Colette Machado, Former OHA Chair, Dead At 71

She represented Molokai and Lanai as a trustee for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

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Former Office of Hawaiian Affairs Chair and longtime trustee Colette Machado at the Queen鈥檚 Medical Center, her family announced. She was 71.

Machado served as chair of the OHA board from 2010 to 2015 and again from 2017 to 2020.

OHA Chair Colette Machado.
Former OHA Chair Colette Machado. Cory Lum/Civil Beat/2019

She served a total of six terms as an OHA trustee, representing Molokai and Lanai.

OHA Chair Carmen Hulu Lindsey called Machado a 鈥渢rue mana wahine who spent her life in service to the Native Hawaiian community.鈥�

She also served with a number of other organizations, including Malama Molokai, Ka Ohana o Kalaupapa, and Hoolehua Hawaiian Civic Club of Molokai.

And she was active as a member on state boards and commissions.

鈥淪he is celebrated as a fearless leader and is fondly remembered for her generosity and aloha for ohana and the people of Molokai,鈥� her family said, in a statement.

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