Shining Stars

The White House has nominated Nani Coloretti, a 1987 ‘Iolani School graduate, to be deputy secretary at the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Coloretti had been picked by President Barack Obama in November to be chief financial officer in the Department of the Treasury. That nomination was withdrawn earlier this month when Obama nominated Coloretti to the HUD executive post.

She has been the Treasury Department’s assistant secretary for management for the past year.

Coloretti, 44, served as the department’s deputy assistant secretary for management and budget from 2009 to 2012.

"It’s always a pleasure to see women from Hawaii being recognized for their commitment to service and their leadership qualities. Nani will bring a wealth of experience to this job, and I look forward to working with her once confirmed," said U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono.

Before joining the Treasury, Coloretti worked for four years in the office of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.

"Hawaii is very proud of Nani Coloretti, an ‘Iolani graduate, for her years of service and her nomination to become deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development," said U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa. "Nani is only the second Asian-American Pacific Islander that President Obama has nominated for a deputy secretary position, and I believe she will continue to be a strong advocate for our state and our HUD issues. I urge the Senate to quickly confirm her nomination."

Coloretti is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania.

The White House has also nominated former Hawaii resident Erika Moritsugu to assistant secretary for congressional and intergovernmental relations at HUD.

Moritsugu is currently deputy assistant director for legislative affairs at the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. Prior to that she was deputy legislative director for U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka from 2010 to 2012. 

Moritsugu previously served in several capacities in the Senate Democratic Policy Committee. She also has held positions at Hogan and Hartson LLP, The Wexler Group, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Honolulu prosecutor’s office.

"She will bring unique experience to the job," Hirono said of Moritsugu. "From serving as the deputy legislative director for Sen. Akaka to working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspection Service to her time at the prosecuting attorney’s office for the City and County of Honolulu, Erika brings tremendous skill and talent to all that she undertakes."

Moritsugu graduated from University of Hawaii Lab School and received her law degree from George Washington University Law School.

Other recently announced awards and honors:

>> A U.S. history teacher at Aiea High School has been selected as a Hope Street Group 2014 National Teacher Fellow. 

Christian Simoy was one of 13 educators selected nationwide to participate in the fellowship program, which provides fellows with rigorous training and an opportunity to participate in national conversations.

In a news release, Simoy said, "Hawaii is a vital voice in the national discourses on education and education reform. Throughout this fellowship, I hope to share the stories and experiences of students and teachers in my community in order to inform state and national policy and to learn from other leaders in education to improve my practice as a teacher and advocate for my community."

In addition to his work at Aiea High, Simoy has served as a Race to the Top summer fellow with the Hawaii Department of Education and a corps culture coordinator with Teach for America Hawaii. He also currently serves as a member of the Teach for America Hawaii Corps member advisory committee. 

Hope Street Group, a national nonpartisan and nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding economic opportunity and prosperity for all Americans, sponsors the fellowship as part of its larger education program, which seeks to transform the teaching profession to improve results for students.

>> A forest conservation specialist with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources is a recent recipient of the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Forest Service’s prestigious Two Chiefs’ award.

M. Irene Sprecher received the national award for her Hawaii conservation work and skills tied to developing cooperative partnerships with private landowners. The award is presented annually to recognize people and teams that work collaboratively to support conservation and forest stewardship. 

Award winners are selected by the chiefs of the U.S. Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service. 

Among other accomplishments, Sprecher was recognized for playing a lead role in the development of the recent memorandum of understanding on collaboration on Hawaii forestry issues between various federal and state offices.

Through a grant written by Sprecher, the Hawaii collaborators were awarded a $250,000 grant in January 2013 from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. The funds will provide resources for statewide planning and outreach to private forest landowners.

In a DLNR news release, NRCS Acting Director Christine Clarke said of Sprecher, "I am so happy to recognize her and this multi-agency public-private approach to solving a critical resource problem on our forest lands. This work exemplifies good stewardship."