UH Hilo PoliSci alum Ryan Kanakaʻole selected as Omidyar Fellow
The local fellowship program cultivates Hawaiʻi leaders with the skills to collectively affect societal change. An accomplished public servant now serving as first deputy at DLNR, the fellowship reflects the arc of Ryan Kanakaʻole’s impressive ʻāina-based life and career.
By Susan Enright/UH Hilo Stories.
The Hawaiʻi Leadership Forum today announced Ryan Kanakaʻole, an alumnus of the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo’s political science program, has been selected as one of 14 local leaders to join the 10th cohort of the Omidyar Fellows program.
After a rigorous selection process, this year’s fellows, named Cohort X, represent a wide range of sectors including for profit, nonprofit, education, and government. Each has demonstrated their courage and commitment as a leader and catalyst for change with the ability to articulate their kuleana (responsibility) for Hawaiʻi. The program stresses leadership immersion with the ʻāina (the land) in addition to strong relationships and networks, allowing fellows to lead with purpose, mobilize communities, and amplify positive change across Hawaiʻi.
“We’re thrilled to welcome these leaders at such a pivotal moment for Hawaiʻi,” says AJ Halagao, president of Hawaiʻi Leadership Forum. “This tenth cohort embodies the vision of Omidyar Fellows: developing leaders who engage collaboratively and act boldly to create lasting, positive impact.”
Ryan Kanakaʻole: Accomplished, focused on public service
Kanakaʻole, who grew up in a multigenerational home in Waiʻōhinu in the district of Kaʻu on Hawaiʻi Island, now lives in Pālolo on Oʻahu with his wife and two children. He is a graduate of Kamehameha Schools Kapālama, earned a bachelor of arts in political science from UH Hilo, and a juris doctor with a certificate in Native Hawaiian law from the William S. Richardson School of Law at UH Mānoa.
While at UH Hilo, Kanakaʻole volunteered for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and interned with county government, gaining insight into government services. In a March 2025 Hawaii Business Magazine article on his being chosen for their “20 for the next 20” cohort, he says the volunteer and internship experiences while studying at UH Hilo helped him gain insight into “what government service has to offer.”
Kanakaʻole currently serves as first deputy at the Department of Land and Natural Resources, where he helps lead the department’s work preserving and protecting Hawaiʻi’s historical, natural, and cultural resources. Among his priorities are recovery efforts in Lahaina following the devastating wildfire of 2023 and overseeing how the Board of Land and Natural Resources handles leases to the military.
Previously, he served as an attorney for the Hawaiʻi Housing Finance and Development Corporation and the Mauna Kea Stewardship Oversight Authority. He served as the deputy attorney general for the Department of Hawaiian Homelands from 2017 to 2023. He also was appointed to the Public Land Trust Working Group because of his expertise on issues related to public land trust.
Earlier in his career, he was a deputy corporation counsel for the County of Hawaiʻi, and associate general counsel and analyst at the State Office of the Auditor.
The fellowship
Cohort X launches in October 2025 for an 18-month journey where the fellows will strengthen their leadership skills in three interconnected areas: kumu ʻāina (based in the land), the base of relationships from which kuleana arises and leadership is needed in Hawaiʻi; applied learning to expand knowledge and skills through shared experiences; and the development of diverse tools to adapt and thrive in varied conditions.
Activity will include five months of monthly sessions, three retreats (launch, midpoint, and capstone), and talk story sessions with community, business, and government leaders. New this year is immersive huakaʻi (travel), where each fellow will connect with communities and design a personal learning experience based in the ʻāina.
At the conclusion, the fellows will then transition into the Forum of Fellows, an active network of 131 leaders committed to driving meaningful, long-term change in Hawaiʻi.
“These leaders have answered the kāhea (call) for their community,” says Cheryl Kaʻuhane Lupenui, Omidyar Fellows Cohort X lead. “Their immersive journey now unfolds as they join together learning important practices that will guide their leadership for a thriving Hawaiʻi.”
Related story
Story by Susan Enright, a public information specialist for the Office of the Chancellor and editor of UH Hilo Stories. She received her bachelor of arts in English and certificate in women’s studies from UH Hilo.
