LIHU‘E — Michelle L. Lizama was announced as the County of Kaua‘i director of finance and Chelsie A. Sakai as the deputy director of finance on Wednesday during a swearing-in ceremony at the Mo‘ikeha Building, Lihu‘e Civic Center.
“We are grateful to both Michelle and Chelsie for their continued commitment to serving our community in these key positions,” said Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami. “Their extensive experience in county government will be instrumental as we remain steadfast in moving our priorities forward, while building upon the foundation our administration has established over the past five years.”
Lizama has served as the County of Kaua‘i’s deputy finance director since December 2018 while also continuing her role as the county’s tax collection supervisor since 2004. She has 24 years of experience in the county’s Department of Finance with a total of 28 years of service to the county.
Her appointment to the director of finance was to fill a vacancy following the appointment of former finance director Reiko Matsuyama as managing director to fill a vacancy after the departure of Michael Dahilig.
Born and raised on Kaua‘i, Lizama holds an accounting degree from the Kaua‘i Community College, University of Hawai‘i. She has also served Kaua‘i’s community in numerous capacities, such as through the Kamehameha Schools Association of Kaua‘i where she served as treasurer and a board member, the the accountant for St. Catherine’s Church and is an alumni of the Leadership Kaua‘i program.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to serve as the new director of finance, and I thank Mayor Kawakami for his confidence in me to fill this role,” Lizama said.
“I look forward to working with our mayor and his administration, our Department of Finance, and the entire County of Kaua‘i team along with the Kaua‘i County Council in this new capacity. I’d like to also thank my family for their tremendous support for I could not succeed without their love and encouragement.”
Sakai joined the County of Kaua‘i in December, 2007. Throughout her 16-year tenure with the county, she has served in numerous roles in accounting, grant coordination, and emergency management. She most recently served as the Kaua‘i Emergency Management Agency’s emergency management senior staff officer from 2018 to 2022.
Prior to her appointment as deputy finance director, Sakai served as the budget and grant analyst II for the county’s Department of Finance since December 2022. Born and raised on Kaua‘i, Sakai hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the University of Oregon.
“Mahalo to Mayor Kawakami, Michelle, our staff and ‘ohana for this incredible opportunity to serve the people of Kaua‘i,” Sakai said. “I look forward to working with our finance team and our community as we continue to improve operations and better our customer service for all.”
