Bio: Mona P Kailiponi received her Master of Accountancy with minor emphasis on Business Administration from Brigham Young University at Provo, Utah. As Fiscal Director, she has over fifteen years hands-on experience in managing all aspects of the agency’s financial management and accounting function and responsibility for all the financial matters including agency and program planning and budgeting, RFP preparation, financial policy and procedures design, investment planning, financial information training, staff training in Federal, State and local government requirement and regulations. Since 1989, under her management in the Fiscal Department, MEO annual Single Audit reports from independent CPA audit firms show no findings relating to the financial statements and no audit findings in internal control and on compliance for major programs.

Bio: Debbie Cabebe joined MEO in January of 2000. She has worked as a human resource professional for the past 20 years. As the chief human resources officer she manages and administers all human resource functions, to include EEO compliance. She is the agency’s risk manager, privacy officer and its drug and alcohol program designated employer representative (DER). Debbie provides training and support to various nonprofit organizations through MEO consulting services. She is active with the SHRM Hawaii Educational Foundation Maui District acting as current secretary and past vice president. She represents SHRM on the local Workforce Investment Board, and represents MEO on the Chamber of Commerce Business Education Committee. She is active in the community volunteering her time as the secretary for the Maui High School, School Community Council and is active in several ministries at Saint Theresa Church.

Bio: Debbie Lorenzo graduated with BA in Accounting from Seattle University. She worked as a staff accountant for five years with Coopers and Lybrand where she performed compilation, reviews, tax returns, and assisted with audits. In 1991 she joined MEO as chief accountant and in recognition of her experience and skills, the title was changed to assistant fiscal director. After 16 years with MEO she was promoted to fiscal director in 2007. She is the treasurer of the Wailuku Junior Tennis Club where her children are tennis players.

Bio:  Jennifer Okamura joined MEO in September of 2007 as a HR Administrative Specialist. Her professionalism, diplomacy and attention to detail caught the eye of management. In February Jennifer was promoted to Executive Secretary, reporting directly to MEO Executive Director Sandy Baz. Prior to MEO Jennifer worked for 2 years at Maui Memorial Medical Center as a Obstetrics Health Clerk and for 9 years as a Tour/Rooms Coordinator for JTB Hawaii in Honolulu.

Zessica Apiki, Molokai Branch Director
Phone: 808.553.3216 Fax: 808.553.3776

Bio : Zessica has lived on the island of Molokai all her life. She is responsible for the supervision of staff and oversight management of services provided at the branch office. Ms. Apiki has been involved with community work for more than 15 years. Before coming to MEO, she was the Deputy Director of the Molokai Community Services Council, and before that, a Paralegal with the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii.
She is currently a member of the Maui County’s General Planning Advisory Council (GPAC) for the island of Molokai. She also served on the Maui County Grants Review Committee from 2000 – 2004. Ms. Apiki is a 1984 graduate of Kamehameha Schools.  In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her husband Sylvester Apiki III and their five children.

Bio: Ken E.K. Hunt is the Director of the MEO-BEST Program. Ken began the MEO planning process for what would eventually become BEST, starting in January 2000. Working with several community members and representatives of the Department of Public Safety, Ken and others laid the foundation for a workable, though untried, program. The ultimate goal for the early planners became to stop the revolving door of men and women entering, exiting, and re-entering prison. The planners determined that a program providing services to help persons make a successful transition to the community would interrupt this flow. The program became BEST.

Previous to being BEST Director, Ken served as the Director of Planning and Development for MEO beginning in 1998. Ken helped generate millions of dollars to the MEO from federal, state, county and private resources. As the planner he developed the agency’s strategic plan, conducted workshops and training, wrote proposals, and facilitated many strategic planning sessions with Hawai‘i non-profit agencies and State Departments.

Ken has over 30 years of experience in community organizing, program development, and work in Indian tribal communities. He is a member of the Laguna Pueblo, New Mexico tribe and served as a Tribal Council and Elected Official from 1974-1978. Ken’s education includes a Master’s Degree in Public Health Planning and Administration from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa and a Bachelor’s Degree in Community Health Education from the University of New Mexico.

He lives with his wife in Wai‘ehu, Hawaii.

Bio: Born in Honolulu, graduated from Damien Memorial High School, studied at University of Hawaii, Honolulu Community College and attained AS in Police Science. Employed with State of Hawaii and worked within various departments (Department of Social Services and Housing, University of Hawaii – Manoa). Moved to Maui from Honolulu in 1982 and continued with the State having worked for the Harbors Division and DLNR. During a seven-year period, while employed with the State, volunteered as a Reserve Police Officer with the Maui Police Department. Worked also with the Federal government and was in the employ of the Department of Treasury, U.S. Customs Service as a Customs Inspector. Since July 2002, worked at MEO, previously as a Loan Fund Manager, Program Administrator, Community Services, Maui-to-Work program, and Case Manager II.

Bio: Susie Thieman, who has more than 30 years experience in starting, owning and managing small business joined the staff of MEO BDC, after selling her successful business on Oahu, to be the primary instructor for MEO BDC’s Core Four Business Planning Course. In true entrepreneurial fashion, she took on the challenges as they were present within the MEO BDC program and went from instructor, to MEO BDC program manager to CEO in less than two years. She has grown the program to include an office on Molokai with a full-time Loan Fund Manager and instructor, and three full-time Loan Fund Managers on Maui. MEO BDC has graduated more than 1,200 students from the Core Four classes, awarded more than 600 loans for a total of just under $3,000,000. In 2006 Susie was named the Minority Small Business Champion for Maui County by the U.S. Small Business Administration and in 2009 was named the Financial Service Advocate for Maui County, also by the SBA. Susie also currently serves as the president of the Maui Non-Profit Directors Association and is a member of the Maui Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce, Latin Business Maui, and the Maui Chamber of Commerce. Today, MEO BDC provides a variety of services to clients on six Hawaiian islands.