From Hartford to Hawaii: Dr. Christina Kishimoto's Voice 4 Equity in Leadership

An Imperfect Leader

In this episode of An Imperfect Leader: The Superintendents and Leadership Podcast, Jamie Almanzán (of The Equity Collaborative) and I took a journey with Dr. Christina Kishimoto, who shared her remarkable leadership experiences from Connecticut to Arizona to Hawaii to Voice4Equity LLC.

We dove into the unique challenges of leading Hawaii’s only statewide school district, covering 10,000+ square miles. Christina shares how navigating leadership across vastly different communities — from high-need urban districts to middle-class suburban schools — shaped her approach to resource allocation, community engagement, and equity.

🔑 Plus, Dr. Kishimoto explains how her upbringing in the Bronx and her passion for empowering women leaders, particularly women of color, led her to found Voice4Equity LLC💡 The conversation is a deep dive into leading with intention and how the diversity of thought, culture, and experience fuels innovative leadership.

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An Imperfect Leader is sponsored by Yondr.

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That's where partners like EdConnective step in. They provide real coaching, observations and feedback with practice. EdConnective ensures that every student thrives by facilitating exceptional educator growth. If you're looking for support for your people, for your leaders, for science of reading efforts, for recruitment and retention initiatives, check out EdConnective.com.

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An Imperfect Leader: Leadership in (After) Action is supported by ILAA, LLC, a firm dedicated to supporting aspiring, new, and established leaders. For more information, please find them at www.human-centeredleaders.com.

Music for An Imperfect Leader was written and arranged by Ian Varley.

Sam Falbo created our artwork, a wood-print inspired daruma doll butterfly.