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Bernadette Baraquio

Creative Director, College of Social Sciences
Communications Committee, UH Mānoa Staff Senate

Bernadette is a veteran journalist and TV producer with twenty-five years in the business. She began working at UH in 2011 as a broadcast journalism instructor with the School of…

Carol Oshiro, MSS Executive Board Secretary

Fiscal and Recruitment Specialist, College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources
Executive Board, Outreach Committee, UH Mānoa Staff Senate

Carol is a University of Hawaiʻi, Mānoa alumni and started her University of Hawaiʻi career as a student assistant.  She has worked at the university since 2004 in molecular genetic…

Devon Gordon

Micropropagation Laboratory Manager, Lyon Arboretum
Shared Governance Committee, UH Mānoa Staff Senate

Devon is the Micropropagation Laboratory manager for the Hawaiian Rare Plant Program at Lyon Arboretum. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Botany from UH Mānoa in 2020. His work…

Carl Dionne, MSS Past Chair

Information Technology Specialist, College of Tropical Agriculture & Human Resources
Executive Board, Shared Governance Committee, UH Mānoa Staff Senate

Carl is the Systems Administrator for the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. He has worked in the University of Hawai‘i system for twenty-three years, eleven years in Hilo,…

Aeza Hafalia

Program Coordinator, Nancy Atmospera-Walch School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene
Communications Committee, UH Mānoa Staff Senate

Aeza is the program coordinator of the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program and the NEXus campus staff coordinator for the Nursing Education Exchange partnership. She is a wife and mother…

Michele Inouchi

Senior Fiscal Specialist, DSS – Administrative Services
Outreach Committee, UH Mānoa Staff Senate

Michele currently works with the Administrative Services office in the Division of Student Success since October 2016. She previously worked on the University’s lower campus with the Business Office in…

Jacob Choe

Jacob Choe

Professional Standards Manager, UH Mānoa Department of Public Safety
Outreach Committee, UH Mānoa Staff Senate

Jacob is the current Professional Standards Manager for the UHM Department of Public Safety and brings over 10 years of experience in safety, security, and emergency management. He serves as…

Elmer Kaʻai

Director, Government Relations and Community Affairs, Provostʻs Office
Shared Governance Committee, UH Mānoa Staff Senate

Elmer is a proud graduate of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. He has been with the Mānoa since 2008 after working in both the private and public sectors. Although…

Nōweo Kai, MSS Vice Chair

Curator, Campus Arboretum
Executive Board, Outreach Committee, UH Mānoa Staff Senate

Nōweo joined UH Mānoa staff in 2018. She serves as curator of the campus plant collection - an accredited arboretum. The Campus Arboretum is organized under Buildings and Grounds Management…

Jaret KC Leong

Director of Mānoa Academy and Academic Pathways, College of Social Sciences
Shared Governance Committee, UH Mānoa Staff Senate

Jaret is the Director of Mānoa Academy and Academic Pathways for the College of Social Sciences (CSS). He is also on the CSS Student Recruitment Team and UHM eSports Task…

Nathaniel Kinglsey

Micropropagation Laboratory Manager, Lyon Arboretum
Shared Governance Committee, UH Mānoa Staff Senate

Nathaniel serves as the Seed Conservation Lab Manager at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānōa’s Lyon Arboretum. Currently, his research is focused on examining seed trait evolution and exploring what…

Christie Nitta, MSS Chair

Human Resources Manager, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources
Elections Committee, Executive Board, UH Mānoa Staff Senate

Christie is currently the Human Resources Manager at the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. In this capacity, she serves as the HR Manager for all administrative and academic…

Reynold Kajiwara

Reynold Kajiwara

Academic Advisor, College of Natural Sciences, Student Academic Success Center
Communications Committee, UH Mānoa Staff Senate

Reynold has been an academic advisor for UH Mānoa since 2018 and in his first year of service as a senator. He joined the Mānoa Staff Senate to learn more…

Richard Okubo

Richard Okubo

Fiscal Administrator, Student Diversity and Inclusion
Outreach Committee, UH Mānoa Staff Senate

Richard currently works as the fiscal administrator for the Student Diversity and Inclusion Office (formerly SEED). Before that, he worked at PBRC-Haumana/MARC Programs and JABSOM-Family Medicine as an IT Specialist.…

Andrew Sensano

IT Specialist, Outreach College
Elections Committee, Shared Governance Committee, UH Mānoa Staff Senate

Andrew has been employed at UH Mānoa for over twenty-two years.  His decision to serve on the Mānoa Staff Senate seemed to be predetermined since as a student here at…

Jennel Sesoko, MSS Communications Coordinator

Director of Branding & Marketing, Provostʻs Office
Communications Committee, Executive Board, UH Mānoa Staff Senate

Jennel Sesoko began her career at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 2015 to help support the enrollment marketing efforts in the recruitment of undergraduate students. Her current role…

Sarah Simmons

Operations Coordinator, Outreach College
Shared Governance Committee, UH Mānoa Staff Senate

Sarah has been a staff member at UHM for ten years in various roles and units. For the past five years she has been the Operations Coordinator for Outreach College…

Raedelle Van Fossen, MSS Senate Secretary

Education Manager, Lyon Arboretum
Communications Committee, Elections Committee, Executive Board, UH Mānoa Staff Senate

Raedelle was a public school science teacher for 18 years before working at Lyon Arboretum in 2017.  Working at Lyon is a dream come true for Raedelle because it is…

New Senators (July 2023 – June 2025 term)

  • Jacob Choe
  • Devon Gordon
  • Aeza Hafalia
  • Elmer Ka’ai
  • Reynold Kajiwara 
  • Nathaniel Kingsley
  • Jaret KC Leong
  • Richard Okubo
  • Carol Oshiro
  • Raedelle Van Fossen

Current Senators (serving till June 2024 term)

  • Bernadette Baraquio
  • Carl Dionne
  • Michele Inouchi
  • Noweo Kai
  • Christie Nitta
  • Andrew Sensano
  • Jennel Sesoko
  • Sarah Simmons
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