ABOUT US

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

AAUW Honolulu began over a century ago with a small band of women college graduates who sought to “promote the ideals of higher education”. Building upon this legacy, today’s AAUW Honolulu seeks a broader mission and purpose. Through community partnerships, programming, and scholarship and grant opportunities, AAUW Honolulu strives to advance gender equity throughout our island home.

In 2020, as the country reflected on the roots of systemic racism, we too examined our organization’s history and relationship with the community. The outcome of these discussions was the honest realization that by asking questions and listening deeply we can make our impact even stronger. This year AAUW Honolulu has secured a consultant to help us explore relevant issues surrounding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Our goal is to better understand the barriers that women in Hawai’i face and how AAUW Honolulu can use its resources to engage and support all local women.

As we approach this work, AAUW will be examining its programs and offerings through a diversity, equity and inclusion lens, including:

Career and Leadership Development Grants
Undergraduate and Graduate Scholarships
Tweet Coleman Aviation Scholarship
Social Media, Communications, and Marketing
Membership Engagement Activities (Women's Circle, Equity Network, Book Club)
Community Partnerships (Girls Talk Back, UH Program, Dress For Success, CNHA, Purple Maiʻa )

We invite you as an AAUW Honolulu supporter to join us as we reflect and commit to broadening our scope of impact among the women of our community. As always, we welcome your feedback and participation. Please email us at info@aauwhonolulu.org to learn more about how AAUW Honolulu is working to support equity for all and how you can be a part of the process.

About: DEI

About: Officers & Board Members

Officers and Board Members

AAUW Honolulu Branch is primarily a volunteer organization. Without the dedication of these volunteers, we could not provide much needed scholarships, grants, and programs to empower women and girls of Hawaii. Thank you to our awesome volunteers!

Hope Bennett

Jean Evans

President

Hope Bennett is a mediator, specializing in workplace conflict resolution. A former labor and employment attorney with Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel, Hope has spent time working in both the hospitality and non profit industries. Hope has long been inspired by her late grandmother who worked tirelessly to support her children despite barriers and prejudices. She is committed to uplifting the voices of those women who have been historically unseen. In addition to serving as President of AAUW Honolulu, Hope is Chair of the Honolulu County Committee on the Status of Women. She is the mother of three sons and a first generation college graduate, having earned her B.A from Yale College and her J.D. from Stanford Law School.

Anna Viggiano

Treasurer

Anna Viggiano has a doctorate in Curriculum and Assessment and an MeD in Educational Psychology. She is currently the Educational Specialist for Advanced Placement, Gifted and Talented Programs, and Learning Centers with the HIDOE. She has two adult children: Christina, a family medicine physician in Honolulu and Steven, a financial analyst for a tech company in San Francisco. She is past Chair of the Girls Talk Back Committee, which funded a girls' leadership workshop every summer.

Secretary

Jean Evans is the past Chair of the AAUW Honolulu Academic Scholarship and is a member of the AAUW Hawaii Public Policy Committee. She is completing her second three-year term as a member of the AAUW Honolulu Board of Directors. She has more than 30 years’ management experience in non-profit health, education, and social service agencies in Hawaii. She served in executive director positions for Palama Settlement and the American Lung Association in Hawaii. In addition, Jean held management positions with ALU LIKE, Inc., Kapiolani Health, and the American Cancer Society in Hawaii. She was awarded two degrees from the University of Hawaii – a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Master of Public Health.

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Elizabeth Kiefer

Director

Elizabeth Kiefer is a physician and Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Hawaii, John A. Burns School of Medicine. She completed a residency in internal medicine at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City and has practiced as a primary care and HIV physician. Dr. Kiefer also holds a master’s degree in Epidemiology and Public Health from Columbia University. Her previous research focused on women’s health, HIV, and hepatitis C virus, in the US and Africa. Dr. Kiefer's current interests are the intersection of public health and climate change, and she helps to lead a working group to inform, educate and improve health policy.

Leela Bilmes-Goldstein

Director

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Susannah Lee Kandikatti

Director

Leela is an impatient feminist who was born in Bangkok, Thailand and raised in Honolulu, Hawai‘i. She is Director of Advancement Services at Punahou School and board chair at Hawai‘i Friends of Restorative Justice, a trustee of Abilities Unlimited Hawai‘i and a board director at the Women’s Funding Network. Leela received her BA in French and her MA and PhD in Linguistics, all from UC Berkeley. She was honored to be one of Pacific Business News’ 2018 Women Who Mean Business and USA Today’s 2021 Women of the Year – Hawai‘i Honoree for her work in gender equity and social justice. Having been raised by educators and devoted many years to promoting gender equity and equality, I deeply value the power of education for all, and especially women, and would be honored to be part of an organization that works to bolster the equality, success and achievement of women and female-identifying people in Hawai‘i.

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Valerie T. Lam

Director

A beneficiary of the Wahine WorkSmart salary negotiation workshop, Valeire T. Lam has been a member of AAUW Honolulu since 2019 when she was an MBA candidate at UH Mānoa. I have been a member of the Board of Directors since 2021, and I'm so proud to be part of an organization that strives to be relevant to the women and girls of Hawai'i. I want to continue to be a part of our work toward inclusivity and accessibility because it uniquely affects us locally. AAUW Honolulu Branch has been an influential player in leveling the playing field for the next generation of women and girls and I am honored to be a part of that for another term.

Susannah Lee Kandikatti is passionate about social justice and creating change in society, drawing from her humanitarian work overseas in Switzerland, Mexico, China, and India. Becoming a mother brought her back to Honolulu, where she was born and raised. She is currently a graduate student in Philosophy at UH Mānoa focusing on how the interactions between social identity, stereotypes, and prejudice can have negative effects on individuals and groups. She believes it is vital to understand how and why oppressive mechanisms function within society while also actively engaging with community in working towards equity. Susannah looks forward to collaborating with and through AAUW Honolulu to contribute relevant and helpful content that will empower women.

Staff Member

AAUW Honolulu found the need to hire its first staff member in 2024 to help manage the growing programs, scholarships, and partnerships of AAUW Honolulu.

Barbara Bumatay

Program Manager

Barbara joins AAUW Honolulu with a background in Finance and Education. From Wall Street, to mom, to educator, she started with AAUW Honolulu as a volunteer on the Scholarship Committee. Now, Barbara eagerly embraces the opportunity to engage with all of AAUW Honolulu's programs, and to support meaningful growth that serves the diverse community of women across Hawaiʻi.