Former Hawaii County Planning Director Christopher Yuen is among three people nominated by Gov. David Ige on Tuesday to the Hawaii Board of Land and Natural Resources.
Yuen, a resident of Ninole, is currently serving on the board on an interim basis and previously held the board’s Hawaii County seat from 1990 to 1998, according to the governor’s office. He is currently on the advisory councils for the Laupahoehoe and Puuwaawaa Experimental Tropical Forest.
Since 1995, Yuen has been owner and manager of The Family Farm Inc., a 20-acre certified organic farm supplying local markets. From 2000 to 2008, he was Hawaii County’s planning director. He has also served as the county’s deputy corporation counsel and practiced law as a private attorney.
Yuen received a bachelor’s degree in human biology from Stanford University, a master’s degree in environmental science from State University of New York’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and a juris doctorate from UH William S. Richardson School of Law.
“With significant work experience as a planner, attorney, farmer and National Park employee, Chris brings a balanced and insightful point of view to the Board table,” said Ige. “Hawaii will greatly benefit from his commitment and passion to our communities and his willingness to serve.”
Also nominated to the board were Keith “Keone” Downing, an expert waterman and big wave surfer from Honolulu, and Ulalia Woodside, an Oahu resident who has been serving on the board on interim basis for the past year and is the regional asset manager for natural and cultural resources at Kamehameha Schools’ Land Assets Division.
The governor said that Downing, the son of big-wave pioneer George Downing, currently owns with his sister, Kaiulu, a family business which is also Hawaii’s oldest surf shop, Downing Hawaii. He is also involved with the nonprofit group Surfing Education Association, which Ige said also shows his dedication to the preservation of Hawaii’s oceans coral reefs, waves and beaches.
Downing is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools. He graduated in 1975 with a degree in commercial art from California College of the Arts and went on to design logos for surf industry giants Quiksilver and O’Neill.
Woodside, in addition to serving on the board and her position at Kamehameha Schools, is as a steering committee member for Hawaii Green Growth and is the indigenous representative for the Landscape Conservation Cooperative National Council. She previously worked at Wilson Okamoto Corporation, The Hallstrom Group and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. She is also a former commissioner for the Natural Area Reserves System Commission and a former executive council chair for the Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative.
Woodside received bachelor’s degrees in political science and Hawaiian studies, along with a certificate in Hawaiian language, from UH Manoa. She is also a kumu hula, having completed the ‘uniki rites of her family’s genealogical hula traditions.
All three nominations must be confirmed by the state Senate.