Thomas Ka'auwai Kaulukukui, Jr., Chairman

Thomas Ka‘auwai Kaulukukui, Jr. was appointed as trustee in 1998. Today, he serves as the chair of the Board of Trustees and Managing Trustee. His varied life experiences have helped him take a practical and direct approach to problem-solving and decision-making. He relies upon common sense, as well as education and experience.

He was born in Honolulu on November 11, 1945. He graduated from Kamehameha High School in 1963. He continued his education at Michigan State University where he majored in physical education with a minor in English and a cognate in philosophy. He graduated in 1967 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in education.

After graduation, he taught physical education in the public school system in Okemos, Michigan. From 1968 to 1970, he was a paratrooper in Vietnam, serving as an airborne platoon sergeant. He was honorably discharged in 1970 and decorated by both the United States and the Republic of Vietnam. After his military service, he returned to graduate school at Michigan State University, and specialized in exercise physiology.

When the opportunity arose, he returned to Hawaii in 1971 to teach physical education at Kailua High School where he served as the head wrestling coach and assistant football coach. He also taught English at Samuel Wilder King Intermediate School.

In 1974, he entered the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawai‘i. He graduated from law school in 1977 and was admitted to the Bar of the State of Hawai‘i. He was then selected from a national pool of applicants to be law clerk to Chief Judge Samuel P. King of the United States District Court for the District of Hawai‘i, where he served for one year. He also served as a clerk to the federal appellate court (Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals) when Judge King sat by designation on the panel.

In 1978, he entered the private practice of law and handled a wide variety of civil cases before the state and federal courts, as well as state and federal administrative agencies. His law practice emphasized business litigation and related matters, but he also has substantial experience in matters involving planning, counseling and negotiation. He has served as court-appointed Commissioner, a Special Master to aid the court in handling difficult litigation, and court appointed guardian (legal guardian). He often donated his legal services to help those who would otherwise be unable to afford legal representation.

In March 1988, Governor John D. Waihee, III, appointed him to be a trial judge of the First Circuit Court in Honolulu. He presided over criminal trials, criminal motions, civil jury trials and civil motions. He served as the Arbitration Judge, and as the Land Court, Tax Appeal and Administrative Appeal Judge.

In March 1993, he relinquished his judgeship to work to improve the health of the people of Hawai‘i, and especially the health of Hawaiians. He became the vice president of Community Affairs, for the Queen’s Health Systems (QHS). At QHS, he worked to improve community health through a variety of programs, such as preventative health, education, housing, youth leadership and Hawaiian culture.

Judge Kaulukukui is a member of the Bar of the State of Hawai‘i, the United States District Court for the District of Hawai‘i, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court. He was appointed by the Hawaii Supreme Court to serve on the Board of Bar Examiners. He served on the board from 1982 to 1986. He was appointed a member of the Disciplinary Panel of the Hawai‘i Supreme Court, and has also served as a member of the Disciplinary Board.

In 1995, he was appointed by Governor Benjamin Cayetano to be an O`ahu Commissioner of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, a position he held for nearly four years. He has also served as a board member of the March of Dimes, Pacific Islanders in Communication, Family Treatment Center, Winners at Work, and a congressional Advisory Committee for Minority Veterans. He is also an instructor and mentor in various leadership programs, including Hawaii Leadership Center, Pa Ulukukui Leadership Center, as well as several youth leadership programs.

Judge Kaulukukui and his wife, Joyce, have been married since 1967. They have three children and six grandsons.

Patrick Koon Sinn Lono Yim, Trustee

The Queen Lili‘uokalani Trust welcomed Patrick Koon Sinn Lono Yim to its ‘ohana as trustee on August 9, 2002. He brings with him an impressive history of judiciary experience and is well known for being a champion in the community for Hawaii’s youth.

Judge Yim received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Hawaii in 1964 and then went on to graduate from Boston University School of Law in 1967. Upon completion of law school he was employed as a field attorney in San Francisco. In 1968, Judge Yim returned to Hawaii where he took a position as Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for the City and County of Honolulu. After two and a half years Judge Yim began working as a Referee in the Family Court. In 1973, he took a position as a District Family Court Judge in the First Circuit. For over ten years Judge Yim served diligently in the Family Court. On July 1, 1983, Judge Yim was appointed Acting Judge in the Seventh Division. Less than a year later on March 16, 1984, he was appointed as a judge in the Seventh Division, First Circuit. Judge Yim served in this capacity until December 30, 1994.

Judge Yim retired from the Judiciary in December 1994. He then worked in Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR), arbitrating or mediating cases in various areas of law. The more than 400 cases he has worked on have dealt with many subjects involving personal injury, professional malpractice, construction, real estate, domestic relations and labor law. Judge Yim also serves pro bono on the Appellate ADR Program with the Judiciary.

