The Maui News

Mayor-elect Richard Bissen has announced another round of appointments to head county departments as he prepares to take office next week.

Bissen is appointing Victoria Hamilton Takayesu as corporation counsel, Rogerene “Kali” Arce as director of the Department of Agriculture, Malama Minn as director of the Department of Parks and Recreation and Lori Tsuhako as director of the Department of Housing and Human Concerns.

Tsuhako and Arce are currently serving in those same roles. Appointed in 2019 by Mayor Michael Victorino, Tsuhako has served as director of the housing department under two different county administrations and has 36 years of experience as a professional social worker, according to a news release from Bissen’s transition team. She was previously an administrator of the state Homeless Programs Office and worked in the field of aging. She earned a Bachelor of Social Work degree and a Master of Social Work degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Arce was appointed by Victorino in July to the brand-new Department of Agriculture. A Molokai resident and former executive deputy director for the Molokai Land Trust, Arce previously served as the acting chief and biological technician for Kalaupapa National Historical Park’s Natural Resources Department. She graduated from Kamehameha Schools and went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture degree from UH-Hilo and a Master of Science degree from Washington State University. She has worked for 30 years in the agriculture and conservation restoration industries.

Minn, a native of Hana, has an extensive background in renewable energy projects and policy development and helped to bring more renewable energy to Hawaii as part of the state’s Energy Office. While at the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, she was involved in leading shoreline certifications for a division and addressing encroachment complaints received by the public and department staff. Minn received her Juris Doctor from the William S. Richardson School of Law at UH.

For more than 20 years, Takayesu has worked at the state Department of the Attorney General, where she has led the Child Support Enforcement Branch on Maui. She previously had a private law practice and served in Maui County as a deputy prosecuting attorney before becoming a deputy corporation counsel. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the City College of the City University of New York and a Juris Doctor from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, New York.