that were not appropriate. And then that got me thinking that it was important to really review the financial practices of the organization. So I set about promoting an external audit that would be done to take a look at how the finances were being used. It took a little bit of fighting to get that going, but eventually we got that audit and we had another review of the same audit and learned that there had been huge levels of fraud, waste, and abuse. And the purpose was not to try to catch people and get them into trouble. The purpose of that was to correct something so that the funding that goes into the Office of Hawaiian Affairs can actually get to the people. So it can actually be used for housing and jobs and education and healthcare. So I'm very pleased that I had the opportunity to work with my colleagues on such an audit. And as a result of that, many measures have been put into place over the last several years in the Office of Hawaiian Affairs that now make it a place that is very accountable in terms of money. We have very good record keeping. We have very good accountability and transparency in terms of the finances of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. I'm very proud of that and of my colleagues, our work together in order to change an institution from being something that wasn't accountable into what it needs to be for the people. And that's so important because the bottom line is now that helps more people here in our community to be able to benefit from the funds and go into the organization. Yeah, I think that's really interesting, too, because I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel to do something like that takes a lot of courage. I mean, the Ohio, when was it established? 78? 78. So we're talking what almost 45 years. And then you come along, I think it takes a lot of courage because that's a long time for maybe certain habits or things have been run a certain way. So to somebody to come in and I don't want to say disrupt, but kind of disrupt and say, hey, we got to do things the right way and shed light on that. I'm sure you had some people that, you know, it must have been challenging for some people, but did you find that really difficult or was it one of those things that you knew it's going to be challenging? But it's what we have to do. It was easy for you to do in that case. Well, let's put it this way. Not everybody was comfortable with the results that were coming to the surface. And it was important that the truth come out and people be held accountable. That's something that is part of Hawaiian culture. We have a word that many people have heard called Pono and process called Pono Pono, which is to make Pono. Pono is a word that means righteous. It's more than just correct. It's being right in a way that is accountable to all parties. And I think that as Hawaiians, it was important for us in an organization like Oha to become Pono. And so this was a win for us culturally. But something I think that we share with all other cultures, people are best served when things are done the right way. And that's something that I just learned in my Ohana growing up, my family. The place where most people learn their values. I'm so grateful to my family and to my church for the opportunities I learned as a little child, that there's a right way and a wrong way to stand up for what is right. And so part of my decision, you asked me about this earlier, why I decided to go into the office of Hawaiian Affairs. Part of my decision was to serve my people, the Hawaiian people, but it was also to do what was right. Because I think that here in our society, we need to have the courage to stand up for what is right. And I'm grateful for the opportunity I've had to do that at the office of Hawaiian Affairs. Yeah, I agree. I think it's easy as an individual to do the right thing, but there is sometimes a lot of resistance, but it takes courage, right? It might be easy, but it does take courage to fight the forces. But how many trustees are at Oha? Can you tell me a little bit about that? Yes, the office of Hawaiian Affairs is governed by a board of nine trustees. Four of them represent islands, or about half of them represent specific islands, the Big Island, Maui, Molokai, and Kauai, while four of them at least are like myself at large, representing the entire state. Got it. Okay. Now, if there's nine of you, because I'm thinking for us in the chamber when we have our committee meetings or board of director meetings, right? We don't have as many, but do the trustees, do they all need a degree in decision making? Is it challenging for you to be one of nine? How does that, what does it take us behind the scenes there and what that looks like? Sure. Well, decisions are made by majority vote. Okay. So you always need to have a majority in order to pass a resolution or an action item, a decision. It's very much like the legislature and the way decisions are made and policies are adopted and money is spent. I have to say that on almost everything, we agree, because most of the work is very obvious in terms of what the right thing to do is. Right. For example, last year we provided over $10 million in grants and in aid to non-profit organizations. This year, it's going to be closer to $20 million. And much of that is going to go to help with the Lahaina relief from the terrible wildfires that took place. I'm very proud of that work that the trustees carry out. And almost unanimously, the funds are vetted and awarded to worthy groups that are helping people across the state. But sometimes there are differences. And so the board is a board of elected political office holders. So there's politics that comes into it. So let me put it this way, it can be very vigorous at times. And there are times, yes, when I have been the one vote standing against eight other votes. And let me clarify, this doesn't mean that they were all wrong. It doesn't mean that I'm the right guy and they were not right. We are differences. We stood up for what we each believe. And from time to time I have found myself being the lone voter for a certain position. I'm glad that we live in the United States of America where that's possible. Where it's possible to be able to voice your opinion, your conviction and rally others around it. So that's what takes place. So in answer to your question, most of the time we're in full agreement at the board trustees. But sometimes we have some vigorous political battles in order to fight for things that we believe in deeply. Right. But yeah, I agree with you. If everyone is of like mind to do the right thing, I could see that that most people would be would be in agreement. But so you've served so far two terms. So let me ask you this. Are there any goals that you've been working on during your terms? Oh, yes. When I went into the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in 2016, I had three goals. And I've been working on them ever since. