Sherilyn Tavares was elected as Ku‘ikahi Mediation Center’s newest board member. Tavares fills the seat of the honorable Dakota Frenz, who resigned from the nonprofit community mediation center board upon becoming a family court judge. ADVERTISING Sherilyn Tavares was elected
Sherilyn Tavares was elected as Ku‘ikahi Mediation Center’s newest board member. Tavares fills the seat of the honorable Dakota Frenz, who resigned from the nonprofit community mediation center board upon becoming a family court judge.
Tavares serves as deputy public defender in Hilo for the state Office of the Public Defender. She received her B.A. in sociology, political science, and administration of justice from the University of Hawaii at Hilo and her J.D. from the William S. Richardson School of Law at the UH-Manoa.
She also obtained her certificate in Native Hawaiian Law and was selected as the 2009 Patsy Mink Fellow. Tavares also is vice president of the Hawaii County Bar Association and oversees the Hilo internship program with the Office of the Public Defender, providing learning opportunities for college and high school students.
Also on the Ku‘ikahi board are land-use planner Jeffrey Melrose, president; attorney and retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Douglass Adams, vice president; retired HELCO human resources administrator Norman Kawabata, treasurer; and HELCO director of government, community, and media relations Jennifer Zelko-Schlueter, secretary.
“Ku‘ikahi is extremely grateful to have such a talented and committed group of directors governing our human services agency,” said Ku‘ikahi Executive Director Julie Mitchell.
“Their diverse backgrounds, careers and skills guide us in fulfilling our strategic plan and building capacity, while staying true to our mission, vision and values.”
Ku‘ikahi Mediation Center empowers people to come together — to talk and to listen, to explore options and to find their own best solutions.
Ku‘ikahi offers mediation, facilitation and training to strengthen the ability of diverse individuals and groups to resolve interpersonal conflicts and community issues.
For more information, call Ku‘ikahi at 935-7844 or visit www.hawaiimediation.org.
