Initiatives

One of the most fertile areas for impactful, positive change in Hawai‘i is in better understanding how government works – at all levels.  Our goal is to provide the next generation of leaders in Hawai‘i with a platform to learn about and understand how to navigate state and county governments with the hope that if and when they have an issue they are passionate about, they’ll know how to push forward.

We aim to build cross-sector collaborative support to work alongside our appointed leaders and elected government partners to co-create viable, sustainable solutions that benefit all working families in Hawai‘i. Demystifying Government is an educational initiative focused on convening representatives from all different branches of government to lead generative conversations with participants from the private, nonprofit, labor, and government sectors.

The first State-focused installment in our recurring series occurred on January 26, 2023 and included:

  • How the Legislature Works: Speaker Scott Saiki, Senator Donovan Dela Cruz; moderated by Melissa Pavlicek
  • How the Executive Branch Works: Attorney General Anne Lopez, Budget and Finance Director Luis Salaveria; moderated by Joshua Wisch
  • How the Judiciary Works: Intermediate Court of Appeals Chief Judge Lisa Ginoza, Deputy Administrator of Courts Brandon Kimura; moderated by Deirdre Marie-Iha

The first County-focused installment in our recurring series occurred on May 24, 2024 and included:

  • How the Legislative Branch Works: Councilmember Cinday Evans, Councilmember Sue Lee Loy; moderated by Joshua Wisch
  • How the Executive Branch Works: Mayor Mitch Roth, Managing Director Deanna Sako; moderated by Dr. Sulma Gandhi
  • How the Justice System Works: Prosecuting Attorney Kelden Waltjen, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Patrick Muñoz, and Hawai‘i County Police Department Major Jeremie Evangelista; moderated by Janice Ikeda

People often talk about systems being broken. How often do you hear that “government is broken” or “the housing system is broken?”

One way our systems operate is by keeping us in separate silos.  Our systems are currently designed so that private business, nonprofits, government, labor, and more are not inclined to collaborate and work together, even though we all have similar goals.

We want to bring people together from all these sectors to build relationships, hear each other, learn from each other, and find common ground together.  We aim to generate trust and break new ground.

We began holding convenings in 2023 to help build bridges across sectors and create new coalitions by identifying and establishing public-private partnerships, multi-stakeholder initiatives, and collective impact initiatives. These efforts aim to ensure that all working families can afford to live in Hawai‘i. Moving forward, these convenings will be held annually between the months of July and October.