Therrien Named State Employee Of The Year

A veteran teacher coach for the state Department of Education, Kailua resident Donna Therrien (center), was honored Oct. 4 as Hawaii's Employee of the Year by DOE superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi (left) and Lt. Gov. Shan Tsutsui. Photo courtesy Lt. Gov. Tsutsui.

A former teacher and teacher-coach for the DOE’s Windward School District has won the Governor’s Award for 2013 State Employee of the Year.

Kailua resident Donna Therrien was singled out Oct. 4 for her “integral role in promoting teacher improvement” – which led to student achievement gains in all 16 of the Castle/Kahuku Complex area schools.

An outspoken advocate of professionalism in education, Therrien is a national board-certified teacher currently working as Hawaii Technology Academy Public Charter School administrator. She formerly taught fourth and fifth grade at Lanikai Public Charter School and was most recently a support teacher for the Windward district, assisting in the Department of Education’s transition to Common Core state standards. She also serves on Aikahi Elementary’s school community council.

Coordinated by the state Department of Human Services, the Governor’s Awards annually recognize employees, managers and work teams who exemplify extraordinary public service. Lt. Gov. Shan Tsutsui did the honors in the absence of Gov. Abercrombie.

“We are honored to work with such dedicated individuals and appreciate all they do each and every day,” Tsutsui said.