Representative Lauren Cheape Matsumoto traces her roots in Hawai‘i back to 1859. She is the 6th generation to be born and raised in the islands and is a member of the prestigious Daughters of Hawai‘i. Her great-grandfather founded Peterson’s Upland Farm in 1910, and the farm continues the over 100-year-long family-run business of supplying fresh eggs to our communities.
Lauren is a product of the Hawai‘i public school system, having attended Mililani Waena Elementary School, Mililani Middle School, and Mililani High School. Lauren then attended the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, where she earned a BA in Film Production from the Academy of Creative Media and minored in both Business and Japanese. Lauren was a four-year Division I scholar-athlete, playing Wahine (Women's) Water Polo. She also served on the Student Athletic Advisory Committee.
After graduating from the University of Hawai‘i, Lauren went on to win the title of Miss Hawai‘i 2011. She represented our state at the Miss America pageant in Las Vegas, where she won the talent portion of the pageant by performing a jump rope routine to the theme of Hawai‘i 5-0. To this day, Lauren continues to perform her jump rope routine while speaking to children across the state and encouraging them to lead a healthy lifestyle and volunteer in their community.
After completing her year as Miss Hawaii, Lauren knew she wanted to continue to serve her community and decided to run for public office. In 2012 she won her seat in the Hawaii State Legislature and became the youngest Republican to serve in the House at the age of 25. Since elected Lauren has worked relentlessly to serve her constituents and currently serves as the Minority Floor Leader.
Representative Matsumoto's political career followed soon after Miss Hawaii. She began serving in the House of Representatives in 2012 at the age of 25. She is an active member of the Council of State Government (CSG) and was selected to attend their Western Legislative Academy program in 2014. She was then named a Toll Fellow in 2015, participating in CSG’s selective leadership development program for state officials. In 2015 she was also chosen to be a part of Governing Institute inaugural class of women in government.
Lauren is deeply involved in our district and serves her community in many different capacities: she is a Salvation Army Echelon Board Member, does read-alongs in our elementary schools, speaks at schools on leadership, participates in community events like Trunk or Treat and Peter’s Prom, and she provides internship programs for high school and college students at the capitol to name a few.
Outside of the legislature Lauren enjoys spending time with her family and lifelong hobbies. For many years she shared her love for dance as a professional hula dancer in Waikiki. Lauren met her husband Scott Matsumoto, a firefighter with the Honolulu Fire Department, at church when they were in college. They are blessed with two wonderful children, Noah and Noelle. Their family resides in Mililani, where Lauren was born and raised.
