Suzanne Puanani Vares-Lum became the director of the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (DKI APCSS) in January 2025. DKI APCSS is a U.S. Department of War organization dedicated to advancing security cooperation and empowering U.S., ally, and partner security practitioners to foster solutions for complex security challenges in the Indo-Pacific. 

From Jan 2022 to Dec 2024, Vares-Lum served as President of the East-West Center, a U.S. Congressionally established Center in Honolulu, Hawai’i.  

Born and raised in Hawai’i, Vares-Lum served 34 years in all three components of the U.S. Army—the Regular Army, Army National Guard, and Army Reserveretiring as a Major General in 2021.  Prior to her retirement, Vares-Lum spent 5 ½ years at the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, where she served as the Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, including periods as acting Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander. 

Vares-Lum serves on the Bank of Hawai’i Board of Directors, as well as non-profit boards, including the Pacific International Center for High Technology Research, the Hawaii Army Museum, and the Foreign Area Officer’s Association.  She is a current member of the U.S.-Japan Council and is a National Academy of Public Administration Fellow.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Master of Education in Teaching from the University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa, as well as a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. In 2019, she became a National Security Fellow of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. She is also an alumna of the Daniel K. Inouye Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies.

Her awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Iraqi Campaign Medal, and other personal and unit awards. In 2017, she was a recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and Army ROTC National Hall of Fame Inductee.