Sharon Hirota, a native of the Big Island of Hawaii, was faced with a difficult decision. Her boss had resigned, she was chosen to replace him, and then he decided not to quit. She was at a crossroads. Should she go back to her old job or should she leave? She had been with the agency for 16 years. She had demonstrated her creativity. When her housing program needed a shot of creativity in decreasing the waiting list turnover, she developed a new program for families on the waiting list, using her own personal experience to bring a new perspective. Married young and family oriented, she shared her philosophy of housing with the low income families on the waiting list - and it worked! She finally decided to leave and was offered the job of the Mayor's Executive Assistant. In her new job, with the realization that affordability of housing was becoming a major hurdle, she championed a new program, ALICE, to integrate developers into the constraints and promote housing choices in development. She proves every day that creativity and innovation is possible at all levels of government even within the regulatory environment. Her podcast is full of life lessons for young people starting out!

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