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Cabebe named a Most Admired Leader in Hawai‘i

By Staff | Nov 17, 2023

Maui Economic Opportunity CEO Debbie Cabebe (second from right) was honored by Pacific Business News as one of Hawai‘i’s Most Admired Leaders for 2023 at a gathering Nov. 9 in Waikiki. Cheering on Debbie at the event were (from left) MEO Board Vice President Bard Peterson, President Carol Reimann and Treasurer Cliff Alakai.

WAILUKU — Maui Economic Opportunity Chief Executive Officer Debbie Cabebe was honored as one of 27 Most Admired Leaders in Hawai’i in 2023 by Pacific Business News at a gathering in Waikiki on Nov. 9.

The award recognizes exceptional executives who have made significant contributions in their companies and their communities, according to Pacific Business News.

This year’s 27 honorees span a range of industries, from non-profits and education to health care and real estate.

Maui nonprofit honorees included Cabebe, Hale Mahaolu Executive Director Grant Chun and Maui Hotel & Lodging Association Executive Director Lisa Paulson.

Cabebe directs one of Maui County’s largest nonprofit organizations with a $22 million annual budget in 2022, more than 200 employees on Maui, Moloka’i and Lana’i, and more than 40 programs that help low-income residents, persons with disabilities, kupuna, youth and other disenfranchised members of the community.

Since the wildfires, MEO has been tabbed by the State of Hawaii as a partner to run a program that supports displaced families with children with rent, vehicle purchases, utility payments, clothing and school supplies, and a jobs program for displaced workers.

MEO also has been running a program providing six months of rent to displaced fire families, funded by the Hawaii Community Foundation.

Cabebe became CEO in April 2017, ascending through ranks in her 23-year career with the Community Action Agency, part of a national network of poverty fighting agencies.

She began with MEO as chief human resources officer in 2000 and became chief operating officer in 2011.

She also serves on many boards and commissions, including the Hawai’i Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations, the Friends of the Children’s Justice Center, Association of Farmworkers Opportunity Program, Rocky Mountain HI, Workforce Investment Board and Hawaii Community Action Directors Association.

In writing a letter of support, MEO Board President Carol Reimann described Debbie as a “highly respected leader with the innate ability to handle challenging situations with grace and dignity.”

“Her integrity and leadership are a positive force in Maui’s nonprofit world,” she said.

Reimann, Board Vice President Bard Peterson and Treasurer Cliff Alakai flew to Oahu to support Cabebe at the event. Debbie’s husband, Raymond, also attended.

County Councilmember Yuki Lei Sugimura, in her letter of support, noted: “Debbie has been a force for low-income residents, advocating for their needs, offering assistance and championing their cause.”

She added that Debbie lives by the tagline on all her e-mails: “Courage is not the absence of fear, it is triumph over it.”

For more information about MEO and its programs, call (808) 249-2990 or visit www.meoinc.org.