GOVERNOR APPOINTS KATHERINE KEALOHA AS DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY CONTROL
For Immediate Release: February 7, 2008
HONOLULU – Governor Linda Lingle has named Katherine Puana Kealoha, who was instrumental in forming the environmental crimes unit within the Honolulu Prosecutor’s Office, to serve as director of the state Office of Environmental Quality Control (OEQC). Kealoha’s appointment is subject to Senate confirmation. She will start her new position on Feb. 20.
“The state is fortunate to have someone with Kathy’s expertise and experience to head the Office of Environmental Quality Control, which plays a critical role in protecting Hawai‘i’s natural resources,” said Governor Lingle. “Kathy’s commitment to public service and her extensive background in establishing an environmental crimes unit at the Prosecutor’s Office will be valuable in ensuring Hawai‘i’s environmental laws are upheld and that the public has the opportunity to review and provide comments on proposed projects.”
“As a Native Hawaiian, I am honored to have been selected for this position, and for the opportunity to uphold the mission of this office, which is vital to the protection and sustainability of Hawai‘i’s cultural heritage and natural resources,” said Kealoha. “My passion has always been environmental law,” Kealoha added.
Kealoha, an attorney with more than 12 years of litigation experience, has practiced in the areas of environmental, family, real estate, business, criminal, and civil law.
From 1995 through 2001, she was the primary attorney litigating environmental cases in the City and County of Honolulu’s Prosecutor’s Office. In 1998, with the support of such agencies as the Department of Land and Natural Resources, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Department of Agriculture, and various environmental groups throughout the state, Kealoha was able to initiate the office’s first environmental crimes unit under Prosecutor Peter Carlisle’s leadership.
Kealoha currently works in the Career Criminal Division of the Prosecutor’s Office, where she handles cases relating to environmental law, repeat offenders, and capital crimes.
She previously had her own private practice, The Law Office of Katherine Puana Kealoha & Associates, where she served as the primary supervising attorney.
Kealoha also served as a program budget analyst with the Senate Committee on Ways and Means during the Hawai‘i State Legislature 1991-1992 session. In this capacity she evaluated the operating budgets for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, the University of Hawai‘i Community College System, and the Waikīkī Aquarium. Her duties included analyzing state budget trends and exploring alternative funding methods for each of the departmental program areas.
Since 1996, Kealoha has served as an adjunct professor at Chaminade University’s Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice Administration.
A graduate of Mid-Pacific Institute, Kealoha earned a bachelor’s degree in political science as well as a master’s degree in criminal justice administration from Chaminade University. While obtaining her master’s degree at Chaminade University, Kealoha attended the University of Hawai‘i William S. Richardson School of Law, where she received her Juris Doctorate.
Kealoha is president of the Kahala Community Association and is a board member of the Star of the Sea Elementary School. She is a member of Alpha Phi Sigma, a national criminal justice honor society, and is the recipient of the American Jurisprudence & Corpus Juris Secundum National Award.
The Office of Environmental Quality Control works to promote, expand and coordinate efforts to maintain the quality of the state’s environment. The OEQC implements the state’s Environmental Impact Law, Chapter 343 of the Hawai‘i Revised Statutes, and serves in an advisory capacity to the Governor on all matters relating to environmental quality control. The OEQC reviews and comments on hundreds of environmental disclosure documents each year, and twice a month publishes The Environmental Notice, a bulletin to inform the public of projects being proposed in the state that are subject to public review and comment. The office is administratively attached to the state Department of Health.
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For more information, contact:
Chiyome Fukino, M.D.
Director, Department of Health
Phone: (808) 586-4410
Lenny Klompus
Senior Advisor – Communications
Phone: (808) 586-7708
Russell Pang
Chief of Media Relations
Phone: (808) 586-0043
