Rural Resources Community Action competitors

Brandee Menino is the Chief Executive of Hope Services Hawaii, an affiliate organization of the Roman Catholic Church, working to end homelessness on Hawaii Island. Hope Services provides a continuum of services including homeless outreach, street medicine, representative payee, rent and mortgage assistance, and operates ten shelter facilities with over 200 shelter beds and provides home-based supports to an additional 225 households throughout the island. Brandee was part of a leadership team who organized over 50 businesses, 200 volunteers and the U.S. National Guard to build a village of twenty micro-shelters and ancillary supports in less than 30 days to help shelter medically fragile and older adults displaced by the Kilauea eruption in 2018. As the first in her family to attend college, she earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Hawaii at Hilo and her master's degree in Professional Counseling with emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy from Argosy University. Inspired by the belief that serving others is a privilege, she has dedicated more than 20 years serving our community through the nonprofit sector. Brandee also volunteers her time serving on local nonprofit boards and advisory boards including the Foodbasket, Hawaii Island’s Foodbank, Bay Clinic, Hawaii Catholic Conference, Hawaii Island United Way’s Advisory Council for the Emergency Food and Shelter Program, Hawaii Electric Light’s Advisory Board for Low and Moderate Income Families and a director on the HMSA Foundation Board. She is an Omidyar Fellow, was named to Pacific Business News Class of 2015, Forty Under 40, Hawaii Community Foundation’s 2019 Ho’okele Non Profit Leadership award recipient, Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce 2020 Athena Award recipient, Kuikahi Medition Center’s 2020 Peacemaker award recipient and a Weinberg Fellow.