POIPU — New University of Hawaii President Wendy Hensel is scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the Kauai Filipino Chamber of Commerce 2025 Awards and Installation Gala that is scheduled for Jan. 25 at the Sheraton Kauai Resort in Poipu.
The announcement by KFCC President Marites Yano states the gala will start at 5:30 p.m. and run until 8:30 p.m. at the Poipu resort where some of the program includes highlights of the KFCC 2024 programs, as well as the keynote address.
For more information on the KFCC gala, or tickets to the event, email info@kauaifilipinochamber.org, or contact Yano at 808-635-3797 or Rommel Valenzuela at 808-652-6390.
Hensel, who was installed on Jan. 1, is described as a champion of innovation and equality and will focus on “The Power of Mana Wahine and Education as Contributing to Positive Transformation.”
According to information provided by Randall Francisco, a previous KFCC president, Hensel joins the UH system after serving as executive vice chancellor and university provost at the City University of New York, or CUNY, where she oversaw academic and operational strategies across a 25-campus system with more than 230,000 students.
During her tenure at CUNY, Hensel led strategic initiatives to improve student success, expand high-quality virtual degree programs, and enhance workforce development by aligning academic programs with emerging job market needs.
As a legal scholar specializing in disability law, policy and ethics, Hensel has published widely and presented extensively on these topics. She is a passionate advocate for people with disabilities and serves on the board of directors for Integrate, an organization promoting inclusive employment for professionals with autism.
Hensel holds a bachelor’s degree with highest honors in American public affairs from Michigan State University where she was a Harry S. Truman Scholar and interned at the U.S. Supreme Court. She earned her law degree cum laude from Harvard Law School.
For more info, visit the Kauai Filipino Chamber of Commerce website at kauaifilipinochamber.org.
