Many missions under one roof

Running a nonprofit organization that has a $22 million annual budget, more than 40 programs and more than 200 employees is no small feat, but Debbie Cabebe is clearly up to the task.

Cabebe is the chief executive officer of Maui Economic Opportunity Inc., known acronymically as MEO. She took the helm of MEO in 2017 but has been with the nonprofit Community Action Agency (CAA) since 2000.

Cabebe’s journey to becoming MEO’s CEO began 23 years ago when she was hired as the nonprofit’s chief human resources officer. Cabebe says she was instantly captivated by MEO’s mission to help those whose voices often go unheard, including youth, the elderly, immigrants, ex-offenders and individuals with disabilities and medical needs. In 2011, Cabebe stepped into the role of MEO’s chief operating officer, and six years later, became its CEO.

MEO was chartered in 1965 under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 and is the only designated anti-poverty CAA serving Maui County. MEO may be best known for its seemingly ubiquitous buses, but as Cabebe points out, it is essentially five nonprofits operating under one umbrella. In addition to its transportation services, the organization works to strengthen the community and promote economic independence and sustainability through four other departments: community services, early childhood services, youth services and its business development center.

“Our mission is to strengthen the community and help low-income people achieve economic stability… and also offer economic opportunities to low-income people in the communities they live in,” Cabebe explained. “That’s the foundation of what we do.”

Under Cabebe’s leadership, MEO lives up to its motto, “helping people, changing lives,” through programs like its Head Start preschools, B.E.S.T. (Being Empowered and Safe Together) reintegration program, financial literacy classes for youth, senior farmers market nutrition program and the Core Four Business Planning course. MEO also distributes surplus food once a month on Lanai, Molokai and in Hana, and in partnership with the county, served more than 12,000 residents through the Hawaii Emergency Laulima Partnership (HELP) program, which was created during the pandemic to offer temporary crisis assistance to people

Debbie Cabebe,

CEO of Maui Economic Opportunity, visits the Kahi Kamalii Early Childhood Center. Cabebe says the nonprofit MEO is essentially five nonprofits under one umbrella, focusing on transportation services, community services, early childhood services, youth services and business development. This year, Cabebe helped secure funding to expand the Youth Services program to Molokai. out of work and others in need.

And that’s just a small sampling of what MEO does. Its 40-plus programs are everchanging to meet the evolving needs of the community and the nonprofit’s impact cannot be overstated: MEO touches the lives of nearly 40,000 people every year.

Most recently, MEO expanded its youth services program to Molokai. The evidencebased program focuses on smoking, alcohol, drugs, bullying and suicide prevention and is designed for intermediate- and high schoolage youth. Administered in the classroom, after school and during fall, winter and summer breaks, the program includes volunteer, leadership, cultural, career, life skills and familybuilding activities. MEO’s youth services program has had great success on Maui and

Cabebe worked tirelessly to secure funding to bring it to Molokai in 2022, all while continuing to run MEO’s other programs. In its first year, the new program has served more than 50 youth; Cabebe says she expects that number to grow to 150 in 2023.

Cabebe’s work as MEO’s CEO has not gone unnoticed. In 2019, she was recognized by Pacific Business News as one of its Women Who Mean Business honorees. That same year, she also received the Maui Nonprofit Directors Association’s Executive Director of the Year award. Cabebe says she was humbled and surprised by the recognition, but it likely came as no surprise to those who know her and are familiar with the many hats she wears.

Among other things, Cabebe serves on the boards of the Friends of the Children’s Justice Center of Maui, Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs and the Hawaii Alliance of Nonprofit Organizations. She is also a member of the Maui County Council on Aging, a Community Transportation Association of America state delegate, and past president of the Maui Nonprofit Directors Association.

Cabebe is quick to point out that it’s not a one-woman show and attributes MEO’s successes to the selfless dedication of its 200plus employees.

“I cannot say enough about the men and women who work for this organization at every level. They do the work because they love it and they’re committed to it,” she said. “Every day, I work with a group of people who do what they do because they love it — what could be better than that?”

For more information about MEO or to inquire about donor opportunities, call (808) 249-2990 or visit www.meoinc.org.