Jack Dowling and Erin Mukai, both with experience and expertise in housing
development and resumes of community service, have joined the Maui Economic
Opportunity Board of Directors.
Dowling will be representing Mayor Richard Bissen and Mukai, the Maui
County Council, on the 21-member tripartite Board of Directors for the
61-year-old Community Action nonprofit that supports people in need in the
county. The Board consists of equal numbers of members from the government,
business and client sectors.
The two new members were approved by the Board at the April 23 meeting.
They replace Cynthia Lallo, Bissen’s Chief of Staff, and David Raatz,
Director of Council Services. Both members proactively stepped down amid
ongoing discussions of the Maui County Board of Ethics regarding Maui
County employees serving on Boards of organizations receiving county funds.
“We welcome Jack and Erin to our Board of Directors. Their knowledge,
experience and commitment to the community will be valuable as MEO works to
support community members in need, especially in the critical area of
housing,” said MEO Executive Director Maggie Batangan.
“MEO thanks Cynthia and David for their time, support and help, especially
during the wildfires and current recovery,” added MEO CEO Debbie Cabebe.
“They made significant contributions to the important work of Helping
People, Changing Lives. We will miss them.”
Dowling is the Director of the Dowling Co., Inc., a longtime real estate
development company.
Mayor Richard Bissen appointed Jack Dowling to the Mayor’s seat on the Maui Economic Opportunity Board of Directors.
“I believe I can offer insight from a real estate development, finance and
public-private partnership perspective to help advance initiatives around
housing, economic opportunity and community development,” he said in his
Board application. “I share MEO’s commitment to supporting Maui’s long-term
economic resilience.”
He earned his bachelor’s degree in real estate finance from Southern
Methodist University in Texas and a master’s in business administration
from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in Illinois.
Dowling has been active in the community as a board member for the Maui
Health Foundation, Board President/Vice President of the Associations of
Unit Owners at Kehalani Village Center, Treasurer of the Hawaii
HomeOwnership Center, a nonprofit that assists low and moderate income
families to become homeowners, and Treasurer of Lele Aloha, a Native
Hawaiian-led nonprofit that supports resource protection and healthy
communities.
“Mr. Dowling brings valuable experience, strong community insight and a
commitment to public service that will support the mission and work of Maui
Economic Opportunity,” said Bissen in his nomination letter.
Erin Mukai was appointed and approved to the Maui County Council seat on Maui Economic Opportunity Board of Directors.
Mukai, the other new board member, is Project Coordinator for Pacific Rim
Land, sister company to Goodfellow Bros and the land management and
development arm.
“I have experience in land-use entitlements and permitting – which is a
specific niche/background, but I’m familiar with working with government
agencies and contacts because of this work,” Mukai said in her Board
application.
“I was born and raised on Maui and care about the long-term well-being of
our community, which includes not only access to housing but support
services as well,” she said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to
contribute in a meaningful way by supporting the valuable work MEO is
already doing.”
She earned her bachelor’s in government and legal studies from Bowdoin
College in Maine. Her community work includes serving as Secretary of
Habitat for Humanity, a Maui nonprofit that builds and sells homes to low
income families.
Both individuals were appointed to fulfill the remaining terms of Lalo and
Raatz on the MEO Board of Directors. In these roles, they will help guide
the nonprofit agency by setting policy, managing budgets and overseeing
executive leadership.
MEO is one of Maui County’s largest nonprofits with more than 30 programs,
230 staff on three islands, as well as East Maui, and a budget of $37
million in the 2024-25 fiscal year while touching the lives of 54,780
residents.