Deputy Directors Appointed to DHHL and DAGS

By Wendy Osher

State capitol, file photo by Wendy Osher.

Deputy Directors were appointed Monday to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) and to the Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS). Governor Neil Abercrombie named Michelle Kauhane as Deputy to the Chairman of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, and Jan Gouveia as Deputy Director at DAGS.

Kauhane is a resident of the Kaupea Hawaiian Homes community in Kapolei on O’ahu. She completes a three-person team at DHHL that also includes Hawaiian Homes Commission Chairman Alapaki Nahale-a and Chief of Staff M. Waialeale Sarsona.

Chairman Nahale-a said Kauhane’s long history of serving Native Hawaiians, and knowledge in affordable housing, “will help Native Hawaiians build financial assets, making their families more self-sufficient and better able to create economic opportunities for themselves.”

“It is an honor to be part of the team working to advance the mission of the Trust with a voice to empower beneficiaries,” said Kauhane.

Kauhane replaces retiring DHHL Deputy Robert Hall, who is leaving the department on July 1.

Jan Gouveia, the Governor’s appointment for Deputy at DAGS, currently serves as the Deputy Director for Administration for the Department of Transportation (DOT).  She replaces Ryan Okahara, who left on June 3 to join the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In her new capacity, Gouveia will work with the state’s new Chief Information Officer, Sanjeev “Sonny” Bhagowalia, to transform the state’s technology.  She was a part of the DAGS selection process for the state’s current technology system assessment.

“Jan Gouveia is uniquely qualified with great problem-solving skills,” said Bruce Coppa, Director of DAGS. “She has the creative talent that’s needed now as we take on this task of fixing government’s technology system.”

Governor Abercrombie is interviewing candidates to find a replacement to fill the Deputy Director vacancy now left at the DOT.

*** Supporting information courtesy Office of the Governor, State of Hawai’i.