Nathan T. Okubo, a member of Cades Schutte’s Management Committee and partner in the firm’s Finance, Real Estate, and Corporate Department, was featured in Hawaii Business Magazine’s article highlighting the need for volunteers in Hawai‘i’s government boards.
Nathan has served on three Honolulu County boards: the 2011 Council Reapportionment Commission, the Honolulu Charter Commission, and the O‘ahu Real Property Tax Advisory Commission. In particular, the article highlights his work on the Charter Commission, which is formed every 10 years to consider and recommend proposed changes to the Honolulu Charter. One of these proposals led to the creation of the Honolulu Office of Climate Change, Sustainability, and Resiliency, and another led to the creation of the Department of Land Management to manage all of the county’s real estate interests.
Regarding his work on these government boards, Nathan says, “I don’t always agree with government in how they do things, but I would rather be part of the change than to just sit on the sidelines and just watch it happen for me.” He is also quoted saying that people should recognize the benefits of serving their communities, commenting, “if people can get over that hump of, ‘It’s just a lot of time,’ I think you stop losing track of the time you spend on it because it’s exciting, it’s enjoyable, it’s fulfilling.”
