Language Access Advisory Council
Dominic Inocelda
Chair, Inter-Agency Council on Immigrants/Refugees
Mr. Inocelda is the president of the Inter-Agency Council for Immigrant Services which was instrumental in the passage of the language access bill. He has a master’s degree in social work from the University of Hawaii. He is employed by the Susannah Wesley Community Center where he has served in various program management and administrative functions since 1982. He has worked with limited and non-English speakers, the elderly, public housing residents, and persons with serious mental illnesses.
Gerald Ohta
Affirmative Action Office, DOH
Mr. Ohta has been working for the Hawaii State Department of Health as its Affirmative Action Officer since 1981. He has worked with schools, universities, enforcement agencies, and public health agencies to ensure that our limited English speaking population is not denied essential government services. Mr. Ota also brings to the council a wealth of contacts with language access advocates, organizations, and agencies on the mainland.
Melba Bantay
Born in Manila, Philippines, Melba Bantay has been with Catholic Charities Hawai`i since 1985. She is the Program Director of three of Catholic Charities’ programs: Employment Core Services to Immigrants and Low-Income Persons, Immigration, and Refugee Services.
Melba is accredited by the Board of Immigration Appeals since 1994 to represent immigration clients before the USCIS. She earned her B.A. in Commerce from Far Eastern University in Manila, an M.A. in Religious Studies from Maryknoll School of Theology in New York, and a Masters in Public Health from the University of Hawaii.
She lived and worked as a missionary in Guatemala and Nicaragua using the Paulo Freire’s approach to education and leadership formation, and worked with Spanish Jesuit priests in the formation of the Basic Christian Communities among the poor in Managua, Nicaragua. Melba was the Formation Director of the Maryknoll Sisters in New York before she moved to Hawaii in the early 80’s. She has one adult daughter who is now married and lives in San Diego, California.
Ruth Mabanglo
Dr. Ruth Mabanglo is professor and coordinator of the Filipino language and Philippine literature program at the University of Hawaii.
Ruth is an internationally-known Filipino poet, writer, translator, and scholar. She has been publishing poetry for over 30 years and has received numerous literary awards and honors, most recently the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature Hall of Fame Award, the 1992 Commission on Filipino Language "Makata ng Taon" (Poet of the Year) for the poem "Gahasa" (Rape), and the Manila Critics Circle 1990 National Book Award for Poetry for “Mga Liham ni Pinay” (The Letters of Pinay). Mabanglo has also published many academic works. She is the current president of the Filipino Association of University Women.
Lito Asuncion
Planner, Hawaii County Office on Aging
Mr. Asuncion works as a program planner for the Hawaii County Office of Aging. He previously worked as an immigration information specialist for the Hawaii County Office of Management, and as a program evaluator/trainer for the Hawaii/American Samoa Bilingual Education Support Center.
Edelene Uriarte
Edelene received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the Adventist University of the Philippines and her Master’s degree in Pacific Islands Studies from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Edelene’s work history includes three years’ academic research on the Pacific region to complete her thesis on promoting in Palau an indigenous Palauan Studies program at a college level. Ms. Uriarte is a member of the Micronesian Community Network since 2007 and is its current president. She is co-founder of Belau Mei, a resource based organization that supplies important information to Palau immigrants traveling to Hawai’i in search of education, job opportunities and heath care. She is also an active volunteer for communities in Oahu that focus on the health and educational advancement of the Micronesian community.
Namaka Rawlins
UH-Hilo Hawaiian Language Center and Aha Punana Leo
Ms. Rawlins obtained her bachelor’s degree in Hawaiian studies from the University of Hawaii. She is an adjunct assistant professor at the UH-Hilo Hawaiian Language College, and serves as director of `Aha Punana Leo, a non-profit organization devoted to the preservation and propagation of Hawaiian language and culture.
M. Alohalani Boido
Hawaii Interpreter Action Network
Ms. Boido earned a masters degree in political science from the University of Hawaii. She speaks Spanish fluently and has served as an interpreter for nearly three decades. Ms. Boido was recommended by the Hawaii Interpreter Action Network to represent the professional interpreter’s organization in the council.
