Select an option below to continue reading this premium story.
Already a Honolulu Star-Advertiser subscriber? Log in now to continue reading.
The former chief attorney for the city is expected to join the University of Hawaii as general counsel.
UH President David Lassner is recommending the appointment of Carrie Okinaga as vice president for legal affairs and university general counsel. She currently is general counsel at First Hawaiian Bank and serves on the board of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, a post she would leave if hired by the university.
Okinaga served under three mayors from 2005 to 2011 as the City and County of Honolulu’s corporation counsel, where she was the chief in-house legal counsel for a 9,000-employee organization with a $1 billion budget.
Okinaga attended UH-Manoa and earned a bachelor’s degree in government and public policy from Pomona College. She graduated from Stanford Law School.
"Our university serves such a critical, game-changing role in educating our youth, developing our workforce and increasing the number of high-quality jobs through innovation and research," Okinaga said in a statement. "I am humbled by the opportunity to work with President Lassner and his team in their service to our university and community."
The Board of Regents is scheduled to take up the appointment at its monthly meeting Thursday. If approved, Okinaga would start in late June at a $235,008 salary.
She would replace Darolyn Lendio, who joined UH in 2006.
Okinaga would round out several top system appointments Lassner has made since taking office last summer, including appointing Kalbert Young as vice president for budget and finance, Risa Dickson as vice president for academic affairs, and reinstating the position of vice president for administration with the hiring of Jan Gouveia.
