HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0774.031 2018-2020 P/*661 Cowell
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COUNTY CLERKM• i j�
COUNTY OF RAWAII
i :14 RECEIVED 2June2020
Date AN
Honorable Chair Aaron Chung and County Council Members,
"We realize the importance of our voices only when we are silenced."—Malala Yousafzai
This testimony is being submitted with impassioned support of Communication 774.12 introduced
by Councilmember Poindexter. Please vote in favor of the budgetary support necessary in order to
have a viable,effective Committee on the Status of Women(CSW). If this Council ever needed proof
regarding a body's ability to leverage dollars,please let me make the case below.
With conviction,I assert that the Committee on the Status of Women(CSW)serves as a pillar
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upon which other initiatives lean and are able to access talent and capacity. As a member of the
Hawaii Island Women's Leadership Forum(HIWLF),I witnessed first hand how the CSW was
instrumental in providing strategic support to HIWLF in order to organize and implement three
impactful summits. Because of the full throated support of the Hawaii County CSW,the HIWLF
Summits in 2015,2016 and 2018 were able to provide for training and capacity building to women
leaders, the effects of which reached thousands upon thousands in households across Hawaii Island.
Addressing sustainability,using their tech-savvy outreach, the CSW provides pivotal support
for on-going outreach in weeks and months,long after the HIWLF summits events. These actions in
sustaining the support for Hawaii Island residents is as important as contributing to the one-day
summits.After the HIWLF summits,CSW was responsible for bringing in and coordinating
small-venue workshops connecting nationally recognized speakers on organizational leadership,such
as Teri Bump, as well as state champions from the Patsy T.Mink Center For Business and Leadership.
The CSW shows the community how to leverage one-time events and further build out with more
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sustainable elements by using high-capacity talent in.continu,od'support for the women leaders of our
island-again,reaching even hundreds more in households across the island.
Furthermore, the structural importance of the Hawaii County CSW must also be highlighted.
It is through Hawaii County CSW that the State of Hawaii CSW is able to reach out and provide
support for Hawaii Island's women leaders. It is through the Hawaii County CSW that the Office of
the Prosecutor is able to link to broader initiatives building access channels for women,who may come
from toxic environments, to focus on upward mobility. It is through the Hawaii County CSW that a
multitude of other efforts,including initiatives involving STEM, can be provided to Hawaii Island's
women in support of curiosity and their dreams.
In closing,I urge you to reflect on the role of the CSW on our island in providing leadership,
providing resources and capacity,and in providing structural linkages to so many efforts in support of
women-and therefore to multiple generations- on Hawaii Island. Please have conviction and
confidence in the role CSW plays within the County of Hawaii. Please vote favorably for
Councilmember Poindexter's Communication 774.12.
With warm respect for Chair Chung and this County Council,
Deannaj.K.Kackley(electronically signed)
Deannai.K. Kackley,former Sponsorship Committee Chair
Hawaii Island Women's Leadership Forum
162 Melani St. Hilo HI 96720
Email: dkackley@hawaii.edu
Physical Science Teacher,Honokaa High and Intermediate
Email: deanna.kackley@kl2.hi.us