Dr. Tin Myaing Thein
Director, Pacific Gateway Center
Dr. Thein is from Burma (Myanmar) and speaks Burmese and Spanish. She holds a Ph.D. degree in medical sociology from Columbia University. Dr. Thein has over 25 years of experience in community and economic development serving both national and international organizations. Since 1997, she has been the executive director of the Pacific Gateway Center and oversees 14 community-based programs assisting immigrants, refugees and low-income individuals to succeed in their efforts to become economically and socially self-sufficient. An important part of the agency’s mission is to provide bilingual services.
Bill Hoshijo
Executive Director, Hawaii Civil Rights Commission (HCRC)
Mr. Hoshijo has a long time interest in and commitment to
civil rights, with a strong interest in language issues. In 1995, he
was one of the organizers of the Council on Language Planning and
Policy, composed of language rights advocates, representatives of state
and county agencies, teachers and experts with expertise in applied
linguistics and English as a Second Language (“ESL”), Hawaiian language
immersion advocates, interpreters, translators, immigrant and refugee
service providers, and community organizations brought together by a
commitment to recognition of language rights and development of
language resources. In 1995, he was appointed to serve as an HCRC
Commissioner, and in January 1997 was appointed Executive Director.
Mr. Hoshijo earned a law degree at the University of California, Davis
- King Hall.
Azi Turturici
Accountant, Kauai Agency on Elderly Affairs
Mrs. Azi Turturici has worked as the Accountant for the Kauai Agency on Elderly Affairs for the last fourteen years. As an immigrant from Nicaragua, she speaks Spanish fluently. Her language skills have helped many Spanish-speaking persons obtain access to valuable services. Mrs. Turturici is active in her community. She is a dog handler with the Kauai Search and Rescue, K9 Team, and treasurer of the Kauai Toastmasters 2525, an organization dedicated to promote speaking and leadership skills. She has participated for many years in the Tax Counseling for the Elderly, an AARP volunteer program to assist seniors in preparing their income taxes. She heads the lector program and belongs to the Finance Committee at the Immaculate Conception Parish in Lihue, Kauai.
Mary Santa Maria
Public Health Educator, Hawaii State Department of Health
Mary Santa Maria is a Public Health Educator with the Maui District Health Office and the Chronic Disease Prevention Branch of the Department of Health. She is involved with language access, medical interpreting training, and health services access for Limited English Proficient persons at community and state agencies. She holds a master's degree in public health from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and is a certified trainer for Cross Cultural Health's "Bridging the Gap" medical interpreters training.
Betty Brow
Executive Vice President and Head of the International Banking Division, Bank of Hawaii
Betty Brow is the Executive Vice President and Head of the International Banking Division at Bank of Hawaii. In this capacity, she is responsible for all banking activities for international clients of the Bank, both commercial and individual. The International Banking Division is staffed with banking officers who can speak different languages, including Japanese, Chinese (Mandarin, Cantonese, and Taiwanese), Korean, French, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. Betty is fluent in Vietnamese and French, and is conversational in Mandarin Chinese. She was born in Vietnam, in a village near Hanoi. Betty left Vietnam in 1959 with her parents and lived in India, then France before settling in the United States in 1965. She started her career working for the U.S. Postal Service in Washington, DC as a management analyst. From 1978 to 1982, Betty worked for the U.S. State Department at the U.S. Embassies in Moscow and Beijing, in both the Budget Office and the Consular Office. She then spent the next 21 years in Hong Kong working for three banks, Chemical Bank, Bankers Trust, and the International Bank of Asia. Her banking career covered all areas of commercial banking, investment banking, and retail banking. Betty and her family returned to the United States and finally settled in Hawaii in 2005. Prior to joining Bank of Hawaii in May 2007, she worked for American Savings Bank as a management consultant. Betty obtained her Bachelor of Science and MBA degrees from the University of Maryland.
Jennifer Dotson
Executive Director, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Hawaii Chapter
Mrs. Dotson obtained her bachelor's degree from Georgetown University and earned a master's degree from the London School of Economics. Her family is first generation from Vietnam. She speaks fluent Cantonese and studied Mandarin Chinese at Beijing Teacher's College, National Chengchi University in Taiwan, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Previously, Mrs. Dotson worked at the U.S. Embassy in London and the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. She currently advocates language access for limited and non-English speakers living with neuromuscular diseases and volunteers as a reading tutor for Hawaii Literacy.
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