Senator Sharon Moriwaki was elected in 2018 to represent Waikīkī, Ala Moana, Kaka‘ako, McCully, Mō‘ili‘ili, and part of Maikiki in the State Senate.
Born and raised in the Sheridan area and on St. Louis Heights, Sharon was student body secretary at Kaimuki High, a major figure in the 1979 Statewide Women's Conference, chaired the 90th anniversary celebration of Okinawan arrival in Hawai‘i, and coordinated Hawai‘i's Dukakis for President Campaign (Dukakis won the state). Throughout her career, Sharon has held people accountable and worked collaboratively with diverse groups—to get things done!
After she returned from California with a University of Southern California doctorate and a Loyola (L.A.) law degree and was working in a private Honolulu law firm, Governor Waihe‘e chose Sharon to be part of his first cabinet as Labor Department Deputy Director. Four years later, Waihe‘e appointed Sharon as his Director of Human Resources, where she instituted major personnel system reforms. Sharon's subsequent leadership included serving as Hawaii Court System Administrative Director and as UH Assistant Vice President.
Sharon's passionate advocacy for community included caring for the Makiki Stream and ahupua‘a, preserving Kaka‘ako's makai shoreline, and bringing people together to develop and implement Hawai‘i's clean energy goals and projects. She co-hosts ThinkTech Hawai‘i's television show, "Hawai‘i: The State of Clean Energy," is vice-president of the Hawai‘i Technology Institute, which primarily helps disadvantaged native Hawaiians, and volunteers with her church's program aiding houseless families. Sharon helped organize and run the Good Neighbor Store, a Democratic Party program helping over 1000 underprivileged and abused children.
Sharon moved to Kaka‘ako ten years ago, becoming founding president of Kaka‘ako United, fighting for a better life in our Senate district. She is also vice president of the One Waterfront Towers condominium board.