Denise Iseri-Matsubara (Courtesy photo)
Hawaii Catholic Herald
Catholic Charities Hawaii has chosen a veteran of Hawaii’s housing landscape to serve as executive director of the Catholic Charities Housing Development Corp., which focuses on developing and managing affordable housing across the state for the nonprofit organization.
Denise Iseri-Matsubara has been involved in housing issues at both the city and state level for years.
Prior to joining Catholic Charities, she worked in Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi’s administration as executive director of the Mayor’s Office of Housing. Before that, Iseri-Matsubara was a senior special assistant to Gov. David Ige — working with the governor as well as stakeholders on strategies aimed at boosting affordable housing — and later joined the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp.
She was a board member of the HHFDC before becoming its executive director, working with the development community and the state Legislature to secure funding to help finance affordable housing.
“I can’t think of a better way to apply my years of experience in the housing arena than to work for an organization that is dedicated to housing the most vulnerable in our community,” Iseri-Matsubara said in a Nov. 20 news release.
Rob Van Tassell, the outgoing president and CEO of Catholic Charities Hawaii, said in the news release that “we are thrilled to have Denise join our organization at a time when affordable housing is needed more than ever in our state.
“Her level of experience and expertise in housing matters will be invaluable as we move ahead with planning and building our next housing projects.”
CCH’s Chief Operating Officer Tina Andrade, who will take over for Van Tassell, said in the release that she is looking forward to working with Iseri-Matsubara on “building partnerships in our community to offer hope.”
Iseri-Matsubara graduated from Kamehameha Schools-Kapalama and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She has served on the board of directors for the Native Hawaiian Chamber of Commerce as well as on the Kamehameha Schools Alumni Association.
CCHDC recently completed affordable-rental projects for seniors on Oahu and Maui, and plans to begin work next year on affordable housing for families in Kahului. The agency owns, develops and manages real estate properties with the goal of providing affordable housing for the elderly, people with special needs, and other economically or socially disadvantaged families or individuals, according to the news release.