East-West Center Board Elects New Chairman

Members of the East-West Center’s Board of Governors have elected Honolulu attorney Richard Turbin to serve as the board’s new chairman. At a meeting today, the board named Turbin, a member of the board since 2011, to succeed R. Brian Tsujimura, who had served his maximum term as chairman. Tsujimura will remain on the board as co-vice chair, along with re-appointed Vice Chair Margaret Carpenter, and as chair of the Development Committee.

“It’s an honor to have been asked to serve as chair of the East-West Center board,” Turbin said. “This is a critical and exciting time for the Center with the upcoming selection of a new president, and I look forward to working with my colleagues on the board as we focus on building the Center’s future and reaching out to the Asia Pacific region, U.S. mainland and local Hawai‘i community.”

Born in New York City, Turbin has been an attorney in Honolulu for over 37 years and is a partner at the Turbin Chu Heidt law firm. A graduate of Cornell University and Harvard Law School, he has served as president of the Hawai‘i State Bar Association and chair of the American Bar Association’s Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section. Turbin is chairman of the Wai‘alae-Kahala Neighborhood Board and previously served on the Hawai‘i Civil Rights Commission. He was appointed to the EWC board in 2011 by former Gov. Neil Abercrombie, and had served as the board’s vice chair since 2012.

Ho, Moon Join Board
In addition, Bank of Hawai‘i CEO Peter Ho and former Hawai‘i Chief Justice Ronald T.Y. Moon have joined the board as appointees of Gov. David Ige. They replace outgoing board members Barbara Tanabe and Corianne Lau. Earlier, Ige reappointed board member William H. Reeves and selected former Gov. George Ariyoshi to represent him as an ex-officio member of the board.