MEDIA ADVISORY: STARS OF OCEANIA KEYNOTE SPEAKER

University of Hawaiʻi
Contact:
Dr. Failautusi Avegalio, (808) 956-6286
Director, Pacific Business Center Program, Pacific Business Center Program
Renata Matcheva, (808) 352-8043
Business Development and Research Manager, Pacific, Pacific Business Center Program
Posted: Nov 26, 2013

DLNR Deputy And Nominee For U.S. Assistant Secretary Of Insular Affairs To Keynote The Stars Of Oceania In Waikiki

WHAT:  University of Hawai‘i Pacific Business Center Program’s third “Stars of Oceania” recognition Dinner

WHO:  Presidential appointee, currently going through the confirmation process for the post of Assistant Secretary of Insular Affairs to the U.S. Department of the Interior, Esther Kia‘aina.

WHEN:   Tuesday, December 3, 2013, Event starts at 5:30 p.m., Keynote at approximately 6:45 p.m.

WHERE:  DeRussy Ballroom, Hale Koa Hotel, 2055 Kalia Road

DETAILS:  Eight women of and from Oceania will be honored at the University of Hawai‘i Pacific Business Center Program’s third “Stars of Oceania” recognition dinner December 3, 2013 at the Hale Koa Hotel in Waikiki, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.  The keynote speaker for event is Deputy Director Esther Kia’aina of the Hawaii State Government Department of Land and Natural Resources. Ms. Kia’aina is also a presidential appointee currently in the confirmation process in Washington D.C. as Assistant Secretary of Insular Affairs to the U.S. Department of the Interior. 

ABOUT THE PACIFIC BUSINESS CENTER PROGRAM (PBCP)

The University of Hawai'i Pacific Business Center Program was established in 1979 to provide entrepreneurs, businesses, non-profits, and government agencies with economic and business development technical assistance by utilizing the resources of the University of Hawai'i. PBCP’s mission is to help indigenous island economies help themselves by adapting the scientific and technical resources of the University of Hawai'i to support Pacific island economic, business and community development in a manner that is holistic, responsible and builds local island capacity. PBCP also operates the Honolulu Minority Business Enterprise Center (HMBEC), which is part of a network of Centers fostering the establishment and growth of minority-owned businesses in America.

Major funders of the PBCP include the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration and Minority Business Development Agency, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs, the University of Hawai'i, the UH Shidler College of Business, and some of the governments of the American Affiliated Pacific Islands. The Center serves Hawai'i and the American Affiliated Pacific Islands, including American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republics of Palau and the Marshall Islands. (www.pbcphawaii.com)

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