Gov. Ige appoints two people to University of Hawaiʻi’s Board of Regents

Gov. David Ige has appointed bank vice president Gabriel Lee and non-profit administrator Laurie Tochiki to the University of Hawaiʻi System’s Board of Regents. Both appointments are subject to Senate approval.

Lee is the executive vice president of commercial markets at American Savings Bank. He previously was the vice president and commercial banking officer at First Hawaiian Bank, and vice president and pacific marketing director at Bank of Hawaiʻi. Lee attended graduate school at Dartmouth College, received a Bachelor of Arts in economics from the University of Hawaiʻi and is a graduate of St. Louis School.

If confirmed by the state Senate, Lee will fill the at-large seat currently held by Benjamin Kudo. The five-year term starts July 1 and ends June 30, 2027.

Tochiki is the executive director of the non-profit EPIC ʻOhana, which aims to strengthen Hawaiʻi’s families and enhance the welfare of children and youth. She also has worked in various capacities at UH’s William S. Richardson School of Law.

Tochiki was lecturer from 2012-2014 and 2019, the director of child welfare projects from 2005-2012, associate dean for student services from 1999 to 2011, and adjunct and assistant professor. She also has served as a law clerk, and coordinator of Kids First with the Family Court of the First Circuit, a research analyst with the Hawaiʻi State Judiciary and instructor at Kapiʻolani Community College.

Tochiki has a PH.D in education policy from the UH’s College of Education, a Master of Science in administration from Central Michigan University Hawaiʻi Campus, a Juris Doctor from UH law school and a B. A. from Whitman College in Washington. She is a graduate of Waipahu High School.

If Tochiki is confirmed by the state Senate, she takes the City & County of Honolulu seat now held by Simeon Acoba. Her five-year term starts July 1 and ends June 30, 2027.

The Board of Regents is composed of 11 volunteer members who formulate policy and have exclusive jurisdiction over the internal structure, management and operation of the university. Board members are nominated by the Regents Candidate Advisory Council.