12 to watch in 2002
Lynn Maunakea

Advertiser Staff

Maunakea, 48, took over as executive director of the Institute for Human Services five years ago this week and immediately provided the front-line agency with the outspoken leadership necessary to tackle Hawai'i's homelessness problems.

With Island families dropping off the welfare rolls and unemployment rising in proportion to the state's tourism woes, Maunakea knows the institute will be under even more pressure to provide relief for struggling families. As an articulate and artful advocate, Maunakea is making the pitch not only for the institute, but for all of the community's neediest people.

"The reason I'm still here is because I want us to become more of a part of the solution and not just a Band-Aid," Maunakea said.