Faculty & Staff File

Recognizing Years of Service

Faculty and staff completing years of service milestones were recognized on August 28th in St. Alban’s Chapel by Headmaster Dr. Val Iwashita and Assistant Headmaster Lily Driskill.

Dr. Iwashita also presented the Ernell C. Young Endowment for Faculty and Staff Development award to Director of Student Activities Kirk Uejio ’98. The award goes towards professional education, development and enrichment.

Lower School Leadership

After nearly 40 years as an educator and administrator at ‘Iolani, Dean of Lower School Fred Okumura ’65 has announced he will retire at the end of the 2009-10 school year. Okumura has been instrumental in building ‘Iolani’s kindergarten to sixth grade program into one of the best in the nation today and for inspiring and leading faculty, students and families.

(This past summer JoAnn Stepien stepped down as Assistant Dean of Lower School to devote time to family matters. She continues to maintain a leadership role in the Lower School on a part time basis.)

Sixth grade teacher Catherine Fuller ’84 has stepped in to fill the position of interim Assistant Dean of Lower School for the 2009-10 school year. Fuller received her bachelor's in English Literature from Occidental College, with a minor in Fine Art.  After college, she returned to Hawai‘i and began taking classes in Hawaiian culture at the University of Hawai‘i. Her progress towards a master's in anthropology was waylaid by volunteer work on the voyaging canoes Hokule‘a and Hawai'iloa, and the prospect of sailing throughout Polynesia. 

Funded in part by a National Science Foundation fellowship, Catherine gained valuable life experience through her travels, which she  shares with the community through workshops and lectures.  She has taught fourth grade social studies (Hawaiian studies) at ‘Iolani, as well as  fourth through sixth grade science and second grade. For the past six years, she has taught sixth grade social studies. In addition, Fuller coaches girls paddling teams.

New to the Office of Admission

Kelly Swartman-Hogan ’83 was recently named as receptionist for the Office of Admission.  She was one of the first female students to enroll in ‘Iolani in the fall of 1979. She and husband T. Michael Hogan, Jr. are past owners and operators of T.M. Hogan, Inc., an investment advisory, employee benefits and financial services company.  Swartman-Hogan has two children, Keahi ’11 and Hali‘a ’17.

Accolades and Aloha

Congratulations go to math teacher Joseph Monaco ’87 on being a winner of the 2008 Edyth May Sliffe Award for Distinguished Junior High School Mathematics Teaching. This award recognizes the excellence of teachers who contribute to the highest scoring teams on the annual American Mathematics Competitions 8 (AMC8).

Warm wishes go to teachers Ernette Au and Clifford Lee ’70 for being members of the faculty recognized by the student staff of the 2009 Ka Mo‘olelo O ‘Iolani yearbook dedication this past May.

Warm aloha goes to longtime receptionist and secretary Audrey Hee who retired this past summer after 40 years of service.

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