Ads by Google Ads by Google

Governor names new chair for Workforce board of directors

Toleafoa Kathryn M. McCutchan
reporters@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Toleafoa Kathryn M. McCutchan was appointed July 15 by Gov. Lemanu Peleti Mauga as chairperson of the territory’s Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) State Workforce Development Board and she replaces Steve Lefiti as chair.

No explanation was provided in the governor’s memorandum for the change of chairmanship but Lemanu asked all concerned to give the new chair “your full cooperation and support”.

McCutchan said on Monday that she is very much surprised by the chairmanship appointment and she is “humbled for the opportunity to serve”.

As previously reported by Samoa News, the governor earlier this year re-established the Board in order to comply with provisions of the federal WIOA law and establishing such a board is one of the requirements for continued receipt of WIOA funding.

The governor also named at the time the board members including McCutchan — who is the current Hope House administrator — as one of the representatives from a local business or organization, and Lefiti — who is Human Resources deputy director for the WIOA division — as the representative from the government sector. (See Samoa News edition Mar. 21 for details.)

Prior to joining Hope House in 2020, McCutchan served in various senior leadership posts in both private and government sectors, including 20 years of work experience with the ASG Department of Human and Social Services providing administrative oversight of over $3 million in federal funds for behavioral health services and childcare for low-income families.

As Assistant Director, she supervised 28 staff, directed and managed territorial substance abuse prevention programming, capacity building and developed public policy related to behavioral health prevention and treatment, according to her bio. 

On a regional level, she served as president of the Pacific Behavioral Health Collaborating Council for two consecutive terms and later served as its Executive Director for 3 years.