Ota, Matayoshi and Sullivan join UH Board of Regents

University of Hawaiʻi
Contact:
Lynne Waters, (808) 956-8109
External Affairs and University Relations
Kristen Bonilla, (808) 956-5039
External Affairs and University Relations
Posted: Jul 1, 2011

Saedene Ota
Saedene Ota
Coralie Matayoshi
Coralie Matayoshi
Jan Sullivan
Jan Sullivan
HONOLULU – The University of Hawai‘i Board of Regents welcomes three new members—Saedene Ota fills a Maui County seat, and Coralie Matayoshi and Jan Sullivan fill seats for the City and County of Honolulu. Ota began serving immediately upon her appointment in May for a term that expires in 2015. Matayoshi and Sullivan begin serving on July 1, 2011, both for terms that expire in 2016.
 
Saedene Ota is owner and creative director of Sae Design, a six-person graphics firm that focuses on strategic marketing and communication graphics. She is also the owner of Maui Thing, a lifestyle retail apparel company located in Wailuku, Maui. In addition to supervising overall operations of the company, Ota oversees brand messaging, social marketing and community events.
 
Ota’s community activities include serving on the Maui Board of Economic Development, Hawai‘i State Art Museum, Maui Young Business Round Table, Maui Memorial Medical Center Foundation and A Keiki’s Dream. She also performs pro bono design services for various community organizations including Hale Makua Health Services, Lanakila—Meals on Wheels, Maui Youth and Family Services, Maui Chamber of Commerce and the Maui County Farm Bureau.
 
Ota studied at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, the University of Washington and at California State-Northridge while a UH Mānoa exchange student. She received her bachelor of fine arts with honors at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.
 
Coralie Matayoshi is an attorney who has served as CEO of the American Red Cross, Hawai‘i State Chapter since 2003. She oversees the statewide delivery of humanitarian services to fulfill the Red Cross mission of saving lives and giving hope to those in need. Her prior experience in leading statewide nonprofit organizations includes serving as executive director of both the Hawai‘i State Bar Association and Hawai‘i Institute for Continuing Legal Education.
 
Matayoshi has served on the Neighborhood Justice Center Board, KHON-TV 2 Action Line Advisory Board, Hawai‘i Bar Journal Editorial Board, AUW Campaign and Nominating Committees, Diamond Head Theatre Advisory Board, and Hastings Law School Alumni Association Board of Governors. In 2010, she was named the Pacific Business News Businesswoman of the Year - Nonprofit.
 
Matayoshi studied at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa before graduating with a bachelor of arts degree in political science from the University of California, Berkeley. She received her law degree from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 1981.
 
Jan Sullivan is the chief operating officer of Oceanit, a local engineering and technology company that is comprised of 160 engineers, scientists and support staff whose mission is to build a thriving tech sector in Hawai‘i. She has been involved in the management and oversight of early stage research and development, start-up company formation and capitalization, and later stage financing challenges. She developed a novel, competitive early stage innovation fund and has helped to initiate and launch multiple spin-out companies.
 
Sullivan previously was the director of the Department of Land Utilization and the Department of Planning and Permitting for the City and County of Honolulu. She is active in the community, having served as a member of the Hawai‘i Community Development Authority and the Charter Commission for the City and County of Honolulu. She has also served on the boards of Homeless Aloha, Parents and Children Together, and Girl Scouts of Hawai‘i. Sullivan is currently the vice chair of the Hawai‘i Nature Center and is a founding board member of the nonprofit Mutual Housing Association of Hawai‘i.
 
She earned a bachelor of arts degree in sociology from the University of Colorado and obtained a law degree from the William S. Richardson School of Law at UH Mānoa.
 
“We’re delighted to add three such talented and respected members of the community to our Board of Regents,” said University of Hawai‘i President M.R.C. Greenwood. “Each is extremely skilled and experienced in her own field of expertise. We welcome their knowledge and wisdom in helping us move the university forward in challenging times.”
 
The UH Board of Regents formulates policy and oversees the university system through the university president. The board is composed of 15 regents, nominated by the Regents Candidate Advisory Council, appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state Senate.
 
For more information about the UH Board of Regents, visit www.hawaii.edu/bor.