Meet the Council

The Language Access Advisory Council assists the Executive Director of the Office of Language Access by providing input on:  implementation and compliance with Hawai`i’s language access laws; the quality of oral and written language services provided under the law; and the adequacy of a state agency or covered entity’s dissemination and training of its employees likely to have contact with LEP persons, its policies and procedures for language services, its competency in working effectively with in-person and telephone interpreters, and its understanding of the dynamics of interpretation between clients, providers, and interpreters.

 

Dominic Inocelda, Chair
President, Inter-Agency Council on Immigrants/Refugees (IAC)

Mr. Inocelda is the president of the Inter-Agency Council for Immigrant Services which was instrumental in the passage of the language access bill. He has a master’s degree in social work from the University of Hawaii. He is employed by the Susannah Wesley Community Center where he has served in various program management and administrative functions since 1982. He has worked with limited and non-English speakers, the elderly, public housing residents, and persons with serious mental illnesses.

 

Gerald Ohta, Vice-chair
Affirmative Action Office, DOH

Mr. Ohta has been working for the Hawaii State Department of Health as its Affirmative Action Officer since 1981. He has worked with schools, universities, enforcement agencies, and public health agencies to ensure that our limited English speaking population is not denied essential government services. Mr. Ota also brings to the council a wealth of contacts with language access advocates, organizations, and agencies on the mainland.

 

Serafin “Jun” Colmenares, Jr.
Office of Language Access (OLA) Ex Officio

Serafin “Jun” Colmenares is the Executive Director of the Office of Language Access, State of Hawai`i, a position he has held since the office was established in 2007.  He is a graduate of the Mindanao State University and holds a Master’s degree in public health from the University of Hawai`i as well as M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in political science from the University of Delhi in India.  He was a professor at the Mindanao State University in the Philippines prior to his family’s move to Hawai`i in 1988.  In Hawai`i, he held positions at the State Executive Office on Aging, Hawai`i Community Foundation and Hawai`i Medical Services Association, and lectured at Leeward Community College and Chaminade University.  Dr. Colmenares also conducted research at the East-West Center Population Institute and at the University of Hawai`i’s Center for Philippine Studies.  He is actively involved in Hawai`i’s Filipino community and is an officer or board member of several Filipino organizations.

 

Bill Hoshijo
Executive Director, Hawaii Civil Rights Commission (HCRC) Ex Officio

Mr. Hoshijo has a long time interest in and commitment to civil rights, with a strong interest in language issues. In 1995, he was one of the organizers of the Council on Language Planning and Policy, composed of language rights advocates, representatives of state and county agencies, teachers and experts with expertise in applied linguistics and English as a Second Language (“ESL”), Hawaiian language immersion advocates, interpreters, translators, immigrant and refugee service providers, and community organizations brought together by a commitment to recognition of language rights and development of language resources.  In 1995, he was appointed to serve as an HCRC Commissioner, and in January 1997 was appointed Executive Director.  Mr. Hoshijo earned a law degree at the University of California, Davis – King Hall.

 

Francine Wai

Executive Director, Disability and Communication Access Board (DCAB) – Ex Officio

 

Ms. Francine Wai is the Executive Director of the Disability and Communication Access Board (DCAB) for the State of Hawaii.  DCAB is the ADA (Americans with Disability Act) Coordination agency for the State of Hawaii and is responsible for providing technical assistance and voluntary compliance for all disability rights laws in the State of Hawaii.  She received her BA in Public Policy from Pomona College, a Graduate Diploma in Community Health from the University of Toronto, and an MA in Health Policy and Management from Harvard University.   Ms.Wai (DCAB) is an ex officio member of the Office of Language Access (OLA).  DCAB’S involvement with the OLA revolves around communication issues for the deaf, hard of hearing, deaf blind, and speech impaired populations.

 

Lito Asuncion

Member at-large

Mr. Asuncion works as a program planner for the Hawaii County Office of Aging. He previously worked as an immigration information specialist for the Hawaii County Office of Management, and as a program evaluator/trainer for the Hawaii/American Samoa Bilingual Education Support Center.

 

Melba Bantay
Catholic Charities Hawai`i

Born in Manila, Philippines, Ms. Melba Bantay has been with Catholic Charities Hawai`i since 1985.  She is the  Program Director of  three of  Catholic Charities’ programs: Employment Core Services to Immigrants and Low-Income Persons, Immigration, and Refugee Services.

Melba is accredited by the Board of Immigration Appeals since 1994 to represent immigration clients before the USCIS. She earned her B.A. in Commerce from Far Eastern University in Manila, an M.A. in Religious Studies from Maryknoll School of Theology in New York, and a Masters in Public Health from the University of Hawaii.

She lived and worked as a missionary in Guatemala and Nicaragua using the Paulo Freire’s approach to education and leadership formation, and worked with Spanish Jesuit priests in the formation of the Basic Christian Communities among the poor in Managua, Nicaragua.  Melba was the Formation Director of the Maryknoll Sisters in New York before she moved to Hawaii in the early 80’s. She has one adult daughter who is now married and lives in San Diego, California.

