{"id":26154,"date":"2026-10-28T08:25:52","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T18:25:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/?p=26154"},"modified":"2026-10-28T08:25:53","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T18:25:53","slug":"2026-alumni-spotlight-david-odo-kailua-high","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/haw\/2026-alumni-spotlight-david-odo-kailua-high\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumni Spotlight: David Odo (Kailua High)"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Odo<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u02bbOihana: <\/strong>Director and CEO, Honolulu Museum of Art
Kulanui: <\/strong>Columbia University, University of Oxford
I ke kula hea \u02bboe i puka ai?<\/strong> Kailua High \u201883
Wahi:<\/strong> Honolulu, HI<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Director and CEO, David Odo leads the Honolulu Museum of Art (HoMA), oversees its collection and programs, advances fundraising and strategic initiatives, and guides the institution as it enters its second century of service to Hawai\u2018i and the broader art community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Odo has nearly two decades of leadership experience across museums, universities, and cultural institutions. Throughout his career, he has built a reputation for combining scholarly excellence with a deep commitment to public access, community engagement and institutional innovation. His work has helped expand audiences, strengthen collections, advance research and foster meaningful connections between museums and the communities they serve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prior to joining HoMA in September, he served as the Director and Chief Curator at the Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia. In that role, he oversaw a broad portfolio spanning institutional vision and strategy, financial stewardship, fundraising, collections and educational direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He previously held leadership positions at the Harvard Art Museums and Yale University Art Gallery. An internationally recognized scholar with expertise in 19th-century photography of Japan, Odo held appointments at the Rijksmuseum, The Smithsonian Institution, the Osaka National Museum of Ethnology, the University of Tokyo, and the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University. His current research affiliations include the Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford and the Reischauer Institute of Japanese Studies at Harvard University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He attended Audubon Elementary (California), Kailua Intermediate and Kailua High. His mother, Enid Odo, was a teacher at Blanche Pope Elementary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Pehea kou huaka\u02bbi ma hope o ke kula ki\u02bbeki\u02bbe?<\/strong>
A: <\/strong>I studied at Columbia University and majored in East Asian Studies, followed by a year in Japan studying Japanese. I then returned to Hawai\u2018i to work at a local TV station as a producer, director and general sales manager. Subsequent to that work, I went to the United Kingdom to pursue my doctorate in social and cultural anthropology at the University of Oxford, followed by research fellowships at institutions including Harvard University, the University of Tokyo, the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, and others. I went on to hold positions at the Yale University Art Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, and most recently, the Georgia Museum of Art, before taking up my current role as Director and CEO at the Honolulu Museum of Art in September 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: He aha k\u0101u hana i k\u0113ia mau l\u0101?<\/strong>
A<\/strong>: I have a busy job at HoMA, where we are about to turn 100 years old in 2027. I am excited to be leading the museum into our next century, as we focus especially on the arts of Hawai\u2018i. After having been away from home for 30 years, I am enjoying being back in Hawai\u2018i and am loving the wonderful arts and culture scene that has developed over the years. My wife and I live in M\u0101noa, which is terrific, but I miss Kailua!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: No ke aha \u02bboe i koho ai i k\u0113ia ala \u02bboihana a he aha k\u0101u e hau\u02bboli nui ai e pili ana i ia mea?<\/strong>
A: <\/strong>I have always been fascinated by art and the people who create it, and working at a museum is a great way to be involved in the art world. I have enjoyed continuously learning new things, working with amazing colleagues, and especially having the chance to mentor and teach young people as they progress in their studies and careers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: He aha ka mea e ho\u02bbohanohano ai i\u0101 \u02bboe?<\/strong>
A: <\/strong>Public school was a great place to get to know kids from all over the community, which expanded my world beyond my immediate circle of friends and family.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Ke kumuhana punahele ma ke kula?<\/strong>
A: <\/strong>Pelekania<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: He aha ke \u02bbano o n\u0101 hana extracurricular \u0101u i komo ai?<\/strong>
A:<\/strong> Swimming, debate, orchestra (outside of school)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: He aha k\u0101u \u02bbaina awakea a \u02bbaina kakahiaka paha ma ke kula punahele?<\/strong>
A<\/strong>: Pizza<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: Inoa o ke kumu a i \u02bbole ka mea a\u02bboa\u02bbo \u0101u e makemake ai e mahalo?<\/strong>
A: <\/strong>I can’t choose just one. I want to thank (most of) my high school teachers, who were extremely patient with me, even though I wasn’t an easy pupil! They were very dedicated and caring, even though I wasn’t able to appreciate it properly at the time.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Q: He aha k\u0101u \u02bb\u014dlelo a\u02bboa\u02bbo no n\u0101 haum\u0101na?<\/strong>
A:<\/strong> Get enough sleep! And spend as much time as possible looking closely and asking questions about all subjects that interest you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Honolulu Museum of Art director & CEO David Odo, left, and Tokyo National Museum director Makoto Fujiwara signed a memorandum of agreement between the two institutions on Sept. 4. Photo courtesy: Honolulu Museum of Art<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David Odo Occupation: Director and CEO, Honolulu Museum of ArtCollege: Columbia University, University of OxfordWhat school you grad? Kailua High \u201883Location: Honolulu, HI As Director and CEO, David Odo leads the Honolulu Museum of Art (HoMA), oversees its collection and programs, advances fundraising and strategic initiatives, and guides the institution as it enters its second […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":26178,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"856,893,1022,1619,1622,1623","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_sitemap_exclude":false,"_sitemap_priority":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","wp_popup_display_lightbox":0,"wp_popup_suppress":"","wp_popup_trigger":"","wp_popup_trigger_amount":0,"wp_popup_disable_on_mobile":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[59,22,21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni-spotlight","category-hoohaaheo","category-news"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":59,"label":"Alumni Spotlight"},{"value":22,"label":"Ho\u2018oha\u2018aheo"},{"value":21,"label":"News"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Odo_speaking_at_opening_of_Vital_Connections_9.10.26_HoMA-1024x512.jpg",1024,512,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Kim Yuen","author_link":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/haw\/author\/kimberly-yuenk12-hi-us\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":59,"name":"Alumni Spotlight","slug":"alumni-spotlight","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":59,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":22,"count":25,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":59,"category_count":25,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Alumni Spotlight","category_nicename":"alumni-spotlight","category_parent":22},{"term_id":22,"name":"Ho\u2018oha\u2018aheo","slug":"hoohaaheo","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":22,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":96,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":22,"category_count":96,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Ho\u2018oha\u2018aheo","category_nicename":"hoohaaheo","category_parent":0},{"term_id":21,"name":"News","slug":"news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":21,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":382,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":21,"category_count":382,"category_description":"","cat_name":"News","category_nicename":"news","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/haw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/haw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/haw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/haw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/haw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/haw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26154\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/haw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/haw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/haw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hawaiipublicschools.org\/haw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}