UH Manoa's Avegalio named Regional Minority Business Advocate of the Year

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Contact:
Byron Apo, (808) 956-2495
Research/Fiscal Manager
Michelle Clark, (808) 956-2502
Business Development Specialist
Posted: Jul 14, 2009

The U.S. Department of Commerce's Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) will honor a University of Hawaii at Manoa educator as the San Francisco Regional 2009 Minority Business Advocate of the Year. Failautusi Avegalio is the director of the Pacific Business Center Program (PBCP) and the executive director of the Honolulu Minority Business Enterprise Center (HMBEC) at UH Manoa. He has led the PBCP for nine years and was the catalyst in the creation of HMBEC in 2005.

Avegalio will be honored on August 21 in San Francisco during Minority Enterprise Development (MED) week, an annual event hosted by the MBDA to honor outstanding minority entrepreneurs who have helped advance minority business development. This year‘s theme is "Energizing the American Economy with Minority Business Enterprises."

Under Avegalio's direction, the PBCP garnered six national awards and one national finalist award from the University Economic Development Association (UEDA) over the past five years. The UEDA awards are nationally recognized as one of the greatest honors for University Centers.

In 2006, he assisted in the creation and execution of the first Stars of Oceania Scholarship event, aimed at helping minority youths from the Pacific Islands pursue higher education. The event was held again in April 2009, and combined with the Pasifika Energy Summit to bring together Pacific Island leaders to discuss sustainable futures for their island economies.

Originally from American Samoa, Avegalio holds the traditional "Papali‘i" title from Savaii. He received his BS in Education and BA in Social Sciences from Emporia State University in Kansas, a master's degree from Truman State University in Missouri, and a PhD in Educational Administration from Brigham Young University in Utah.

For more information, visit: http://pbcphawaii.com