Roy Takumi was born and raised in Honolulu where he attended Maʻemaʻe Elementary School, Kawananakoa Middle School, and McKinley High School. After graduating from high school, he joined the Hawaiʻi Air National Guard then attended Leeward Community College, while working full-time at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard as a laborer. He later earned his Bachelor of Education from Long Island University and Master of Public Administration from the University of Hawaiʻi.

Board Chairperson Takumi served as a state representative from 1992-2022. In addition to holding other chairmanships, he spent 15 years – from 2002 to 2017 – as chair of the House Education Committee, and was the primary sponsor of the Reinventing Education Act of 2004, widely known as Act 51. It was also during his tenure as education chair that the Executive Office on Early Learning was established in 2012. He was selected as vice chair of the Education Commission of the States from 2013-2017, and has also served as co-chair of the National Conference of State Legislatures’ Education Standing Committee.

Board Chairperson Takumi’s term runs from May 3, 2024, through June 30, 2026.

Email: roy.takumi@boe.hawaii.gov

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William Arakaki is a retired educator who served in the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education for 40 years. He began as the Special Motivation teacher at Waipahu High School in September of 1980, then moved to Kauaʻi to teach at Kauaʻi High and Intermediate School in September of 1988. After becoming certified in school administration in 1993, Board Member Arakaki served as the Interim Vice Principal of Wilcox Elementary, Vice Principal of Kapaʻa High School, Vice Principal of Kapaʻa Middle School and the Principal of Waimea High School from 1998 through 2006. Board Member Arakaki became the Kauaʻi Complex Area Superintendent in 2006 and retired on June 30, 2020. 

Board Member Arakaki received the Kauaʻi District Secondary Education Excellence Award in 2005 and the Kauaʻi District Secondary Principal of the Year in 2001. School awards under his leadership include the Hawaiʻi State Secondary Blue Ribbon School of the Year, Hawaiʻi Governor’s Team of the Year Award, and Department of Education Team Excellence Award.

Board Member Arakaki Arakaki received his Bachelors of Education from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 1979.

Board Member Arakaki started in 2021, and his current term runs through June 30, 2027.

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Elynne Chung is a retired educator who served in the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education for over 30 years. Before her time with the Department, she worked as a paralegal administrative assistant in a law firm. She served as a teacher and curriculum coordinator at Hale Kula Elementary (1985-1999) before entering into the COHORT training program for aspiring administrators. This laid the groundwork for her terms as COHORT vice principal at Radford High School, vice principal at Makalapa Elementary School, and vice principal at ʻAiea High School. In 2003-2004, she served as the district educational specialist for special education for Central District. In 2004-2010, she was selected to become Principal of Pearl Harbor Kai Elementary, and in 2010 was named as Principal of Mililani Middle (Multi-Track) school. From 2015 to 2022, Board Member Chung worked with the community, legislators, City and County of Honolulu, and various unions to transition Mililani Middle School into a single-track school. This would provide multi-track students the equitable number of school days as students in all other schools in the state.

Board Member Chung was recognized as Hawaiʻi Secondary Principal of the Year in 2014 by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. She was also a semi-finalist for the Masayuki Tokioka Excellence in Leadership Award in 2009 and 2015. School awards under her leadership and mentoring include continued high student achievement levels, top public school recognition for five consecutive years, and two six-year terms for accreditation by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

Board Member Chung received her Bachelor of Education from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 1974 and a master’s degree in education administration in 2000. 

Board Member Chung’s term runs from May 3, 2024, through June 30, 2026.

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Kahele Dukelow was born and raised on the island of Maui where she attended Waiheʻe Elementary School and Baldwin High School. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Hawaiian Studies and a Master’s degree in Education. She started her career in education as an elementary and middle school teacher at nā Kula Kaiapuni o Pāʻia, Waiau, and Ānuenue and spent the last 20 years teaching Hawaiian Studies and language at the University of Hawai’i Maui College (UHMC). She now serves as the Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs at UHMC. Board Member Dukelow is committed to building our community through lāhui, mālama ʻāina, education, language, history, culture, politics, and kuleana.

Board Member Dukelow’s term started in 2023 and runs through June 30, 2026.

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Dr. Mary Therese Perez Hattori is a daughter of Guåhan (Guam), of the clan Familian Titang, born to Paul Mitsuo Hattori† of Kalihi, Oʻahu, and Fermina Leon Guerrero Perez† of the village of Chalan Pago.

She currently serves as Director of the Pacific Islands Development Program with the East-West Center which is an independent non-profit organization, and previously enjoyed a long career in various technology and education-related positions. She is an occasional lecturer and adjunct faculty in Pacific Studies, Learning Design and Technology, and several Educational Doctorate programs in Hawaiʻi.

