Maui’s McMillen Among Finalists for UH Regent Vacancies

Georgia McMillen. Courtesy photo.

By Wendy Osher

Maui’s Georgia McMillen, who serves as the Appellate Lawyer Representative from Hawai’i for the Ninth Circuit, is among the four finalists for the At Large seat on the University of Hawai’i Board of Regents.

The other finalists for the upcoming At Large vacancy include: Gregory Chun, the Vice President for Kamehameha Schools; Patrick DeLeon, recently retired as DC chief-of-staff for US Senator Daniel Inouye; and Benjamin Kudo, the CFO and land use manager for the law firm Imanaka Kudo & Fujimoto.

The seat is being vacated by fellow Maui resident, Teena Rasmussen whose term ends on June 30, 2012.  Rasmussen has served as a regent since 2008, and is the Director of the Maui Office of Economic Development.

Besides McMillen’s active practice before the US Court of Appeals, she also provides pro bono legal services through the Mediation Center of the Pacific, and the Volunteer Legal Services of Hawaii.

Her Maui affiliations include an outreach program at Keawala’i Congregational Church, the Maui Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce, and she has served as adjunct faculty at the University of Hawai’i Maui College.

In addition to the At Large seat, vacancies will also open on June 30th for the Kauai County, City and County of Honolulu, and Student seats.

The Regents Candidate Advisory Council presented a list of candidates to Governor Neil Abercrombie for the four seats after starting the recruitment cycle during the early fall of 2011.

A total of 27 candidates were interviewed in November and December, with the final list of candidates narrowed to 12 for the four seats.  The finalists include the following:

• City and County of Honolulu: John Dean, Ronald Ho, Carol Mon Lee, Keith Vieira
• Kaua’i County: Klaus Keil, Tom Shigemoto
• At Large: Gregory Chun, Patrick DeLeon, Benjamin Kudo, Georgia McMillen
• Student: Jeffrey Acido, Matthew Williams

Gov. Abercrombie must select nominees for the regent vacancies from the list provided.  The appointments must then be confirmed during the current legislative session.