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HONOLULU / December 4, 2019 – An innovator and leader in the human services community, Kimo Carvalho has joined Liliʻuokalani Trust (LT) as executive director of its Liliʻuokalani Youth Services Center, according to Nālei Akina, LT vice president and chief program officer.

In the newly created position, Mr. Carvalho will spearhead the development and launching of LT’s Liliʻuokalani Youth Services Center (YSC), envisioned as a place of healing and hope for young people in need of support to thrive as adults. Complementing LT’s ongoing direct services, the YSC is a part of LT’s expanded strategic direction to serve the most disadvantaged youth by stimulating systems change and addressing the larger forces that contribute to intergenerational poverty among Native Hawaiians.

“We are fortunate to have Kimo at the helm of the YSC. He has the skill, passion, heart, and the lived experience to move this dream to reality; to build with our community partners a place where young people experiencing homelessness, or systems involvement with juvenile justice or foster care can find refuge,” Ms. Akina said.

Prior to LT, Mr. Carvalho served for six years at IHS, the Institute of Human Services, as its director of community relations & development, where he oversaw external affairs, including government relations, marketing and communications, partnerships and program development, and community and volunteer engagement. At IHS he learned that Oahu’s homeless crisis requires collaborative policy solutions, innovative direct services, sector-wide coordination, government solutions, corporate involvement, and individual action and compassion.

Mr. Carvalho began his career as a paramedic working for the City of New Orleans and as a disaster medical provider during Hurricane Katrina. After leaving Tulane Medical School in 2007, he returned home to begin a career in communications. He has assisted in some of Hawaiʻi’s landmark initiatives, including the inscription of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument as a World Heritage Site and the development of the Hawaii Clean Energy Initiative. Most recently, he was instrumental in changing Hawaiʻi’s Assisted Community Treatment law to help mentally ill homeless access treatment, while balancing intervention with protecting a person’s civil rights.

A graduate of Damien Memorial High School, Mr. Carvalho received a B.S. from Tulane University and an MBA from Hawaii Pacific University. He is an East-West Journalism Fellow and one of PBN’s 40 under 40 Class of 2015.

About Liliʻuokalani Trust

Liliʻuokalani Trust was established in 1909 by Hawaiʻi’s last ruling monarch, the beloved Queen Liliʻuokalani. Her Deed of Trust directs that the Queen’s assets be utilized to serve and provide for orphan and destitute Hawaiian children in perpetuity. With its vision of “e nā kamalei lupalupa, thriving Hawaiian children,” LT believes that every child has the inner strength and self determination to discover their path to a thriving life, and strives to transform lives.