 

M. Alohalani Boido
Hawaii Interpreter Action Network

Ms. Boido earned a masters degree in political science from the University of Hawaii. She speaks Spanish fluently and has served as an interpreter for nearly three decades. Ms. Boido was recommended by the Hawaii Interpreter Action Network to represent the professional interpreter’s organization in the council.

 

Jennifer Dotson
President Elect, Junior League of Honolulu

Ms. Jennifer Dotson was born and raised in Hawaii and graduated from Punahou School.  She received her bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and her master’s degree from the London School of Economics.  Her family is first generation from Vietnam.  She speaks fluent Cantonese and studied Mandarin Chinese at Beijing Teacher’s College, National Chengchi University in Taiwan, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Jennifer became involved with the Junior League of Honolulu in 2004 and its mission to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers.  As the president elect, she oversees the daily operation of the League office and staff.  She serves as Chair of its Strategic Planning Committee, acts as an advisor to 18 committees, and serves on its Finance Committee.

Jennifer was featured in Pacific Business News as a recipient of “40 Under 40” Award and Hawaii Business Magazine as a recipient of the “20 for the Next 20” Award recognizing successful young leaders that share a passion for making a difference in their careers and communities .  Her previous nonprofit work experience includes serving for the Muscular Dystrophy Association and Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

 

Patricia J. Harpstrite
County of Honolulu

Ms. Pat Harpstrite retired from teaching Spanish at the Leeward Community College campus of the University of Hawai`i in 1998 and became a Federally Certified Court Interpreter that same year.  Since then, she has been an interpreter in Federal, State and Immigration Courts in Hawai`i.  In 2007, her federal certification qualified her as a Hawai`i State Judiciary Master Certified Court Interpreter (Tier 6).  She also works as a medical, community and conference interpreter, and has done legal, business and literary translation.

Pat is active in interpreter/translator professional organizations on both local and national levels.  She served as secretary for the Hawai`i Interpreter Action Network (HIAN) from 2005 throught 2010, and prior to that as secretary, vice-president and president of the Hawai`i Interpreters and Translators Association (HITA).  She is an associate member of the American Translators Association (ATA).

She is also a member of the National Association of Judiciary Interpreters and Translators (NAJIT) and a member of the NAJIT Advocacy Committee.  With M. Alohalani Boido, Pat has co-authored several articles for national interpreter professional publications, including Proteus (NAJIT) and the Interpreter’s Voice (ATA).

 

Ruth Mabanglo

Dr. Ruth Mabanglo is professor and coordinator of the Filipino Language and Philippine Literature program at the University of Hawai`i.

Ruth is an internationally-known Filipino poet, writer, translator, and scholar. She has been publishing poetry for over 30 years and has received numerous literary awards and honors, most recently the Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature Hall of Fame Award, the 1992 Commission on Filipino Language “Makata ng Taon” (Poet of the Year) for the poem “Gahasa” (Rape), and the Manila Critics Circle 1990 National Book Award for Poetry for “Mga Liham ni Pinay” (The Letters of Pinay). Mabanglo has also published many academic works. She is the current president of the Filipino Association of University Women.

Dr. Tin Myaing Thein
Executive Director, Pacific Gateway Center

Dr. Thein is from Burma (Myanmar) and speaks Burmese and Spanish. She holds a Ph.D. degree in medical sociology from Columbia University. Dr. Thein has over 25 years of experience in community and economic development serving both national and international organizations. Since 1997, she has been the executive director of the Pacific Gateway Center and oversees 14 community-based programs assisting immigrants, refugees and low-income individuals to succeed in their efforts to become economically and socially self-sufficient. An important part of the agency’s mission is to provide bilingual services.

 

Mary Santa Maria
Public Health Educator, Hawaii State Department of Health

Ms. Mary Santa Maria is a Public Health Educator with the Maui District Health Office and the Chronic Disease Prevention Branch of the Department of Health.  She is involved with language access, medical interpreting training, and health services access for Limited English Proficient persons at community and state agencies.  She holds a master’s degree in public health from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and is a certified trainer for Cross Cultural Health’s “Bridging the Gap” medical interpreters training.

 

Kauai County – vacant
Edelene Uriarte

Micronesian Community Network

Edelene received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the Adventist University of the Philippines and her Master’s degree in Pacific Islands Studies from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.  Edelene’s work history includes three years’ academic research on the Pacific region to complete her thesis on promoting in Palau an indigenous Palauan Studies program at a college level.  Ms. Uriarte is a member of the Micronesian Community Network since 2007 and is its current president.  She is co-founder of Belau Mei, a resource based organization that supplies important information to Palau immigrants traveling to Hawai’i in search of education, job opportunities and heath care. She is also an active volunteer for communities in Oahu that focus on the health and educational advancement of the Micronesian community.

 

Hawai`ian Language advocacy organization – vacant