Gov. Green appoints seven, including first director of Wellness and Resilience

On Dec. 30, Hawaiʻi Gov. Josh Green, M.D. appointed seven more people for state department positions, including the state’s first director of the Office of Wellness and Resilience and former Kauaʻi County Councilmember Jimmy Tokioka as Deputy of the Department of Transportation – Airports Division.

“These exceptional and experienced individuals will work to advance our community’s quality of life, sustainably develop our economy, and modernize our systems to increase government efficiency and cross-collaboration,” Gov. Green said in a news release. “I am confident that today’s nominees and appointments will serve the people of Hawaiʻi wholeheartedly and hit the ground running to produce these promised results.”

These are Gov. Green’s latest appointments:

Tia Roberts Hartsock, Director of the Office of Wellness and Resilience: Hartsock previously served as the project director of a federal Substance Abuse, Mental Health Services Administration initiative, Data to Wisdom, within the Child & Adolescent Mental Health Division of the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health.

In that capacity, she helped develop and provide mental health services for adolescent female trauma survivors involved in the juvenile justice, mental health and/or child welfare systems.

Hartsock also had an appointment as an adjunct lecturer at the University of Hawaiʻi’s School of Social Work since 2017. With more than 20 years of experience in mental health and criminal justice systems, she will serve as the state’s first Director of Wellness and Resilience.

Jimmy Tokioka, Deputy of the Department of Transportation – Airports Division: Tokioka served as a state representative for District 15 and 16, and on the Kauaʻi County Council for 10 years.

Tokioka was a member of the Joint Task Force to conduct reviews of the state Highway Fund and Bureau of Conveyances committee. Throughout his 20 years in public service, Tokioka gained intimate background knowledge of the workings of the state and will contribute to a strong team that’s passionate about producing and maintaining quality infrastructure.

Mark Glick, State Energy Officer: Glick leverages his 17 years of managing energy and economic development projects through his positions as the chair of the Hawaiʻi Energy Policy Forum, specialist on energy policy and innovation, administrator of the Hawaiʻi State Energy Office, and the director of economic development at the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

With his extensive experience of supporting and facilitating energy transitions and decarbonization efforts in Hawaiʻi, he will continue to make significant progress towards achieving the state’s clean energy economy goals.

Doug Murdock, Chief Information Officer: Murdock is returning as the Chief Information Officer, a role he has held since 2019. He has overseen some of the state’s largest technology initiatives, launching the successful effort to modernize the antiquated payroll and tax systems. As CIO, his priorities include continuing the efforts to modernize the enterprise resource planning system, enterprise portfolio management and workforce development.

Ryan Yamane, Deputy of the Department of Human Resources Development: Yamane is an experienced and dynamic leader with a background as state representative of District 37 and as a Clinical Director at Ho‘okūpono. As a state representative from 2004, he has chaired various committees including the Health, Human Services, & Homelessness, working to address the various labor and training issues each department faced. With this deep understanding, Yamane will ensure the improvement of the hiring process to expeditiously fill vacancies with dedicated individuals.

Morris Atta, Deputy to the Chair for the Department of Agriculture: Atta will continue in his role as the deputy director of the Hawaiʻi Department of Agriculture. Prior to holding this position, Atta served as the agriculture land program manager/administrator.

Meoh-Leng Silliman, Deputy Comptroller for the Department of Accounting and General Services: Silliman will continue in her role as deputy comptroller for the Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS).

Silliman has more than 15 years of state experience, of which more than 12 years were in the capacity of business management officer at the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs and DAGS respectively.