Director: Diane Nakagawa

Diane Nakagawa was appointed Director of Finance in January 2024 after serving as the County’s Deputy Finance Director since 2022 and Purchasing Agent since 2019.  Prior to joining the County of Hawai‘i, she spent 16 years at the City of Phoenix, primarily specializing in economic development and budget administration.  Diane last served as the Deputy Director of Economic Development for the City of Phoenix before returning home.

Diane was born and raised in Kona and is an alumna of Konawaena High School.  She earned her bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and holds a Master of Public Administration degree from Arizona State University’s School of Public Affairs.

Deputy Director: Aaron K.H. Brown

Aaron Brown was born and raised in Hilo, and attended Waiakea Elementary, Waiakea Intermediate, and Waiakea High School, where he graduated in 2003.

Aaron earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a focus in Finance, and a Master of Business Administration from Oregon State University.

Aaron started at the County of Hawai‘i in 2016 where he worked as the Business Manager at the Department of Public Works for over two years before being appointed in the Legislative Branch of the County as the Deputy County Clerk in December of 2018. At the Department of Public Works, he over saw the administrative duties for the 6 divisions in Public Works, including the Operating and Capital Improvement budgets and the administrative work for all County construction contracts.

While serving as the Deputy County Clerk, Aaron worked alongside the County Clerk to oversee all administrative operations of the Legislative Branch. These initiatives include providing support services to the County Council to ensure that effective and thoughtful policy is created for the betterment of our community, managing the budget for the Legislative Branch, contract review and management, supporting the County Clerk conduct Elections within the County, maintaining legislative records, and encouraging and assisting with public participation in local government.

Before coming to the County of Hawaii, Aaron was the former Chief Financial Officer and Project Manager for Sig Zane Designs, where he handled all of the financial management and project coordination for Sig Zane Designs and Sig Zane Kaiao, the design arm of the company. He is also the former Center Director in East Hawai‘i of the Hawai‘i Small Business Development Center (SBDC), where he worked with hundreds of small businesses at the Hawai‘i SBDC Network.

Private Secretary: Crystallene K. Pacheco