Keith Hayashi, Superintendent

The Board of Education on May 19, 2022, voted to hire Keith T. Hayashi to lead Hawai‘i's public school system as superintendent for a term to begin July 1, 2022.

Hayashi, who was tapped from his position as principal of Waipahu High School to serve as interim superintendent on Aug. 1, 2021, was one of three finalists for the permanent position.

Hayashi's 32-year career with the Department spans the school, complex area and state level. He led Waipahu High School as principal since 2009, a position for which he received numerous awards, including Hawai‘i High School Principal of the Year and the collegiate Shirley B. Gordon Award of Distinction. He is credited with pioneering the Early College program in Hawai‘i public schools and earned the distinction for Waipahu High as the state's first nationally recognized wall-to-wall academy model school.

Hayashi began his education career at Lehua Elementary as a teacher and went on to serve as a district resource teacher in Leeward O‘ahu. He also served as a vice principal and principal at the elementary, middle and high school levels before becoming Pearl City-Waipahu Complex Area Superintendent. At the state level, he served as interim deputy superintendent and as interim superintendent in 2017. Hayashi earned his bachelor's degree in elementary education from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. He also holds two Master of Education degrees — in curriculum and instruction, and educational administration — from UH Mānoa.

Heidi Armstrong was named deputy superintendent on Sept. 2, 2022. She served as interim deputy superintendent since July 1 and as assistant deputy superintendent from April to June to ensure a smooth leadership transition for the Office of the Deputy Superintendent.

Deputy Armstrong brings over 30 years of experience spanning school, district and state leadership positions.

She previously served as assistant superintendent for the Office of Student Support Services (OSSS) and as complex area superintendent for the Campbell-Kapolei Complex Area. Prior to becoming CAS in 2012, she was the principal of Iroquois Point Elementary, where she made continuous improvements in school performance and quality. She began her career with the Department as a math teacher at Pohakea Elementary, where she later became vice principal. She holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master's degree in educational administration from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

Curt T. Otaguro, Deputy Superintendent

Curt Otaguro was named deputy superintendent of operations on Aug. 18, 2022, and is responsible for the streamlining of department operations to increase effectiveness through the modernization of systems, elimination of duplicate functions, identification and prioritization of needs, increasing and improvement of support for school operations, and the recruitment and retention of qualified staff at the school, complex areas and state levels.

He most recently served as the state comptroller and head of the state Department of Accounting and General Services. Otaguro’s past work includes serving as executive vice president and division manager of the digital banking division at First Hawaiian Bank, where he spent most of his career. He has experience in personal, retail and electronic banking, management and customer service, and holds a bachelor’s degree in management from the University of Redlands.

Tammi Oyadomari-Chun was named deputy superintendent of strategy on Aug. 18, 2022, and is responsible for leading, directing and supervising the strategic planning, transformation and modernization, and implementation of the strategic initiatives of the Department.

She rejoins the Department, having previously served as assistant superintendent of the Office of Strategy, Innovation and Performance from 2015 to 2017. Oyadomari-Chun most recently was interim associate vice president for academic affairs for the University of Hawaii community college system, where she helped secure and implement more than $25 million in grants and contracts for strategic initiatives.

Oyadomari-Chun's past work also includes serving as vice president at the Hawaii Community Foundation, policy analyst for former Gov. Neil Abercrombie, and executive director of Hawaii P-20. She holds a doctorate in education with a concentration in educational administration from the University of Southern California, a master's degree in public policy from Harvard University, and a bachelorʻs degree from Pomona College in government and public policy analysis.

Sean Bacon was appointed assistant superintendent on Dec. 16, 2022, after serving in an interim capacity since May 2021, to oversee the talent management needs — recruiting, development, retention, employee and labor relations — of the Department's workforce of 22,000 full-time employees and 20,000 substitute teachers and casual employees.

Bacon brings with him over 10 years of experience within the Office of Talent Management (OTM). Prior to his appointment, Bacon served as the executive assistant for OTM, where he worked closely with the assistant superintendent to provide support in direction, leadership and management. Before that he served as a personnel specialist within the Department for six years. He also has school-level experience having previously served as principal at Honaunau Elementary, vice principal at Kealakehe Intermediate, and counselor and fifth-grade teacher at Kealakehe Elementary. He has a master’s degree in school counseling from University of Southern Mississippi and a bachelor’s in elementary education from Aquinas College.

