Jonathan Kay Kamakawiwoʻole Osorio

Jonathan Kay Kamakawiwoʻole Osorio is the Dean of Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge. He is married to Mary Carol Dunn and has fathered five children, all reasonably well-adjusted human beings. Dr. Osorio received his PhD in History from the University of Hawaiʻi in 1996 and was on the faculty of the Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, serving as director of the Center from 2003 to 2008. As a professor, he has collaborated with numerous other faculty and students in many departments to bring recognition for indigenous knowledge, championing Hawaiian language, performing arts and the study of Hawaiian and Pacific Islands history and contemporary issues through conferences, forums and publications. He has published broadly and both of his books, Dismembering Lāhui (2002) and The Value of Hawaiʻi (2010), co-edited with Craig Howes, have won local publishing awards. Dean Osorio serves on several boards and committees in support of Hawaiian sovereignty and protection of sacred places in Hawaiʻi. He is a composer and singer and has been a Hawaiian music recording artist since 1975.