DBEDT establishes Military and Community Relations Office

The Hawai‘i Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism has established a Military and Community Relations Office which will focus on effective collaboration and transparency between the State of Hawai‘i, county governments, the community and the US Department of Defense (DoD).

This has been made possible through a $3.2 million dollar grant from the DoD Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation, awarded to DBEDT in October 2023.

Following a DBEDT search and interview process, Laurie Moore and John Greene have been selected as the executive director and deputy director, respectively.

Moore most recently served as Armed Services YMCA Hawai‘i Executive Director, where she led Hawai‘i’s oldest nonprofit organization serving military members and their dependents at 13 different sites on O‘ahu. Moore has also served as director of the Palmyra Program for The Nature Conservancy and director of the Pearl Harbor Memorial Fund for the USS Arizona Memorial.

Greene has been serving as the Defense Industry Specialist within the DBEDT Business Development and Support Division where he established the Hawai‘i Defense Alliance, a collaboration among government, industry, community resource partners, and DoD representatives focused on increasing local business participation in the defense sector of Hawai‘i’s economy.

Greene has previously served as the director of the Hawai‘i Procurement Technical Assistance Center and continues to serve as a lieutenant commander with the US Navy Reserve.

Moore and Greene will begin serving in their new positions on April 1, 2024. The Military and Community Relations Office will be administratively attached to DBEDT.

“Executive Director Moore and Deputy Director Greene bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the newly established Military and Community Relations Office, which will serve as the conduit with communities, military families and properties throughout the state,” said DBEDT Director James Kunane Tokioka. “We are confident that Laurie and John will foster partnerships between the State of Hawai‘i, county governments, community partners and DoD that will enrich our local communities, while addressing joint issues that impact the state’s economy, infrastructure, and natural resources.”