Dean Minakami, appointed by the HHFDC Board on November 9, 2023, brings decades of planning experience to the role. He has worked at leading Hawaiʻi development and planning firms and guided major projects such as Koa Ridge in Central Oʻahu; prior roles include senior planner at A&B Properties, project manager at PBR Hawaiʻi, Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaiʻi and Wilson Okamoto, and policy analyst for the City and County of Honolulu. Minakami holds a Master’s degree in urban and regional planning and a B.S. in economics from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and is a past president of the American Planning Association’s Hawaiʻi chapter.