During the years that Judge Yim served in the Seventh Division, First Circuit he was chairman of the Judicial Arbitration Commission, chairman of the Permanent Committee on Rules of Civil Procedure, co-chair of the Committee on Standard Civil Jury Instructions, a member of the Committee on Family Court Rules, a member of the Committee on Uniform Probate Rules and a member of the Committee on Civil Operations. He also served as co-chair of the Conference on the Future of the Judiciary, president of the Hawaii State Trial Judge Association, chairman of the Judicial Education Committee and secretary of the Hawaii State Judicial Conference.

Throughout his career Judge Yim has fulfilled many judicial assignments including Trial Judge of the Criminal Division, Administrative Judge of the Civil Division, Trial Judge of the Domestic Violence Backlog Reduction Program, Administrative Judge of the Court Annexed Arbitration Program, and Probate and Guardianship Judge.

Outside of the court room Judge Yim has served the community in a variety of ways, which include serving as president of the Malama Na Keiki Foundation, chairman of the Advisory Board of the Hawaii Family Support Center – Healthy Start, chairman of the Traditional Peacemaking Committee of the Native Hawaiian Bar Association, member of the Civil Advisory Group - U.S. Army Pacific, the Pualeilani Choral Group, Pa Kui a Lua, the 200 Club, Hawaiian Lodge F.&A.M., Honolulu Elks Lodge 616 and past president of the Palama Settlement Board of Trustees.

Judge Yim has been recognized and awarded for his service by multiple local and national organizations. He received the O‘o Award in 1998 from the Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce, the ‘Firestone’s 100 Who Serve” Award in 2001, the Outstanding Advocate for Children and Youth which was awarded in 2001 by Governor and Mrs. Cayetano and Hawaii Kids’ watch.

Judge Yim is married to Santa Marie and they have three children: Laura, Eli and Matthew.

Claire L. Asam, Trustee

Appointed a Trustee of the Lili‘uokalani Trust on August 6, 2007, Dr. Claire Kalaupapahiwa Chun Mui Lock Asam brings an enduring, lifelong, professional, and personal commitment to “Nā Pua o Hawai‘i Nei”, the children of Hawai‘i.

For eight years, she had been carrying out the Queen’s mission in the capacity of President and Executive Director of the Queen Lili‘uokalani Children’s Center (QLCC) where she provided strong leadership to the organization, collaboratively developed the vision, and was responsible for the strategic planning and operations of the agency that, at the time of her departure, annually impacted more than 1,500 orphans, 8,000 destitute children, and serviced more than 30,000 children in its efforts to build strong families and productive, healthy communities.

Born in Honolulu and raised on Wilhelmina Rise by her parents, Mary U‘ilani Tyau and Wah Sing Lock, Dr. Asam attended the University Laboratory School in Mānoa and is an honors graduate of the Kamehameha Schools at Kapālama. She matriculated at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, earned her Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Child Development from Connecticut College, and furthered her education at the University of Hawai‘i Mānoa where she received her Master’s in Education, a Certificate of Public Administration, and a Doctorate in Education.

Dr. Asam’s professional career began at the Kamehameha Schools where she remained and served the beneficiaries of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate for 25 years in positions of Research and Demonstration Teacher at Kamehameha’s Ka Na‘i Pono School, Teacher Trainer Consultant, Site Manager, and Director of Training and Dissemination for the Kamehameha Elementary Education Program (KEEP), as well as Curriculum and Assessment Coordinator at the Elementary School.

While at Kamehameha, she worked with the trustees to develop partnerships with the State of Hawai‘i Department of Education to extend the reach of Kamehameha’s educational systems. Dr. Asam was a member of the team to establish Kamehameha’s Maui and Hawai‘i campuses, and designed program parameters to establish non-traditional schools in small rural communities. She worked with other Hawai‘i Association of Independent Schools’ administrators to create an accreditation tool for private schools that was accepted for use by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

As a civic and community leader, Dr. Asam currently serves on the Board of Governors for the Hawai‘i Community Foundation, Board of Directors for the Ho‘okako‘o Corporation, Advisory Board for Asian-Pacific Islander Youth Violence Prevention, Advisory Council for the University of Hawai‘i Center for Hawaiian Studies, and Advisory Board for ‘Imi Hale. She is a member of the Kamehameha Alumni Association and the Prince Kūhiō Hawaiian Civic Club.

Her past community service includes the Board of Directors for the Institute for Native Hawaiian Pacific Education and Culture, Board of Trustees for Assets School, Advisory Council for the University of Hawai‘i School of Social Work, and court appointment to the Kamehameha Schools Trustee Screening Committee. Dr. Asam also represented the Kamehameha Schools as a loaned executive to the Aloha United Way (AUW), where she served as a spokesperson during the general campaign and assisted with fundraising efforts overseeing business accounts.

Dr. Asam was awarded the designation of Woman of Distinction by the Girl Scout Council of Hawaii in 2005, and honored as a Distinguished Alumna by the Kamehameha Schools in 2001. A harpist and a long distance ocean swimmer, she has garnered first place in her age group at the North Shore Rough Water Swim Series.

Living an active lifestyle, Dr. Asam enjoys exercise, as well as culinary and travel adventures with her husband, Dr. J. Kūhiō Asam. They reside in Honolulu and have two adult sons, Trever and Robin.