Stacy Ferreira, the chief executive officer of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, was quietly placed on paid leave Tuesday by the OHA Board of Trustees.

The circumstances surrounding Ferreira’s exit are unclear — the vote to put her on paid leave happened during a closed-door session of the board and staff haven’t been told of the reasons for her sudden departure. In a memo to staff on Tuesday, Ferreira said that she was taking personal leave for an indefinite period.

On Wednesday, OHA Board Chair Kai Kahele sent another message to staff and called an all-staff meeting to say that the trustees had decided to place Ferreira on paid administrative leave and that Summer Sylva, the board’s chief of staff, would be interim CEO until further notice, according to people with knowledge of the memo.

“This action ensures stable executive leadership to support OHA’s continued operations and uphold our mission during this transitional period,” the memo said.

Ferreira took over as Ka Pouhana, as the CEO title is called at OHA, in November 2023 after former CEO Sylvia Hussey left the organization a few months earlier. Before that, Ferreira had been the budget chief for the Senate since 2019. She couldn’t be reached for comment on Thursday.

Kahele and Keoni Souza, the board’s vice chair, didn’t return calls seeking comment Thursday.

OHA spokesman Bill Brennan confirmed that Ferreira sent an email to OHA employees after the board voted to approve her paid leave on Tuesday, but that her message didn’t say when she would be back.

In a press release Thursday afternoon, Kahele praised Sylva’s government and advocacy experience.

“Summer brings a strong and steady professional background to OHA,” Kahele said.

Sylva is the former director of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. and was appointed by President Joe Biden to a senior adviser position in the U.S. Interior Department in 2021. She became the board’s chief of staff, reporting to Kahele, in February.

“I’m honored to serve as Interim Administrator and remain focused on providing steady
leadership during this period,” Sylva said in a written statement. “My priority is ensuring continuity in OHA’s work and supporting our staff and mission.”

The press release says Sylva’s term is in effect “until further notice.”

Ferreira and Kahele have butted heads in recent months — first over the office’s budget, which passed just hours before the fiscal year ended in June, and then over a staff reorganization in the office.

Despite that, the trustees and administration had sketched out big plans for the coming years with a renewed focus on education and outreach to the Native Hawaiian communities that the office was created to serve in 1978. 

OHA, which has long faced issues with staff turnover, has seen several key departures in recent months. 

Kēhaulania Puʻu, OHA’s former chief operating officer, left just a year into her tenure for a job as deputy parks director with the City and County of Honolulu. K. Sean Kekina was named COO a few weeks ago. OHA’s finance chief Ramona Hink also retired this year. The CFO position has yet to be filled.

At a Board of Trustees meeting on Sept. 18, Ferreira said that the office had a 20% vacancy rate. Of the 166 positions in OHA, 34 are currently unfilled. She said the office planned to reduce the vacancy rate to 15% by December.

OHA was created during the 1978 constitutional convention to advocate for and advance issues affecting Native Hawaiians. It’s managed by a nine-member Board of Trustees that controls trust assets valued at around $600 million.