Gov. Green creates state’s first LGBTQ+ advisory commission

The state of Hawaiʻi has established an advisory body to develop and improve the state’s interaction with its lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, plus (LGBTQ+) citizens in accordance with HRS 369. The commission, one of few in the country, is comprised of eight voting members.

Voting members include the following individuals:

• Commission Chair – Kathleen O’Dell, Ph.D. (she/her) – representing the City and County of Honolulu
• Michael Golojuch Jr. (he/him) – representing the City and County of Honolulu
• Secretary (temporary) Joe Tolbe (he/him) – representing Maui County
• Finance Director Shanda Brack (she/her) – representing the Hawai‘i Sexual and Gender Minority working group out of the Department of Health
• Sandy Harjo-Livingston, Ph.D. (he/him/they/them) – representing the City and County of Honolulu
• Philip Steinbacher, Ph.D. (he/him) – representing Kaua‘i County
• Joseph “Rocco” Vick (he/him) – representing Hawai‘i County
• Richard Velasquez (he/him) – representing the City and County of Honolulu

The commission operates administratively under the Department of Human Services.

“The eight commissioners come to the table with a wide range of diverse and relevant experience and history,” said commission Chair O’Dell. “It’s easy to feel how committed the members are and how enthusiastically they honor the responsibilities they are charged to take on.”

The commissioners were sworn in on June 28, 2024. by Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke. June 28 was selected by the commissioners, as it commemorates the 55th Anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, a significant date in LGBTQ+ history and efforts toward equality.

Powers and duties of the commission include creating public awareness and understanding of the responsibilities, needs, potentials and contributions of Hawai’i’s LGBTQ+ community; maintaining contacts with appropriate federal, state, local and international agencies concerned with the status of Hawaiʻi’s LGBTQ+ community; recommending legislative and administrative action on equal treatment and opportunities for members of Hawai’i’s LGBTQ+ community, and submitting to the governor and legislature an annual report with recommendations.

In addition to the eight voting members, the commission includes six ex officio, nonvoting members or their designees, including the superintendent of the Department of Education, the president of the University of Hawai‘i system, the director of Labor and Industrial Relations, the director of Human Resources Development, the director of Human Services; and the director of the Department of Health.

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi invited members of the commission to attend the Oct. 1 ceremony for Honolulu Pride Month to raise the Pride flag above the Frank F. Fasi Civic Center grounds and to proclaim the Wilhelmina Tenney Rainbow Shower Tree as the “Official Pride Tree of Honolulu.”

Commissioners also helped to celebrate the beginning of Pride Month at the Aliʻiōlani Hale that evening and attended a round table discussion featuring current Hawaiʻi Supreme Court Justice Sabrina McKenna, and former Hawaiʻi Supreme Court Justices Steve Henry Levinson and Daniel R. Foley. They discussed Hawaiʻi’s entrance onto the marriage equality stage. The evening concluded with the debut of a traveling exhibition “Kaulike No Nā Mea A Pau: Toward Queer Justice in Hawaiʻi.”

Additionally, the commission will be participating in the Honolulu Pride Parade down Kalākaua Avenue at 4 p.m. Oct. 19. Honolulu Pride is celebrated in October to coincide with LGBTQ+ History Month, National Coming Out Day and Spirit Day.