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs essentially is a massive trust fund. It governs funds that have come to the Hawaiian people and disperses them so that they can be used for worthy purposes that empower Hawaiians and the community at large to some extent as well. Now, this trust has to be protected. So my first goal is to protect the trust and protecting the trust means making sure that we deal with fraud, waste and abuse, get rid of it as much as we possibly can and to ensure that that doesn't happen again in the future. I'm very pleased because I think we've made major strides in that direction. And that was my first goal. My second goal in the Office of Hawaiian Affairs was to grow the trust. And that is not just to leave the assets at the level they're at now, but to increase the size of the assets, everything from stock portfolio to land holdings, not just to hoard money, but rather for the purpose of creating a base of wealth that can actually be used to make a huge difference here in the islands. So protect the trust, grow the trust. And the third area is to use the trust. And I'm very pleased to see that we are doing that in new ways. As I mentioned, last year we gave about 10 million dollars in grants to nonprofits. This year we're almost doubling that. And in the future, I'm excited that I believe we're going to actually be giving more to nonprofits that are on the ground working with people in everything from programs for nurturing children to taking care of the elderly, from the keiki to the kupuna. And so these have been my goals pretty much lined up with these three premises to protect, to grow, and to use. That's fantastic. And for us, like with the Hispanic Chamber, we feel so blessed and fortunate to have connected with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. I mean, we're actively working. I mentioned a little bit earlier. We had our first Latin business expo and our idea is to kind of promote businesses and education within the minority community. And so for us to partner and with OHA is very exciting because here's another group that's advocating for people, right? Trying to represent and protect natives, right? And we are natives as well. So we have some events coming up and we're working with OHA and hopefully in the future again, do some cultural events with OHA. So we're really excited about that. And for you, as you work towards the advancements of the conditions of Native Hawaiians, are there any concerns that you have regarding residents of our state who are not native Hawaiian? Well, that's a great question, Marisol. Most definitely I am concerned about Native Hawaiians because that's my fiduciary duty as a trustee of the funds that were left to help Hawaiians improve their conditions. So that's where the most of the work goes on in the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. But at the same time, we don't live in isolation. We live in the midst of a community. I love a phrase that is often used at the beginning of public gatherings in Hawaii. A pule kako. A pule kako. Let us pray together. But I also like to say a hana kako. A hana kako. Let us work together. You see, apart from each other, there's nothing we can do. But when we come together, we can do great things. And one of the things that I'm most saddened by is when different ethnic groups and different cultural groups have differences that push them apart rather than bring it together. You know, our differences should define us, not divide us. That's most important. And so I'm very saddened that sometimes in promoting the betterment of Hawaiians or in seeking to resolve some of the wrongs of the past, some people have become somewhat embittered and that puts a distance between them and non-Hawaiians. We have to work together to share the aloha spirit with everyone because what's good for Hawaiians is good for everyone. But it's also true that what's good for everyone is good for Hawaiians. And so what that means is that we need to work together in order to solve the problems here in our islands and in order to make Hawaii a better place for everyone. I love that message. And then we're nearing our end here. Let me ask you a question because I mean, if our viewers or anything like me, they might not entirely know. As far as positions for the trustees, you were saying people vote for the aloha trustees, but can anybody vote? Is it only, I know it's the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, is it, you know, I mean, can anybody vote for aloha trustees? I'm glad you asked that question. Whenever we go to the polls to vote for governor or for senators or for legislators representatives, we also vote for aloha trustees. Everyone vote because the aloha trustee position is a government position. And that means that everyone has a stake in helping to be able to ensure that aloha and its resources are led by people who are able to help and who are committed to the highest standards. I love that. So we're actually nearing our very end and you taught me something today and I hope I don't butcher it, but please correct me. Ehana Kako, let's work together. Ehana Kako, let's work together. The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce is so excited to work with aloha in the future. We're so glad that we had you here today and sharing your knowledge and what you're doing. We'd love to have you on again. I know we focused on aloha today, but if you would be gracious enough to attend another one of our podcast, we'd love for you to talk more about the Grass Roots Institute. We didn't have time to get into that, but I know that's another organization that you're strongly involved in. So if you'd like to come back and focus on that, we'd love to have you. My name is Marisol Ruiz. I am the vice president and founder of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Thank you, Think Tech Hawaii for giving us the space and the platform to promote members of our community. Thank you so much and have a wonderful day. Thank you so much.