Christina Kishimoto

Christina Kishimoto was born in the Bronx in New York. She has four siblings. Kishimoto was inspired to pursue a career in public education by her childhood teachers. Kishimoto was part of the A Better Chance program, which she moved from the Bronx to attend school in Wellesley, Massachusetts, as a sophomore. She'd eventually attend Barnard College and earn her PhD from Columbia University Teachers College in education administration.^[1]

Kishimoto is the former superintendent and chief executive officer of Gilbert Public Schools in Gilbert, Arizona.^[2] She is also former superintendent of Hartford, Connecticut.^[3]

Kishimoto became superintendent of the Hawai'i Department of Education in August 2017 with a salary of $240,000.^[3] In early March 2021, she has announced that she'll be stepping down as the superintendent due to poor job performance during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[4]

Kishimoto is married and has one daughter and lives in the Ala Moana neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii.^[1]