UH Hilo’s health and wellness director selected for fellowship

Sulma Gandhi was selected as a 2014-2015 Omidyar Fellow, where she will participate in a leadership development program that cultivates, trains, and educates local leadership for Hawaiʻi.

Sulma Gandhi
Sulma Gandhi

Sulma Gandhi, director of health and wellness programs at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, has been selected as a 2014-2015 Omidyar Fellow. Fourteen people were chosen to participate in the third cohort of Omidyar Fellows, a leadership development program that cultivates, trains, and educates local leadership for Hawaiʻi.

“We are pleased to welcome this diverse and inspiring set of emerging leaders to the Omidyar Fellows program,” says Kalei Stern, director of external relations, Omidyar Fellows. “As they embark on this new professional and personal development journey together, we look forward to the Omidyar Fellows becoming a close, collaborative team of leaders who will improve our state, and the world, together.”

As the campus public health officer, Gandi oversees care that integrates prevention, medical, and mental health services at UH Hilo and Hawaiʻi Community College. Previously, she specialized in workforce development and employee wellness at Kamehameha Schools. Before that she was director of development and public relations at Turning Point for Families, and before that director of clinical operations at Hospice of Hilo.

Gandhi holds a master of science in health information science from the University of Victoria and a doctorate in business, health care management and leadership from California Intercontinental University. She serves on the governor-appointed Hawaiʻi Service Area Board, the Suicide Prevention Taskforce, the Prosecutor’s Sexual Assault Response Team, and the Drug Free Coalition.

The 2014-2015 Omidyar Fellows include local leaders from a wide range of sectors, including nonprofit, government and business, with representation from the islands of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi Island and Molokai. Fellows were selected through a rigorous progress based on a candidate’s experience in both professional and community settings and commitment and passion to serve as a leader for Hawaiʻi’s future.

A fellow of the 2012-2013 cohort is Kaʻiu Kimura, executive director of UH Hilo’s ʻImiloa Astronomy Center.

Learn more at the Omidyar Fellows website.

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