Easterseals Hawaii CEO Ron Brandvold Announces Retirement; Jennifer La’a Named New CEO

HONOLULU--()--Easterseals Hawaii announced last month that Ron Brandvold, President and CEO of Easterseals Hawaii for the past four years, has decided to retire from his role and will be staying with the organization to support the transition to the newly appointed CEO Jennifer La’a.

It has been an honor to serve Easterseals Hawaii for more than 20 years, starting in 1991 as a fundraising volunteer, followed by 12 years on the Board of Directors and serving as CEO since 2014,” said Brandvold. “I am looking forward to retirement, but also excited to be able to support the organization in a part-time consulting capacity as its Public Relations Officer.”

La’a is an accomplished disability services leader and returns back to Easterseals Hawaii after spending two years at the Hawaii State Department of Health as the Case Management Branch Chief in the Developmental Disability Division. Prior to her role at the Department of Health, La’a was the Youth and Adult Program’s Director for Easterseals Hawaii. “I am personally so excited to have Jennifer back at Easterseals Hawaii, “ said Brandvold. “Her depth and breadth in disability services, paired with her experience with the state makes her the absolute best choice to lead Easterseals Hawaii into the future. Additionally, she is coming back to a team that she knows well and a community that she is very passionate about serving.”

According to Josh Stinson, Vice-Chairman of the Easterseals Hawaii Board of Directors, this year Easterseals Hawaii celebrates its 73rd anniversary serving people with disabilities or special needs across the Hawaiian Islands. “We look forward to continuing our great legacy of service,” said Stinson, “and I don’t think we could have found a better leader to take on the role as CEO. Additionally, I would like to thank and recognize Ron for his more than 20 years of service to the organization. His contributions span decades and he was recently instrumental in affiliating with Easterseals Bay Area to help drive innovation and service expansion across the state. Thank you, Ron, for your commitment to this important cause and for stewarding the enterprise into its next phase of service to the community.”

About Easterseals Hawaii

Throughout its 73-year history, Easterseals Hawaii has made a profound difference in the lives of tens of thousands of individuals with disabilities, special needs and their families to help them live, learn, work and play to their full potential. Easterseals Hawaii is the state’s largest provider of Early Intervention services for infants and toddlers, a leading provider of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) programs in Oahu, and is one of the state’s largest (and only statewide) provider of Medicaid Waiver services for adults with developmental disabilities. For more information, visit eastersealshawaii.org.

Contacts

Teri Kuehnast
Teri.Kuehnast@esba.org
925.967.5457

Release Summary

Easterseals Hawaii announced last month that Ron Brandvold, President and CEO of Easterseals Hawaii for the past four years, will retire.

Contacts

Teri Kuehnast
Teri.Kuehnast@esba.org
925.967.5457