Dr. Hattori is a community organizer, advocate for Pacific Islanders in the United States, public speaker, author, and poet. She is co-founder and co-organizer of numerous events that celebrate cultural knowledges and heritages, such as the Cultural Animation Film Festival and the Celebrate Micronesia Festival.

She received a Bachelor of Education and Professional Diploma in Secondary Social Studies with a concentration on Pacific Islands History, a Master of Education in Educational Technology, and an Educational Doctorate in Professional Educational Practice from the University of Hawaiʻi-Mānoa.

Board Member Hattori’s term runs from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2027.

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Kuraya is an educator who served for 40 years in various roles within the Hawaiʻi State Department of Education, from the classroom to administration. He has extensive experience in budgeting and expenditures, having planned and implemented processes and procedures to allocate and monitor over $1.8 billion to schools, complexes, districts, and offices within the Department. “’A ‘ohe hana nui ke alu ‘ia – No task is too big when done together by all,” he says.

Board Member Kuraya earned a Bachelor of Arts in Western History and Eastern Political Science from Hawaiʻi Pacific University and received a Secondary School Teacher Certificate and School Administrator Certification from the University of Hawaiʻi.

Board Member Kuraya started in 2022, and his current term runs from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2027.

Email: ken.kuraya@boe.hawaii.gov

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Makana McClellan is the director of communications for Governor Josh Green, M.D. Prior to that, she was the director of business development and community relations as well as the director of marketing at Shriners Children’s Hawai’i, and spent about 10 years serving as the public information officer at The Queen’s Health Systems.

She is a dedicated community volunteer, having served in leadership roles within various organizations like the Aloha Festivals, the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs, and the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce; served as a Commissioner for FestPAC 2024; and is a coveted communications and political strategist.

Board Member McClellan was recognized by Pacific Business News as an influential woman in the Hawaiʻi business community through their Women Who Mean Business award.

A graduate of the Kamehameha Schools – Kapālama, Board Member McClellan earned a Bachelor of Art in Journalism from Hawaiʻi Pacific University and a Master of Business Administration from Chaminade University of Honolulu. She is a mother to three school-aged keiki who are all receiving a public school education.

Board Member McClellan’s term runs from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2025.

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Ethan Yang is a senior at Kaiser High School and serves as the student body president. He has held leadership roles in several extracurriculars, including the National Honor Society, Science Bowl, and Mock Trial, and played a key role in launching the first complex-wide service event. As an athlete, Student Representative Yang has competed in club soccer for over a decade, captained the varsity soccer team, and earned selection to the Oahu Interscholastic Association’s East First Team twice. His academic achievements include receiving the Harvard Book Award, placing nationally in the Voice of Democracy Audio Essay Contest, and being recently admitted to the prestigious Gladiator World Championship Mock Trial competition.

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Colonel Christopher M. Busque is the Director for Manpower and Personnel, Headquarters U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Camp H.M. Smith, Hawaiʻi. He is the principal advisor to the Commander, United States Indo-Pacific Command, in all matters pertaining to military and civilian resource and talent management, manpower requirements, dependent education, quality of life programs, reserve affairs, and military personnel operations and readiness. He leads a team of 46 military and civilian personnel, supporting over 360,000 personnel assigned to the four service components (U.S. Army Pacific Command, U.S. Pacific Fleet, U.S. Pacific Air Force, and Marine Forces Pacific), four direct reporting units and two sub-unified commands (U.S. Forces Japan and U.S. Forces Korea) assigned to Headquarters, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. These units provide security for a free and open Pacific from the California coast to India – an area of responsibility encompassing 52 percent of the globe’s surface.

Prior to this assignment, Colonel Busque was the Director of Manpower, Personnel and Services (A1), United States Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Florida. Before that, he was the Commander of the 31st Mission Support Group, Aviano Air Base, Italy. Additionally, Colonel Busque has commanded two Force Support Squadrons and has served in a variety of notable positions at the Headquarters Air Force, Joint and Wing levels.

Colonel Busque entered the Air Force in 1997 through ROTC at the University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona. He has achieved the following educational milestones: Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (1997); Master of Organizational Management, University of Phoenix, Las Vegas, Nevada (2001); Squadron Officer School, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama (2004); Master of Military Studies, Marine Corps University, Quantico Marine Corps Base, Virginia, Air War College, Correspondence (2010); Joint & Combined Warfighting School (JPME-II), Joint Forces Staff College, Satellite Course, Tampa, Florida (2013); and Air Force Fellow (Senior Development Education), RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, California (2018).