Kohala native named OHA COO

KAILUA-KONA — Sylvia Hussey, Ed.D., has been selected as the Office of Hawaiian Affairs new ka pou nui (chief operating officer), OHA announced this week.

Hussey’s responsibilities will include helping to oversee the agency’s day-to-day operations and the execution of its strategic plan and programmatic initiatives. She will start on Nov. 19.

Hussey brings more than 30 years of experience in education administration, policy development and implementation, finance, operations and information technology.

She served in leadership positions at various institutions throughout the state, most recently as the executive director of the Native Hawaiian Education Council and previously was with Kamehameha Schools for more than a decade where she was the vice president of administration.

Hussey is also a certified public accountant (not in public practice) and previously worked as a director at Candon Consulting Group, senior manager at KPMG Consulting and finance director at the Honolulu Board of Realtors. In 2016, Hussey was appointed by the Board of Education to serve as a commissioner of the State Public Charter School Commission.

Hussey received a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Brigham Young University, and has a master’s degree in education foundations and doctorate of education from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She is currently a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the American Educational Research Association, the American Evaluation Association, and their state counterparts, among other affiliations.

“I am humbled to join the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and to continue working toward empowering Native Hawaiians,” Hussey said. “I look forward to working together to inspire positive change and strengthen our families and communities.”

Hussey was born and raised in Kohala and currently lives in Kaneohe with her husband, Brian.