Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) STEMworks™ recently led its 21st annual Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day (IGED). Held in conjunction with National Engineering Week, IGED helps to build and strengthen Hawaii’s workforce by encouraging girls, women, and underrepresented groups into STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education and careers.
“Virtually every field in every sector of the economy is needing STEM professionals—people who are literate and fluent in various technology subjects,” said Leslie Wilkins, MEDB President and CEO. “To meet this need, STEMworks empowers our youth to be self-directed learners, to be resilient, to stay current and be adaptive to change, and, most importantly, to have the confidence that they can succeed.”
Designed to create interest in the field of engineering, IGED inspired over 50 middle-school-aged girls from across Maui County to pursue engineering and technology careers and raised awareness of the contributions engineers make to the community. “This memorable day-long event included an educational video showcasing the various types of engineering careers, as well as a fun, hands-on engineering activity,” said Katie Taladay, STEMworks Program Manager. “It is important for STEMworks to provide and develop innovative community-based events, such as IGED, which are designed to plan for Hawaii’s future generations.”
Due to the global pandemic, this year the IGED event was virtual, free, and open to 6th – 8th grade girls. The agenda included a welcome with helpful information about STEM opportunities, and panel discussions followed by breakout sessions with female engineers and female students majoring in engineering. The speakers shared the pathway into their careers, role models they had, and challenges they faced. Each participant who registered ahead of time was mailed a kit to create a robot circuit popup card.During this activity, students learned about the engineering design process, simple circuits and problem solving.
Wilkins added, “STEMworks continues to train students as well as teachers in industry-standard software and engineering design practices using hands-on curriculum, regional conferences, and workshops. We work with educators, industry partners and the community to build a thriving STEM education-to-workforce pipeline throughout Hawaii. We are making a difference!”
The Mayor of Maui made an official proclamation for February 25th to be IGED Day for Maui County. Ashely Otomo, a professional civil engineer; Alyza Leyva, a student from Maui Waena; and I met the mayor to accept the proclamation
Michael A. Lilly (Captain, U.S. Navy, ret.), lawyer and writer, is an honor graduate of the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law. He served as Hawaii’s Attorney General and First Deputy Attorney General (1981-85), and was a partner in the Honolulu law firm Ning Lilly & Jones until his retirement on Maui in 2019. A decorated Vietnam War Veteran, Lilly is also a founding director emeritus of the USS Missouri Memorial Association, which operates the Missouri as a memorial and tourist attraction. He retired from the Navy after 30 year of service, active and reserve.
Not many people realize that Lilly is also a fifth-generation Hawaii resident and a direct descendant of Hawaiian Kingdom Nationals. Several of his ancestors were advisors and confidants to Kamehameha V, Kalakaua and Queen Liliuokalani. In 2019 Lilly wrote his second book Nimitz at Ease, chronicling the unpublished story of a grand relationship between Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who commanded the armed forces in the Pacific during WWII, and his grandparents, Una and Sandy Walker, whose friendship helped relieve the Admiral of some of the tremendous pressures of war. Lilly brings this narrative to life in amazing detail.
Lilly noted, “Drawing on my grandmother’s diary, extensive collection of letters, photos, documents, oral history, memorabilia, and memoirs never before published, I was able to chronicle Nimitz’s daily activities in war and peace. I grew up mesmerized by the fascinating tales of the lifelong friendship between the Admiral and my grandparents, which became family legend.”
Currently, Lilly is an active member of the County of Maui Council on Aging. The council advises the County Executive Office on the needs of older persons in the community. “We meet every other month to discuss plans for helping the aging through programs, legislation, and other resources,” Lilly explained. “I am one of 15 members appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the County Council. We are dedicated to promoting and protecting the well-being of older adults in Maui County. Together, we all work to assist our kupuna and caregivers to lead dignified and meaningful lives.”
Lilly’s Nimitz at Ease is an important contribution to the history of the U.S. Navy in WWII and Hawaii during the 1940s.
William J. Cassidy, Jr., Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy
The first in-person Maui TechOhana meeting in 2023 on ‘The Future of Work’ reflected the pent-up demand for these discussions. Maui TechOhana meetings, organized by Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB), Inc., and supported by the County of Maui, provide an informal networking opportunity open to anyone interested in Maui County’s innovation industries. Events include a presentation on a topic in business or technology, followed by the opportunity to talk with others with similar professional interests.
TechOhana’s guest speaker, Jen Chiu, has worked on a Design-Led Innovation team at Google that explores how the future might look in a hybrid/remote work environment through immersive experiences such as virtual reality. Chiu has led teams to create innovative products that deliver on strategic objectives. She loves the challenge of using design and motion to translate complex ideas into creative messages, and has been nominated for an Emmy for her broadcast design work. She was awarded a Platinum Hermes Creative Award for a video she edited and animated.
