Aloha kākou. I hope everyone had a wonderful summer break and is excited about the Fall 2025 semester. Before I begin, I want to (again) congratulate our Spring 2025 MPA graduates (pic). The MPA students completed two Capstone projects, the culminating experience of the master’s degree. The first was with the Hawai‘i State Judiciary, titled “Budgeting Strategies and Best Practices.” The second was with Care for ʻĀina Now, titled “Resistance to Stewardship: Opposition Narratives in Hawai`i’s Green Fee Legislation.” I’m very proud of our students (now PUBA alumni) and excited to see what they will achieve next!
As for PUBA, the program has changed slightly in both curriculum and faculty. First, the renamed GCERT in Nonprofit Management is now active, effective Fall 2025, and our GCERT in Public Policy is entering its second semester. Both 15-credit GCERTs can be taken concurrently with the MPA for those students interested in public policy and nonprofit management respectively. As for personnel, we welcome two new faculty members. First, Dr. Soyun Jeong joined the PUBA team in August 2025. Her research and teaching specializations are in social safety nets, health policy, state politics and policy, and administrative burdens. Next, Dr. Maile Arvin also joined the PUBA team in August 2025. She is a joint faculty member with the Department of Ethnic Studies, and her research and teaching specializations are in indigeneity, settler colonialism, race, gender and sexuality, indigenous feminisms, incarceration, and diversity management. We welcome both our new colleagues to the PUBA ‘ohana!
In closing, I look forward to working with the PUBA faculty, staff, and students to ensure we maintain the highest standards in our MPA and GCERT programs. Mahalo!