Office of the Director
Director of Health
Kenneth S. Fink, MD, MGA, MPH has served as Director of the Hawai‛i Department of Health since January 9, 2023 after being appointed by Gov. Josh Green.
Dr. Fink has extensive public and private sector experience.
Prior to joining DOH, Dr. Fink worked as the Vice President for Medicare & Medicaid Programs at HMSA. Before that he was the Director of Student Health Services for Kamehameha Schools.
His government work includes serving as the State Medicaid Director for Hawai‘i, the Chief Medical Officer for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Region 10, and the Director of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and the Evidence-based Practice Centers programs at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Dr. Fink was a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar, Kerr White Visiting Scholar, and Excellence in Government Fellow. He attended Haverford College, received combined Medical Doctor and Master of Government Administration degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, and was awarded a Master of Public Health degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). He completed residencies in family medicine at the University of Washington and preventive medicine at UNC.
Dr. Fink is board certified in both family medicine, and general preventive medicine and public health. He has been awarded the degree of Fellow by both the American Academy of Family Physicians and the American College of Preventive Medicine.
In addition, Dr. Fink retired as a Colonel in the United States Air Force. He is a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom and served as both the Chief of Aerospace Medicine and the Medical Group Commander in the Hawai‘i Air National Guard.
Deputy Director
Susan Lehua Fernandez was appointed to serve as the First Deputy Director of the Department of Health on January 9, 2023. Her state government experience includes time with the House Finance Committee at the state Legislature, the Department of Human Services, Hawai‘i Health Systems Corporation, and the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo. Prior to government, she worked for Kaiser Permanente headquarters as part of a national team of analysts and consultants in Applied Research, assigned to the Hawai‘i region. As First Deputy, she overseas eight divisions, including the administrative functions of the Health Information Systems Office, Office of Planning, Policy and Program Development, Office of Health Status Monitoring, Human Resources Office, and Administrative Services Office which includes Accounting, Fiscal Budgeting, Contracts and Facilities, and the District Health Offices on Hawai‘i Island, Maui, and Kaua‘i. She holds a B.A. in Business Administration and an M.B.A. from the University of Hawai‘i.
Deputy Director of Health Resources
Debbie Kim Morikawa earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. She initially practiced as an occupational therapist in the longterm care industry. Debbie’s career includes Executive Director at The Institute for Human Services, Vice President of Programs at Lanakila Pacific, Director of the Department of Community Services for the City & County of Honolulu, and Director of Human Resources & Organizational Development with HawkTree International.
Deputy Director of Environmental Health
Kathleen Ho was appointed to serve as Deputy Director of Environmental Health at the Department of Health, effective July 1, 2021. Ho has served as Deputy Attorney General of the Health Division, Department of the Attorney General since 1992. She earned her J.D. from the University of California Hastings College of Law in San Francisco, her LL.M in environmental law from Lewis and Clark Law School in Oregon, and a B.S. in Biology from the University of San Francisco. As Deputy Director of Environmental Health, Ho oversees all environmental regulatory issues and protection for the state. This includes oversight of the department’s Environmental Management Division, Environmental Health Services Division, State Laboratories Division, Hazard Evaluation and Emergency Response Office, Environmental Resources Office, and Compliance Assistance Office.
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Deputy Director of Behavioral Health
Marian Tsuji, MA Marian Tsuji was appointed to serve as Deputy Director of Behavioral Health at the Department of Health, effective June 28, 2021. Tsuji served as the O‘ahu Branch Administrator, state Department of Human Services, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation since 2020. She also spent 14 years as president and CEO of Lanakila Pacific, a social services organization that includes programs for adults with disabilities. Tsuji earned her M.A. in criminal justice from City University of New York, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, and a B.A. in sociology and criminal justice from Long Island University, C.W. Post College. The Deputy Director of Behavioral Health assists the Director of Health in the management and administration of behavioral health programs and services and provides leadership as the state mental health and substance abuse authority. The deputy oversees four divisions: Adult Mental Health, Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Alcohol and Substance Abuse, and Developmental Disabilities.