In addition to the future of work, Chiu also talked story about her winding and diverse career path in technology. Coming from a management consulting, UX strategy and planning, and an entrepreneurial background, she has led cross-functional teams across high-tech, start-ups, media and non-profits such as Facebook, HBO, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and government organizations. Discussion topics on the future of work included the need to stay close to profit centers, understand the political climate, and to be aware of AI automating many of our work roles.
“The future of work is unpredictable,” Chiu explained. “How it gets done over the next decade, will be influenced by technological, generational and social shifts. The pandemic-driven changes in work models have created a range of challenges and opportunities for employers and the workforce, including how best to attract, retain and engage employees and offer them the value and purpose they now expect from work.”
TechOhana participant Bogdan Udrea said, “There were so many valuable takeaways from hearing and sharing personal experiences with challenges and successes. This is an amazing community gathering for networking.”
It is important to know how to recruit, re-skill, and retain technology talent for the future of work, and build organizational resilience through a hybrid workforce.
Jen Chiu, Senior Program Manager
Maui resident Cindy Walter is an author, television host, and international master teacher of traditional and contemporary quilt techniques. She has authored 10 books, and also designed a fabric line and patterns. “Two of the books I co-authored, Fine Hand-Quilting and Attic Windows, promote traditional quilting,” she explained. “The techniques passed down to us by our elders are a very important part of our heritage. I alternate between teaching and creating both traditional and contemporary quilt styles, and I especially enjoy encouraging students to create their own unique designs.”
Walter often spends her free time designing quilts, writing books, and teaching workshops on boat cruises. Her books include new tools on the market, and refined techniques. Her fondness for contemporary quilting is how her book, Snippet Sensations, began. “I wanted to create a quilt that looked like a Monet painting, and began pondering fabric and paint methods. I cut pre-fused pieces of cloth up into little bits like dabs of paint, and applied them to my quilt. Wow! My idea worked and once I perfected the technique I wrote Snippet Sensations to plant the seeds of inspiration in others.”
Then, it came to Walter to actually try to paint on fabric Another of her books, Fabric Painting, teaches basic information to help understand paints, supplies, and how to set up the workspace. “Living in Hawaii makes it easy to find inspiration for Hawaiian quilt patterns,” Walter said. “As much as I enjoy the traditional Hawaiian needle-turn method, I could not resist painting the Hawaiian quilt. The project is rewarding and fast. It is directly painted, so there is no guesswork. You simply spread the paint as evenly as possible within the lines. You can highlight the painting with machine quilting, using the traditional echo pattern, to get a quilt with a true Hawaiian feeling. Hawaiian quilt tops are made by folding fabric into eighths, like a pie wedge. The pattern is then pinned on top of the fabric wedge, and the entire quilt top is cut out at once, snowflake style.” Go to www.cindywalter.com for teaching information, books, and inspiration.
I come from a long line of quilters and truly love every aspect of the art.
Cindy Walter, Author, Lecturer, TV Host
On Maui, Black History Month began with the reading and presentation of a proclamation by County Managing Director Kekuhaupio Akana on behalf of Mayor Richard Bissen, Jr., declaring January 16th Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Meeting at the Stone of Hope monument fronting the County building, organizers of the commemorative gathering were led by the African Americans On Maui (AAOMA) vice-president Leslee D. Matthews, Esq., andothers from the community. The mission of the association is to enlighten and inform communities across Hawaii and the globe about the history, culture, contributions, and experiences of people of African descent.
AAOMA also celebrated Black History Month with community service programs and an online event featuring keynote speeches, prayers, poems and songs. The theme for 2023, “Cultivating a Beloved Community Mindset to Transform Unjust Systems”, is also the vision of Matthews. Attorney, social worker and advocate, Matthews is president of the Maui County Bar Association, is the immediate past president of the African American Lawyers Association of Hawaii, and also serves as Special Counsel to the Judiciary. Additionally, she is a lecturer at the University of Hawaii, where she earned her Juris Doctor from the William S. Richardson School of Law.
As founder and managing attorney of Speak Out & Up Law, LLLC, Matthews’ legal empowerment law firm, her focus is on working to end violence against women and girls and enhancing services provided to underserved communities.
“Growing up on Maui, I always believed that the law should be used to do more helping than harming,” Matthews noted. “As an advocate for social justice, it is a blessing for my law firm to partner with members of the community, and to speak out for and elevate the voices of those who have been silenced. As vice-president of AAOMA, I hope to continue serving the community with nonprofit organizations, schools, and whomever calls on us. From time spent planting and harvesting kalo, to helping restore native forests in Kahikinui, to spending time working in communities, I am so thankful for all the life lessons that ‘ohana along the way have taught me.”
AAOMA guest speakers gave a heartfelt overview of the importance of African American history, culture and education, all bringing more awareness to what really matters: a community where love prevails.
Leslee Matthews, Lawyer, Social Worker, Advocate
