11-05-2010
Abercrombie Fills Top Two Positions in Governor’s Office

Contact: Laurie Au, 808-589-2237
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

HONOLULU, HI – Governor-Elect Neil Abercrombie today named Amy Asselbaye as his chief of staff and Andrew Aoki as his deputy chief of staff in his first announcement of leadership positions in the Abercrombie administration.

Asselbaye, 40, and Aoki, 41, worked for Abercrombie’s gubernatorial campaign as the operations director and deputy campaign manager, respectively.

As chief of staff, Asselbaye’s duties will include managing the Governor’s Office and Cabinet to implement state policies. As deputy chief of staff, Aoki will oversee policy development and strategic planning.

“They were the heart and soul of the campaign,” Abercrombie said. “I have complete faith and confidence in their abilities and readiness to serve the people of Hawaii. Amy and Andrew both have young children in Hawaii’s public schools and they understand the issues facing families in Hawaii.”

Prior to the campaign, Asselbaye worked for Abercrombie’s Congressional office for 17 years. Asselbaye started in the legislative office and handled various policy and Natural Resources Committee work until being promoted to Deputy Chief of Staff and then Chief of Staff in January 2005. As Chief of Staff of Abercrombie’s Congressional office, Asselbaye oversaw the Honolulu and D.C. offices, developed and implemented all policies and operating plans.

Before joining the campaign in March 2009, Aoki was a director of Kanu Hawaii, a nonprofit organization, and the co-founder and principal of the public interest research and planning firm, 3Point. Aoki’s past experiences include: overseeing the grant making program of the HMSA Foundation to improve health and healthcare; planning and conducting performance audits of different state agencies as an analyst for the Hawaii State Auditor; and directing youth and teen programs in communities across the state as a program director for the YMCA of Honolulu.

###