Q. What prompted the move from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs?

A. I was actually approached by Kamehameha Schools at the beginning of this year with an opportunity to consider this position. At the time I had been nearly 15 years at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. I led a really good department, the public information office, as its director, so when Kamehameha put this opportunity in front of me, I was thinking, "What? A shopping center in Waikiki?" It seemed a little bizarre at first, but the more we talked about it, the more I was understanding the direction, particularly the cultural direction, that they wanted to take and lead in Waikiki. It took me about 3 1/2 months to make a decision that maybe it would be a good time, a good point in time, to make a pretty significant career change, but still be able to serve the community.

Q. Is it your job to target primarily tourists?

A. My emphasis really is not in marketing for tourism or for tourists. One of the challenges is to get the Hawaiian community and the local community to feel a sense of relevance of being back in Waikiki. By developing the kinds of programs that we're looking at — internship programs, Hawaiian language programs — and establishing that property as kind of a cultural center amid the retail activity, that's where it seems less like a shopping center to me and more like a cultural opportunity.

Q. What has the response from the community been since you took the job?

A. The reaction has been extremely positive. One of the first events that we had was a gathering during Kamehameha Schools alumni week, and 200 alums came down for an evening. What's the real interesting reality is that many people, including most of those Kamehameha graduates, do not realize that, one, Kamehameha Schools owns the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center and, two, that that is its largest real estate asset providing revenue for education.

Q. What are you doing to pitch the center to local residents?

A. We've done a couple of very quick studies on why people are not coming to Waikiki, and the primary reason given by most was parking. Waikiki is not a user-friendly parking place. We do have more than 600 stalls in the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center parking lot and we need to rethink the charges, the parking fees and that sort of thing. Number two is providing them the best opportunities for dining, for entertainment, for shopping and that sort of thing. There is a good local mix down there now, but I think it's going to be something that will increase significantly just because of the way we're going to position the center as a cultural center that is relevant for local people.

Q. Is the redevelopment on Lewers Street helping the shopping center?

A. I think so. I think the Sheraton and the Royal Hawaiian Hotel are also going to be going through major redevelopment. Certainly I think Lewers, because it's complete and it's such a departure from how it looked before, is a fun destination and it looks good. I think that as a side street off of Kalakaua it is going to blend beautifully with the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center. In fact, it already is.

Q. Are there programs that you developed that you're about to implement?

A. I've only been here for seven weeks, so it is still brand new. But there are several areas that are being developed. Number one is the landscaping of the property — the ethnobotanical landscaping, particularly in the center of the property, which is known as the Royal Grove. That area was a massive coconut grove back in the day, so the idea of replanting the coconuts on the property of Princess Pauahi is a major part of the redevelopment. Aside from that there is a large collection of ethnobotanical Hawaiian flora. It's the largest collection in Waikiki and probably one of the largest on the island where you have native plants that are symbolic and useful to Hawaiians. Another approach is in giving a large presence to 'olelo Hawai'i, or Hawaiian language, in Waikiki as both a way to educate the visitors and again to give a presence, whether it be in bilingual signage in Hawaiian and English, or bilingual announcements on the center's P.A. system, not as a means to exclude those who don't speak Hawaiian, but if anything to include them into this world where Hawaiian language has really taken on a new life.

One of the programs that we are talking about doing is an internship with students from not just Kamehameha, but perhaps Hawaiian-focused charter schools or Hawaiian-language immersion schools where they can come and learn about and interpret these cultural opportunities and to be able to learn how to share this information with their peers as well as with guests who come to the center.

Q. What are some of the other challenges that you face?

A. I think the challenge is getting local people to come back down to Waikiki. I believe that if you create an environment that local people will love to frequent, then the visitors will absolutely go for it. The visitor experience will be augmented if there are more local people that are sharing the experience with them.

Q. What would you tell local people to get them back to Waikiki?

A. The biggest draw is for them to know that by patronizing the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center you have opportunities to learn about the heritage of the Kamehameha family. You have an opportunity to contribute to the education of Hawaiian children. This is not like any other shopping center around the island or around the world where it's completely bottom-line oriented. The whole experience of spending time at that property and the reawakening of the essence and the spirit of Princess Pauahi and her values, it's a great opportunity to come down to enjoy it and to participate in generating funds that are used for education.

Q. Any goals that you have for yourself?

A. I would love to go back to school, but I don't know where I'm going to find the time to do that. For now, this is more than enough to do. Trust me. ... The bottom line is we want to recreate or perhaps create the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center. I often refer to it by its property name, which is Helumoa, the old name of that particular section of Waikiki. We want to establish Helumoa as a uniquely Hawaiian place and in doing so it will again be relevant for Hawaiians and for local people to be at. But it also will be a really wonderful place for visitors, or malihini, to experience. There are different views around the world of what Hawai'i is, and we need to create what that looks like. We possibly can have an impact or an influence on the way the world views Waikiki and maybe even in a larger sense the way the world views Hawai'i. So you present Hawaiian culture in a world-class setting in a way that is elegant, that is accurate, that is forward-thinking and not always looking back. We love cutting edge, we love multimedia and these are tools and means by which our culture can be presented, and presented as a living culture and not in a museum setting.

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.