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The Board of Regents’ Candidate Advisory Council has submitted three candidates to Gov. Neil Abercrombie to fill, on an interim basis, a vacated Honolulu seat.
The candidates include: Peter S. Adler, a planner and mediator; attorney Jeffrey S. Portnoy; and Stanford B. C. Yuen, a former special assistant to the Navy Region Hawaii Commander (admiral), according to a news release issued today.
The interim appointee would serve a term ending on or before June 30, 2014, pending Senate review. Interim appointments take effect immediately and are subject to review when the Senate next comes into session. The appointee will fill the City and County of Honolulu seat held by former regent Eric Martinson who resigned in mid-August.
The Board of Regents — the University of Hawaii’s governing body — consists of 15 members including: seven from the City and County of Honolulu; two from Hawaii County; two from Maui County; one from Kauai County; two at large; and one UH student.
Members of the Regents as well as the advisory council serve voluntarily and are not paid for their service.
Adler is a principal in an international network of professionals specializing in consensus building and cooperative problem solving. From 2002 to 2012 he served as president and CEO of The Keystone Center, which specializes in resolving regulatory and policy conflicts focused on energy, natural resources and public health matters. During this time Adler led teams that helped settle disputes over mining issues in Papua New Guinea and fishing challenges in the Baltic Sea.
Portnoy has been selected in “Best Lawyers in America” (Hawaii) in legal specialties such as commercial litigation and first amendment insurance, and was selected as the Hawaii Insurance Lawyer of the Year in 2011. Also, he teaches seminars at the UH Richardson School of Law; serves as a member of the “Friends of Richardson School of Law;” and was a community member of the Law School Dean Search Committee. In addition Portnoy has assisted several UH presidents in legal matters.
Yuen’s professional career spans decades in engineering, management, business, and intergovernmental roles in the private and military sector. He is currently president of SLC Consulting, specializing in engineering management and intergovernmental affairs.
In his role as special assistant to the admiral, Yuen worked with Hawaii’s congressional delegation and other Hawaii leaders and military services on projects affecting the Navy and the state.
