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Robert has served as executive director of the Hawai'i Association of Independent Schools since 1989, and president of the Hawaiian Educational Council since 1992. He holds these positions concurrently.
Hawai'i Association of Independent Schools membership includes 50 full-member schools and more than 50 associate and affiliate members. Among other things, it conducts educational research studies. Most recently, the HAIS Teacher Retention Study was published in June 2004 in collaboration with the Curriculum Research and Development Group at the University of Hawai'i. Accreditation of Hawai'i's private schools has been a prominent issue for HAIS. Robert currently serves as vice-chair of the newly organized Commission on Accreditation at the National Association of Independent Schools.
Representing Hawai'i's private schools at the legislature since 1990, Robert has coordinated several successful initiatives. A recent effort has been amending the Hawai'i State Constitution to allow private schools to use tax-exempt bonds as an affordable strategy for financing much needed campus renovation projects. In the past two years he has assisted ten private schools with the approval of $80 million of special purpose revenue bonds. Concerning public education, Robert's efforts have been in support of teacher professionalism and charter education. He currently serves as vice-chair of the Ho'okako'o Corporation, a new non-profit entity organized in support of charter schools in communities with a predominance of children of Hawaiian ancestry.
As president of the Hawaiian Educational Council Robert serves as the director of the Hawai'i Executive Conference, an annual professional development program for CEO's and other policy level executives.
In an advisory capacity Robert serves as a member of the UH College of Education Advisory Board, the UH Education Policy Center. He is particularly proud of the recent launching of a new master's degree program in Private School Leadership, a joint project of HAIS and the UH College of Education which graduates its first cohort of 23 emerging leaders this August.
His degrees are a master's in education from Ohio University, a bachelor of science in secondary education and a bachelor of arts in English literature, both from the University of Cincinnati.
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