Brian Hallett, Assistant Superintendent and Chief Financial Officer, Office of Fiscal Services

Brian Hallett was appointed assistant superintendent of the Office of Fiscal Services (OFS) and chief financial officer on June 19, 2020, to oversee HIDOE's accounting, budget, and procurement activities and systems serving the needs of the schools, school complexes, complex areas and the state central office. Hallett provides direction and guidance for all levels of the organization in support of sound fiscal management practices.

Hallett has worked in the state government sector for the past 25 years and has served as HIDOE's budget director for seven years with a brief stint as chief of staff to the speaker of the Hawaii House of Representatives. Earlier in his career, he served in budget administrator and specialist roles for HIDOE's Budget Execution Section, the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, the House Committee on Finance and the Department of Public Safety. Hallett holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Washington with a dual major in political science and environmental studies, and studied Urban and Regional Planning and Natural Resource Management at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

Annie Kalama, Assistant Superintendent, Office of Student Support Services

Annie Kalama was appointed as assistant superintendent on Dec. 16, 2022 after serving in the position in an interim capacity since May 2022. Prior to this appointment, she served as director of the Exceptional Support Branch under OSSS, supporting schools and complex areas with policies, procedures, guidelines, tools and professional development to ensure students with disabilities have the access and opportunity to succeed in engaging learning environments. She brings 38 years of special education experience spanning the school, complex area and state office levels.

Michael Otsuji, Assistant Superintendent, Office of Information Technology Services

Michael Otsuji was appointed as assistant superintendent of the Office of Information Technology Services (OITS) on May 4, 2023 to oversee the Department’s statewide information and telecommunication systems and services for schools and offices.

Otsuji brings over 40 years of professional experience to HIDOE, including managing modernization projects in various roles with the state Departments of Health, Labor and Industrial Relations, Taxation and Enterprise Technology Services. He was directly involved with the conversion of all executive branch state departments to a unified platform and also led efforts to improve the processing of tax payments and online tax filings.

Randall Tanaka was appointed as assistant superintendent for the Office of Facilities and Operations (OFO) on Jan. 16, 2020, to oversee construction and maintenance of facilities and operations of food services, transportation and security for the public school system.

Prior to his appointment, Tanaka served as deputy director of the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism (DBEDT). He previously served as president and executive director of the 2016 World Conservation Congress event in Honolulu and was responsible for the logistics of hosting over 10,000 delegates from 190 countries. Tanaka also previously served as chief operating officer of the 2011 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Hawaiʻi Host Committee; director of commercial and auxiliary enterprises, safety and security at the University of Hawaiʻi Community Colleges; and in various capacities at the Hawaiʻi Convention Center and in the hospitality industry. Tanaka holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and a range of professional affiliations including the Professional Convention Management Association, the International Association of Venue Management and the United States-Japan Hawaiʻi Council.

Cara C. Tanimura, Interim Assistant Superintendent, Office of Strategy, Innovation and Performance

Cara Tanimura was appointed interim assistant superintendent for the Office of Strategy, Innovation and Performance (OSIP) on July 1, 2021, to oversee the systemization and support of improvement efforts related to statewide assessments, strategic planning, program evaluation, data governance, data analysis, communication, and collaboration with public and private partners.

Tanimura had been director for the Monitoring and Compliance Branch, which provides technical assistance and ensures compliance with federal laws and regulations related to various federally funded programs. She also previously served as a personnel specialist in the Office of Talent Management, administrator for the Planning Section, director of the former Systems Accountability Office, and a legal analyst with the Board of Education.

Tanimura holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and a juris doctorate from the Lewis & Clark Northwestern School of Law. She is a member of the Hawai‘i State Bar Association, and previously worked as an associate attorney in private practice, and served as a legislative analyst in the House Majority Staff Office.

Teri Ushijima was appointed as assistant superintendent for the Office of Curriculum and Instructional Design on Dec. 16, 2022, after serving in an interim capacity since Nov. 2020. Prior to her appointment, Ushijima served as the director of Assessment and Accountability under the Office of Strategy, Innovation and Performance. The branch is responsible for the development and implementation of the Department’s statewide summative assessments and the associated accountability systems. Prior to her role as director, Ushijima served as executive director of the Leadership Institute, ‘Aiea-Moanalua-Radford complex area superintendent as well as a principal at Mokulele Elementary and vice principal at Moanalua High. She is a National Milken Educator Award recipient and also taught at Mililani Mauka, Mokulele, Leihoku and Honowai Elementary schools.