Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 39, Number 7, 1 July 2022 — Aloha mai kākou, [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Aloha mai kākou,

J 'OLELO A KA POUHANA V ^ MESSAGE FROM THE CEO *

AN UNOOMMON LEADER Laha 'ole (vs. Rare, ehoiee, unique; not eommon.)

The news in late May that former OHA Board of Trustees (BOT) Chair Colette Machado had passed away shocked the community. Chair Machado was a fierce warrior and proud of her grassroots origins. Her entire adult life was dedicated to serving the people of Moloka'i and the larger lāhui; she advocated tirelessly to protect our aina, our people, and nohona Hawai'i (our way of life). Her service to the lāhui began in the 1970s. In the five decades that followed she helped to found a number of grassroots organizations and also held leadership roles with organizations such as the Moloka'i Land Trust, the Moloka'i Island Burial Council, the Hawaiian Homes Commission, the State Land Use Commission, the Kaho'olawe Island Reserve Commission and, of course, with the OfRce of Hawaiian Affairs representing the islands of Moloka'i and Lāna'i for 24 years. She was a force to be reckoned with, and her sheer presence could be intimidating. She lived her truth and her politics. She was passionate and courageous and smart - a political triple threat. She was an uneommon leader. I recall preparing for the 2020 legislative session. It was obvious as we met with legislators that she commanded their respect. And it wasn't just the "positional respect" afforded to her as the chair of OHA's BOT. Her influence with lawmakers eame from their recognition that she had the respect and aloha of most of her eommunity - not because of her title, but because of her heart. On a trip we took together to Washington, D.C., her husband, Unele Myron Akutagawa, made plans to travel with us. Unele Myron was never far away; he and Chair Machado were devoted to one another. It was February and during the course of our trip I learned that they were celebrating their wedding anniversary that month and that, randomly, they both loved snacking on Pringles. At our next meeting (after returning home), I presented her with a little goodie

basket as an anniversary gift that included a few containers of Pringles. I was taken ahaek by how touched she was by my small gesture. Chair Machado often surprised me. I recall whenever she met with the senate president that before meeting, they would discreetly step to the side and quietly pule. And despite her extensive experience as a puhlie speaker, puhlie speaking aetually made her nervous. It is serendipitous that plans were already in plaee to focus the July issue of Ka Wai Ola on Chair Machado's home island, as OHA's BOT meetings on July 18 and 19 will be held on Moloka'i. Indeed, our cover story celebrates the restoration of Kawela Stream and the role that Moloka'i's next generation of leaders played in that victory. We also meet a few homegrown Moloka'i entrepreneurs and three sisters who

are working to address substance abuse issues on their island. And

Protect Kaho'olawe 'Ohana leader and UH Mānoa Professor D Davianna McGregor, Chair Machado's a longtime friend, shares a ho'omana'o. He 'alo'alo kuāua no kuahiwi* a he alaka'i laha 'ole '0 ia. Ke aloha nui a Ke Akua pū. ■

Sylvia M. Hussey, Ed.D. Chief Executive 0fficer *'Ōlelo No'eau 541: "One whofaced the mountain showers."A brave person.