We are pleased to start 2021 with new energy and an addition to the alumni office. Christina Monroe has been appointed as Director of Alumni Engagement.

Aloha EWCA ‘ohana,

Happy 2021 to you and your families! May the new year bring health, safety and prosperity to you and your community.

It has been a pleasure to meet and collaborate with so many of you since I joined the East-West Center 16 years ago, first as an Asia Pacific Leadership Program Fellow, then Leadership Education Specialist (including APLP, PILP and YSEALI), and most recently as the Leadership Program Senior Manager. Under my direction, the EWC Leadership Program increasingly involved alumni and alumni chapters as expert resources, especially for programs in the region. It is an honor to now serve as Director of Alumni Engagement. Leaning heavily on Noreen Tanouye’s years of experience and deep relationships and on EWCA President Amanda Ellis’s expertise and commitment, I will lead the current Alumni/Associates Office, now renamed as the Office of Alumni Engagement.

The FY2021 Appropriations bill, recently signed by the U.S. President, includes a $3 million uptick in federal funding for the Center. Excitingly, President Vuylsteke has included alumni engagement in the set of priorities for fund usage. We know that alumni are and will continue to be at the heart of the Center. The energy and expertise of alumni is essential not only as a resource to sustain the Center, but as a source of new innovative programming, which is especially important now.

I will need your help to understand the needs, interests and expertise of our diverse alumni ‘ohana. Starting now and continuing until we hear from everyone who wants to share, we’ll be conducting a listening tour to get your inputs and ideas, specifically in three ways: (1) an all-alumni survey; (2) a series of meetings with the EWCA Board, Chapters and individual alumni; and (3) an “open door” for anyone to contact me directly (MonroeC@eastwestcenter.org / +1.808.944.7645)

We know many of you are eager to hear about and contribute to the 2021 virtual conference and 2022 Hawaii conference. These gatherings are a top priority for us all and we will be sharing information as soon as possible.

I hope to bring the same level of enthusiasm and genuine love for the alumni ‘ohana of great alumni leaders such as Gordon Ring and Karen Knudsen. I will build on the foundation that so many have worked hard to build over 60 years, while bringing fresh ideas and energy needed for the next 60.

Please reach out with initiatives that interest you and/or are your area of expertise. We want to hear from you!

Christina Monroe

Director of Office of Alumni Engagement