2 minute read
Alumni Notes
INCLUSION AND DIVERSITY IN NCIS
“That was the most amazing thing about NCIS. I didn’t have to choose between being a mom and promoting or progressing in the agency. At the end of the day, I was presented with the right opportunities and was able to progress in my military career. That’s so important,” she said. Een now serves as the chief diversity and inclusion officer for NCIS, a role that has kept her passionate about her career and agency. She said her focus is on making NCIS the strongest it can be, and attracting and retaining the best talent. “If you don’t have equity and you don’t have inclusion, you don’t have diversity,” she said. “We need to use this canvas of people we have to the best of their abilities.”
Advertisement
As she marks 18 years with NCIS, Een says it hasn’t all been roses.
About 10 years into her career with the agency, with her husband deployed, Een said she almost left when she felt as if she was being asked to choose between being a mom and being an agent. But a candid conversation with her superiors allowed her to stick with it—and she’s grateful she did. Een added she doesn’t want that experience to happen to others.
“I was fortunate that the agency picked me up and changed my trajectory,” she said. “But I really think that shouldn’t happen to anybody else. It shouldn’t be luck or a chance to determine whether or not I stayed with this agency. What if I hadn’t had that conversation? Where would I be today?”
And it’s that experience that got her interested in equity in the first place. Een started serving as a member of the NCIS director’s Committee for Diversity and Inclusion in 2014. And when her current role opened up, she immediately put her name in the hat. “This is what I want to do because I genuinely believe that our organization is wonderful and we do really good things,” she said. “Our director believes in cultural diversity, and he believes in people. I want to support that.”
And if you’re wondering if Een is a fan of the “NCIS” TV series, too, the answer is yes.
The last time she was in the islands, she got to visit the “NCIS: Hawai'i” set and “totally fangirled.”
She’s also excited she might have more opportunities to visit. Sixteen years after leaving, Een will be moving back to Hawai'i with her family and continuing in her current role with NCIS remotely. “It’s something that we’ve always said, that Hawai'i was where we’d like to go someday,” Een said. “It has always been a touchtone, and now it’s happening. We’re thrilled.”
Correction
Ethan West
M.B.A. ‘16 Ethan West married Malia, his wife, in September 2021 at Kahumana Organic Farms in the Lualualei Valley on O’ahu.
ALUMNI CLASS NOTES
Share your exciting news with us! Send us details on your new job, promotion or retirement; recent marriage, new baby, or graduation; or any type of milestones. We would like to celebrate with you and share your great news on social media or in the next Chaminade Magazine.
SUBMIT YOUR CLASS NOTE
Stay Connected
@cuhalumni @chaminade-university-alumni alumni@chaminade.edu
