Diocese picks Maui woman to be development director

By Anna Weaver | Hawaii Catholic Herald

The Diocese of Honolulu has hired a four-year Maui resident to be its full-time development director. Cynthia Lallo, who started on May 25, commutes from the Valley Isle, spending three days a week on Oahu and the rest of her time with her husband and four children at their home in Lahaina.

Her office is at St. Stephen Diocesan Center.

Lallo’s first task will be overseeing the “With Grateful Hearts” capital campaign in five parishes.

Her long-term goal, she said, is to survey parishes and schools to “see where they’re at development-wise” and help shape church development in Hawaii.

“I’d really like to be a resource for parishes and schools in the islands,” she said. “We can get more done when the knowledge is spread.”

Before moving to the islands four years ago, Lallo was the development director of Sacred Heart School in Medford, Oregon. She has a decade’s worth of experience in fundraising. While her bachelor’s degrees are in education and psychology, she has been helping non-profits and schools with money raising efforts and found she loved grant writing.

Lallo first heard about the diocesan development job when she was invited to help the diocese’s “With Grateful Hearts” capital campaign at Maria Lanakila Parish in Lahaina. When she asked campaign director Gary Hawkins of Community Counseling Services, “What’s going on in development in the islands?” she learned the diocese had an opening.

Because of her domestic situation on Maui, Lallo didn’t expect to land the Oahu-based job. She said she was “pleasantly surprised” that she was not only offered the position but would be allowed the inter-island commute.

“I think the [development] position is wide open and will create itself,” Lallo said, looking ahead with her new job.

The previous development director was Bob Stillwell who worked part-time and who retired in 2008.