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Teach for America Hawai'i Announces Board Leadership Transition, Three New Educators Join Board Teach for America Hawai'i Announces Board Leadership Transition, Three New Educators Join Board

Jeff Arce and Sharon Brown will succeed Mitch D’Olier as co-chairs of Teach for America Hawai‘i’s Regional Board

HONOLULU, HI, June 18, 2020—Teach For America Hawai‘i announced today that Mitch D’Olier will step down as Regional Board Chair, succeeded by co-chairs Jeff Arce and Sharon Brown. A virtual celebration on June 18 honored his 14 years of contributions as chair to the organization. 

Additionally, Teach for America Hawai‘i announced the addition of three educators who have also joined the board: Ann Mahi, Art Souza, and Jim Scott. Mahi began her career with the Hawai‘i State Department of Education in 1976, and has held numerous school and state leadership positions, including serving as the Nānākuli-Wai‘anae Complex Area Superintendent since 2012. Souza has served as vice principal and principal in several schools in West Hawai‘i and has worked as Complex Area Superintendent for Honoka‘a-Kealakehe-Kohala-Konawaena since January 2005. Scott brings over four decades of experience working in independent schools, most recently as the president of Punahou School for the past 25 years. 

“Mitch has been instrumental in founding and supporting Teach for America Hawai‘i since our start in 2006. We are grateful for his commitment to education equity and leadership he has brought to our work over the past 14 years. We also look forward to the diverse wealth of education leadership from our newest board members that will help guide our future work,” said Jill Baldemor, Executive Director of Teach For America Hawai‘i. 

“Individuals don’t accomplish big change, communities do. So many people are part of the community that has made Teach for America a force for change in Hawai‘i public education. It has been my enormous honor to do it alongside all of you. My work for Teach for America and kids in Hawai‘i isn’t going to stop,” said D’Olier, who will continue to serve as Chair Emeritus on Teach For America Hawai‘i’s regional advisory board. During his tenure as board chair, D’Olier has helped the program grow from an initial cohort of 50 teachers to a network of over 500 members working in schools and supporting access to opportunities for students in Hawai‘i. “Teach for America was made for a moment like this. I think it's more important than ever to rededicate ourselves to students in under-resourced schools.”

“Mitch is an extraordinary leader and is relentless in his pursuit to build a community of partnerships focused on closing the opportunity gap and providing the best education for Hawai‘i’s children,” said Sharon Brown, former Senior Vice President of First Hawaiian Bank and former President of First Hawaiian Bank Foundation. Brown will serve as co-chair of the regional board along with Jeff Arce, Senior Advisor for The MacNaughton Group. “TFA is working hard to close the opportunity gap. And while our primary mission is focused on helping students in the most challenging schools, I believe TFA can serve as an example and a role model, in a larger context, to educators and system leaders across the state,” said Arce

About Teach For America Hawai‘i

Teach For America Hawai‘i works in partnership with communities to expand educational opportunity for children facing the challenges of poverty. Founded in 2006 on O‘ahu and 2009 on Hawai‘i Island, Teach For America–Hawai‘i recruits and develops a diverse corps of outstanding college graduates and professionals to make an initial two-year commitment to teach in high-need schools and become lifelong leaders in the movement to end educational inequity. Our broader mission is to find, develop, and mobilize as many as possible of our nation’s most promising future leaders to grow and strengthen the movement for educational equity and excellence. The organization has had a profound impact in the islands by recruiting and developing more than 850 teachers since we started working in Hawaiʻi, many of whom are working across career sectors—including education, law, business, medicine, and government—to improve the opportunities of young people and fight for educational equity.

For more information, visit www.teachforamerica.org/hawaii and follow us on Facebook and Twitter

 

About Teach For America

Teach For America works in partnership with urban and rural communities in more than 50 regions across the country to expand educational opportunity for children. Founded in 1990, Teach For America recruits and develops a diverse corps of outstanding leaders to make an initial two-year commitment to teach in high-need schools and become lifelong leaders in the effort to end educational inequity. Today Teach For America is a force of nearly 60,000 alumni and corps members committed to profound systemic change. From classrooms to districts to state houses across America, they’re reimagining education to realize the day when every child has an equal opportunity to learn, to grow, to influence, and to lead. For more information, visit www.teachforamerica.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Contact

Isaiah Peacott-Ricardos

347-690-5082

isaiah.peacott-ricardos@teachforamerica.org