#debbie cabebe

Maui Economic Opportunity’s Transportation division will enroll all riders in a ride confirmation system starting Monday, March 2, to improve service and to accommodate last minute changes. 

Christy Chung has joined Maui Economic Opportunity as Chief Operating Officer. Her job is to manage, coordinate and support MEO’s day-to-day operations and more than 30 programs in the agency’s five departments and offices in Hāna and on Molokaʻi and Lānaʻi. She also is overseeing facilities and ensuring contract compliance.

Wildfire survivor and advocate Kai Pelayo and the Stupski Foundation, which gifted Maui Economic Opportunity $450,000 for early childhood programs, were named Volunteer and Benefactor of the Year respectively at MEO’s annual Volunteer Luncheon on Friday, Feb. 13.

Maui Economic Opportunity will be undergoing a leadership transition in 2026 with Debbie Cabebe retiring as the seventh chief executive in the 61-year-old Maui County nonprofit’s history and Maggie Clark Batangan succeeding her as the eighth leader beginning Aug. 1.

St. Anthony Church donated clothing, footwear, backpacks and other items to Maui Economic Opportunity’s program that helps individuals transition back into the community upon release from incarceration.

Maui Economic Opportunity CEO Debbie Cabebe was honored with the Human Resources Volunteer Service Award at the Society for Human Resource Management Hawaiʻi Conference & Expo last month for her work with individuals and families impacted by the 2023 wildfires. 

More than 1,000 kūpuna, caregivers and community members were welcomed at the 52nd annual Maui County Senior Fair at Queen Kaʻahumanu Center on Saturday, with nonprofit organizations, businesses and government agencies providing resources to support the health, wellness and independence of older adults across Maui County.

The reach of the Maui Relief TANF Program, which assists residents directly impacted by the 2023 wildfires, has expanded to include households without dependent children and noncitizens following additional funding from the State of Hawaiʻi. The program run by Maui Economic Opportunity in partnership with the state Department of Human Services began operating in the […]

Maui County’s food assistance system faces a crippling double crisis starting Nov. 1: federal budget gridlock will halt monthly SNAP payments for more than 18,600 residents, even as the state is forced to implement a new set of strict federal work and eligibility rules. The immediate response is Gov. Josh Green’s emergency Hawaiʻi Relief Program, launched Wednesday to provide temporary housing and utility assistance.

Maui County’s essential health and human services are bracing for financial hits and a surge of psychological strain due to potential federal funding cuts, according to recent University of Hawaiʻi reports.

Maui Economic Opportunity earned The Founders’ Award from the advisory, audit and accounting firm SAX. The first place finish came with a $20,000 gift, according to the announcement, made on Thursday.

The Disaster Stabilization Grant provides up to $25,000 in direct financial support to Maui wildfire survivors to assist with their unmet needs for housing, utilities, transportation, home restoration and health care costs. 

Maui Economic Opportunity (MEO) received the prestigious Promise of Community Action Award from the National Community Action Partnership (NCAP) for the agency’s work in the aftermath and the recovery phases of the devastating and deadly 2023 wildfires.

More than 450 Maui seniors gathered Saturday for the 53rd Kupuna Aloha Luncheon to meet old friends, partake of a hotel-style lunch buffet, take home some prize drawings and honor Kupuna Advocates of the Year Kathy Collins and Hedy Udarbe.

Maui Economic Opportunity’s 60th-year Board of Directors, led again by Carol Reimann, were installed last month with Mayor Richard Bissen, Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke and state Sen. Lynn DeCoite joining the candle-themed ceremony.

Maui Economic Opportunity CEO Debbie Cabebe says that critical federal funding through the Community Services Block Grant is at risk.

A mural inspired by nearby Kauaʻula Valley with flowers and butterflies by local artist Noble Richardson greets children, their families, staff and other visitors at Maui Economic Opportunity’s Head Start Lahaina Center, the only preschool in town to survive the August 2023 wildfires.

Maui Economic Opportunity’s Head Start preschool program has secured $2.7 million in federal funding for the 2025-26 school year, MEO announced on Wednesday.

The CEOs of two major social service nonprofits on Maui claim the Trump Administration may eliminate a local program that offers preschool at no cost to low income families.

The nonprofit Maui Economic Opportunity was praised as the county’s Community Action Agency in a proclamation declaring Community Action Month in Maui County.