Kīhei Woman Among New List of Omidyar Fellows

Leslie Mullens, courtesy photo.

By Wendy Osher

A Maui woman is among a list of 15 individuals selected as the second cohort of Omidyar Fellows, a leadership program that seeks to bring about positive change through emerging executives in the state of Hawai’i.

Leslie Mullens of Kīhei, is the president and senior strategist of Playbook Consulting Group, a management consulting firm focused on statewide strategic planning and organizational development.

In making the announcement, Kalei Stern, director of the Omidyar Fellows issued a media statement saying, “Since introducing our inaugural cohort of Omidyar Fellows last year, we have seen this program build stronger leaders, foster more effective organizations, and plant the seeds for long-lasting cross-sector relationships.”

The Omidyar Fellows program is based on global best practices in leadership development, and includes members from various sectors of the community including government, non-profit, and business.

The Omidyar Fellows is an initiative of the Hawai’i Leadership Forum.  The Forum receives funding from both the Omidyar ‘Ohana Fund at the Hawai’i Community Foundation.

Pierre Omidyar, best known as the founder and chairman of eBay, joined his wife Pam in making a $50 million commitment to the Hawai’i Community Foundation in 2009.

The funds were used to establish the Omidyar ‘Ohana Fund, which is being used to launch several community initiatives.

Pierre is also the CEO and publisher of CivilBeat.com, a public affairs and investigative journalism news service based out of Honolulu.

Other members of the newest Omidyar Fellows cohort include: Ben Ancheta of Honolulu, a strategic accounts officer at ProService Hawaiʻi; Joy Barua of Honolulu, the director of community benefit and health policy for Kaiser Permanente Hawaiʻi; Maxine Burkett of Honolulu, an associate professor of law at the University of Hawaiʻi; Giorgio Caldarone of Kailua, a regional manager with Kamehameha Schools’ Endowment; Paul Chattergy of Honolulu, the chief investment officer for the State Employees’ Retirement System; Jim Dixon of Honolulu, general counsel of the Hawaiʻi Health Connector; AJ Halagao of Honolulu, director of corporate and community advancement for Hawaiian Electric Industries; Jan Harada of Honolulu, the chief executive officer of Helping Hands Hawaiʻi; Leila Kagawa of Ewa Beach, the deputy director for the Department of Human Resources Development; Erika Lacro of Kailua, chancellor of Honolulu Community College; Scott McFarland of Kapa’a, the community outreach manager of Dow AgroSciences LLC; Lance Parker of Honolulu, principal broker for A&B Properties, Inc.; Margaret Pettyjohn of Honolulu, executive vice president of retail banking at American Savings Bank; and Suzanne Skjold of Honolulu, executive director of Hawaiʻi Literacy.