The Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA) recently added two more leaders to its executive team.
Veteran communicator Bill Brennan has been named director of communications, while noted attorney Leināʻala Ley was named chief advocate. They began their new roles on November 1 and November 18, respectively.
As the leader of OHA’s Communications team, Brennan will be responsible for developing and implementing communication strategies and organizational messaging, managing media relations, and supervising content on OHA’s social media and website channels as well as the agency’s Ka Wai Ola monthly newspaper.
Brennan most recently served as news director at KITV. He has worked as a director of communications for the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation, as a press secretary to the Mayor for the City and County of Honolulu, as a public information officer for the State of Hawaiʻi, and as an executive producer, reporter and anchor for KHON FOX2. Brennan also volunteers as a book narrator at the Hawaiʻi State Library for the Blind and Print Disabled.
Brennan, who carries a bachelor’s in journalism from Ohio State University, said he is looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead. “It is an honor for me to become a member of Team OHA and to work every day to improve the wellbeing of Native Hawaiians. I don’t know if there is a more noble calling in Hawaiʻi nei,” Brennan said.
“Since moving to the islands more than 30 years ago, I’ve had the distinct privilege of learning about the people and the culture of this special place at the feet of some amazing kumu. I hope to honor them with my work here.”
Ley will lead OHA’s Advocacy Division and supervise mission-aligned public policy development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation as well as OHA’s current co-trustee role with the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. She will also be responsible for leading the agency’s federal, state and county policy efforts.
Ley comes to OHA from Earthjustice, where she has served as a senior associate attorney for the last six years working on Native Hawaiian water rights, endangered species protection, clean energy, and other ʻāina-related issues. Ley started her public service litigation career at the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation and also worked in private practice for Lung Rose Voss & Waginald on construction and complex commercial disputes.
“It’s an honor to join the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in advancing the wellbeing of our lāhui and ensuring that the State of Hawaiʻi fulfills its constitutional obligations to Native Hawaiians. I look forward to working with trustees, OHA administration, and beneficiaries to ensure that Native Hawaiian rights are respected and cultural perspectives integrated into decision-making at all levels of government,” Ley said.
“Iʻm enthusiastic about partnering with community groups, businesses, our legislators, and other concerned stakeholders to find solutions to common problems that affect all of us here in Hawaiʻi.”
A graduate of Punahou School, Ley carries a B.A. in international relations from Brown University and a J.D. degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.
“We are thrilled to welcome Bill and Leināʻala to the Office of Hawaiian Affairs! They each come with tremendous experience and ʻike in their respective fields that will be essential to OHA’s work – from ensuring that the issues that matter to Native Hawaiians are heard and understood across Hawaiʻi, to advocating for those same issues at the county, state and federal levels,” said OHA Ka Pouhana/CEO Stacy Kealohalani Ferreira.
