LOS ANGELES — Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie announced the nominations of four people Oct. 6 to immediately fill vacancies on the University of Hawaii Board of Regents that resulted from resignations on the 15-member board.
Simeon Acoba, Dr. Dileep Bal, Peter Hoffmann and Helen Nielsen were nominated to interim appointments subject to state Senate approval.
Acoba was appointed to a City and County of Honolulu seat, Bal to the Kauai County seat, Hoffmann to the Hawaii County seat and Nielsen to the Maui County seat.
"With backgrounds in law, health, the military and environmental sustainability, these appointees bring a diverse spectrum of leadership to the University of Hawaii," Gov. Abercrombie said in a prepared statement. "They each have a proven record of success in their respective fields of expertise and will help guide the university to a new level of excellence."
The governor's nominees were selected from a list of nominations provided to the governor by the Regents Candidate Advisory Council.
Acoba, a retired Hawaii Supreme Court Associate Justice, currently works as a lecturer in the law department at the UH Manoa William S. Richardson School of Law.
Bal began working for the Hawaii Department of Health in 2005 as the district health officer for Kauai and as special advisor to the director of the Department on Cancer, Chronic Disease, Tobacco and Nutrition/Obesity. Before that, he served as chief of the Cancer Control Branch within the California Department of Health Services.
Hoffmann was on the Hawaii County Council from 2004-2012, representing the Kohala District and serving as council chair for two of those years. From 1993-1996, he was director of mission support for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a 55-nation diplomacy organization headquartered in Vienna, Austria. He also served in the U.S. Army Military Intelligence Corps. retiring in the rank of colonel.
Nielsen is a field representative for U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz and co-owner/manager of commercial properties on Maui and Hawaii Island. She previously worked in New York City as a reports analyst for W.R. Grace and Company and as administrative manager for Artkraft Strauss. She was a founder of the Maui Coastal Land Trust (MCLT) in 2001.
