Pursuant to Act 255, SLH (HB 2024 HD1 SD2 CD1), Senate President Ronald D. Kouchi (District 8 – Kauaʻi and Niʻihau) transmitted his list of three individuals – Paul Horner, Dr. Kamanamaikalani Beamer, and Benjamin Kudo – to Governor David Ige. The Governor will now select one of the three to serve on the Mauna Kea Stewardship and Oversight Authority.
Paul Horner – Hilo, Hawaiʻi
Currently serving as the president and CEO of Nā Leo ʻO Hawaiʻi, Paul Horner has decades of experience in management roles across various industries, including hospitality and luxury resort management. He has managed hotels on Lānaʻi, Big Island, and Napa Valley, California. Prior to his current role with Nā Leo ʻO Hawaiʻi, Mr. Horner was the executive director for the Waioli Corporation/Nuhou Corporation – a non-profit founded to preserve the 100-acre historic Grove Farm Sugar Plantation.
Mr. Horner is a graduate of Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and is currently a licensed real estate salesperson. He was inducted into the Hawaiʻi Restaurant Association Hall of Fame in 2018.
Kamanamaikalani Beamer, PhD – Kamuela, Hawaiʻi
Dr. Kamanamaikalani Beamer is a full professor in the Hui ʻĀina Momona Program at the University of Hawaiʻi-Mānoa. He serves a dual appointment in the Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge and the William S. Richardson School of Law as part of the Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law. Dr. Beamer also serves as the board chair for Aloha Kuamo‘o ‘Āina and sits on the Board of Directors for the University of Hawaiʻi Professional Assembly.
From 2009-2018, Dr. Beamer served as director of the First Nations Futures Program at Kamehameha Schools and was a commissioner on the State Water Resource Management Commission from 2013-2021. He was president and CEO at The Kohala Center from 2015-2016.
A graduate of Kamehameha Schools, Dr. Beamer earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Hawaiian Studies & Philosophy and his Master of Arts and Doctorate in Geography from the University of Hawaiʻi. A published author of both books and academic articles, he won Book of the Year from the Hawai‘i Book Publishing Association in 2015.
Benjamin Asa Kudo – Honolulu, Hawaiʻi
Mr. Kudo presently is counsel to the law firm of Ashford & Wriston, a law firm that handles significant real estate transactions, commercial litigation, and tax law throughout the State. He has been an invited speaker and seminar lecturer to various professional organizations on real property law, land use law, native Hawaiian rights, and water rights.
He currently serves as an Advisory Board member, Aloha Council, Boy Scouts of America (former Kamehameha District Chairman); Director, Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii (1996-2011); Honorary Director, Temari-Center for Pacific and Asian Art; Director, Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific; President (2008 -2010) and Director, The 200 Club; Director, New City Nissan, Inc.; Council Leader, U.S. – Japan Council; serves as legal counsel to the Japanese American Citizens League and volunteer advisor to the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii on the Honouliuli Internment Center Preservation Project.
Mr. Kudo received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Washington in 1972; a Masters of Business Administration (emphasis in finance) from the University of Hawaii in 1975; a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C. in 1978; a Ph.D. in international management from the Shidler College of Business, University of Hawaii, with an emphasis in cross-cultural studies in 2008.
All nominees appointed by Governor Ige are subject to Senate confirmation.