Ms. Rolina Faagai
Board Member
Rolina K. Faagai (Native Hawaiian), is the Executive Director of Hawaiian Lending Investments (HLI), a nonprofit Native Community Development Financial Institution (NCDFI) loan fund founded in 2020 to serve native Hawaiian families and business on or near Hawaiian Home Lands in the State of Hawaii.
Ms. Faagai spent over a decade of her professional career in business and retail management on the continent, where she was trained in corporate business strategies as a finance analyst and sales manager. She used her skills in key performance indicators to quickly rise to middle management ranks of fortune 500 companies.
Moving home to Hawaii in 2014, she transitioned to private wealth management industry with AIG VALIC, in Honolulu, allowing her to merge her business acumen with personal investment finance services.
In 2019, she joined a team developing strategies to increase access to capital on trust lands established under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920 (HHCA). These trust lands total 203,000 acres located on 6 islands in the State within 4 county jurisdictions. HLI was founded and Ms. Faagai served as its founding Loan Fund Manager in 2020 and promoted to its Executive Director in 2023.
Ms. Faagai serves on the national board of the Native CDFI Network (NCN), a policy and capital intermediary serving American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian CDFIs. She is also a Track & Field coach at Punahou High School and volunteers with many civic organizations advancing Native rights.
Ms. Faagai is the eldest of five children born to Pili and Alana Faagai. She resides in her home town of Kaneohe on the island of Oahu.