Meet the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission: Mahealani Perez-Wendt

Perez-Wendt was the Executive Director of Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation (NHLC) for 32 years before retiring in December 2009.  During her tenure the NHLC litigated landmark cases including Public Access Shoreline Hawai’i v. State, and Waiahole Community Association v. State. Perez-Wendt, 64, was the first Native Hawaiian board member of the NativeAmerican Rights Fund.  She has been recognized with a number of awards including Outstanding HawaiianWoman for Community Service, in 1983; Liberty Bell Award from the Hawai’i State Bar Association in 1990; Kalanianaole Award in 2003 from the Association of Hawaiian Civic Clubs; Native Hawaiian Advocate Award in 2009 from the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement; and Hawai’i Women Lawyers Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009. Perez-Wendt has published poetry and stories in more than a dozen literary journals and anthologies.  A graduate of the Kamehameha School for Girls, Perez-Wendt lives in Wailuanui, East Maui