Office of Language Access

Dominic Inocelda, Chair

President, Inter-Agency Council on Immigrants/Refugees (IAC)

Mr. Inocelda is the president of the Inter-Agency Council for Immigrant Services which was instrumental in the passage of the language access bill. He has a master’s degree in social work from the University of Hawai`i. He is employed by the Susannah Wesley Community Center where he has served in various program management and administrative functions since 1982. He has worked with limited and non-English speakers, the elderly, public housing residents, and persons with serious mental illnesses.

Gerald Ohta, Vice-chair

Affirmative Action Office, Hawaiʻi State Department of Health

Mr. Ohta has been working for the Hawai`i State Department of Health as its Affirmative Action Officer since 1981. He has worked with schools, universities, enforcement agencies, and others to improve access for  limited English-speaking persons.   Mr. Ohta brings to the council his knowledge of contacts with advocates, organizations, and agencies in other parts of the U.S.

Helena Manzano

Executive Director, Office of Language Access (OLA)

LAAC – Ex Officio Member

Helena Manzano is the Executive Director of the Hawai‘i State Office of Language Access (OLA). Prior to her appointment to OLA in 2015, she was at the State Department of Human Services (DHS) managing the agency’s Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Project, which supports and coordinates policies and practices that improve access to DHS programs and services for LEP persons. From 2009 to 2013, she was a planning specialist for the State Department of the Attorney General’s Crime Prevention and Justice Assistance Division. Her work involved planning for and administering the State’s VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) and VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) federal grants for criminal justice initiatives and victim services. Her nonprofit sector experience include: program manager of culturally / linguistically appropriate services for underserved victims of domestic violence and sexual assault; clinical case manager for children and adults with mental health issues; and counselor at a residential treatment facility for women and children suffering from drug and substance abuse. Born in Manila, Philippines, Helena immigrated to Hawai‘i in her early teens with her parents and 3 siblings. She is bilingual in Tagalog and English and has a Master’s in Social Work degree from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa.

Aphirak (“A.P.”) Bamrungruan

Executive Director, Office of Language Access (OLA)

LAAC – Ex Officio Member

Aphirak (“A.P.”) Bamrungruan has served as the Executive Director of the Hawaii State Office of Language Access (OLA) since May 2017. As the agency head, Mr. Bamrungruan oversees and manages the development and implementation of the agency’s systems, programs, budget, policies, and procedures designed to address the language access needs of Limited English Proficient (LEP) persons.

Prior to assuming this role, Mr. Bamrungruan was the LEP Project Manager at the Hawaii Department of Human Services, an investigator at the Hawaii Civil Rights Commission, and a staff attorney at Volunteer Legal Services Hawaii as well as the Domestic Violence Action Center.

Mr. Bamrungruan received his Bachelor of Laws from Thammasat University, Thailand, his Master of Laws and Juris Doctor from the University of Hawaii School of Law.

Lito Asuncion

Member at-large

Mr. Asuncion works as a program planner for the Hawai`i County Office of Aging. He previously worked as an immigration information specialist for the Hawaii County Office of Management, and as a program evaluator/trainer for the Hawai`i/American Samoa Bilingual Education Support Center.

Mary Santa Maria

Public Health Educator, Hawai`i State Department of Health, County of Maui

Ms. Mary Santa Maria is a Public Health Educator with the Maui District Health Office and the Chronic Disease Prevention Branch of the State Department of Health.  She is involved with language access, medical interpreting training, and health services access for Limited English Proficient persons at community and state agencies.  She holds a master’s degree in public health from the University of Hawai`i at Manoa.  She is a trained interpreter and conducts interpreter training programs through the UH Maui College Edventure program.

Rebeca Zamora

Hawai`i Interpreter Action Network

Ms. Rebeca Zamora is the newly appointed member of the Language Access Advisory Council representing a professional interpreter organization.  Rebeca was born and raised in Costa Rica and is a registered Spanish court interpreter with the Hawai`i State Judiciary.  She has been a member of Hawai`i Interpreters Action Network (HIAN) since 2009.

Currently she works for the Hawai`i Immigrant Justice Center as a community consultant in the Hispanic Family Violence Awareness Project, and with Lionbridge Technologies interpreting at individual hearings for the Executive Office for Immigration Review.