He also has strong personal ties to the teachers’ union
Posted: July 24, 2026
The Hawaiʻi State Teachers Association is pleased to welcome Ian Terayama as its new negotiations and research specialist. Terayama’s first day was July 13.
Terayama, who was born and raised on Oʻahu’s Windward side, brings more than a decade of experience in public policy, government affairs, research and program management to the union. But while his professional background spans government, research and nonprofit leadership, he said HSTA has always been “a big part of who I am.”
“My mom was an HSTA member. My grandmother was a member before her,” he shared.
Public education runs deep in Terayama’s family. His mother recently retired as a resource teacher in the Koʻolau District after previously teaching at Mokapu Elementary, while one grandmother taught at Kainalu Elementary and his other grandmother worked in administration at Kailua High. Terayama’s wife, who is now a real estate attorney, also taught geometry at Campbell High School before leaving to attend law school. He also has several aunts who have served in Hawaiʻi public schools as teachers and administrators.
Growing up in a family of educators gave him an early understanding of both the rewards and challenges of teaching. He even remembers walking the picket lines with his mother during HSTA’s 2001 strike.
“I got to be around the table and hear all the many issues […] I have gotten to see some of the challenges and support folks that way,” he said.
Before joining HSTA, Terayama most recently served as a program manager with Pacific Resource Partnership, where he oversaw statewide research projects examining issues such as Hawaiʻi’s cost of living and the challenges facing local families.
“We were doing the Hawaiʻi Perspectives statewide research piece on cost of living and people leaving home. I learned a lot about the pressure points that people are experiencing,” he shared.
His research background, he said, will help strengthen HSTA’s advocacy during negotiations. He hopes to build on that experience by listening to members and using research to better understand the issues affecting educators across the state.
“I’m looking forward to taking some of those learnings and also furthering that, especially with the teachers and better understanding their everyday struggles, so that we can make sure that we’re advocating for that.”
Earlier in his career, Terayama worked for the Hawaiʻi Department of Health, the offices of U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, the Hawaiʻi State Senate, Bank of Hawaiʻi and other organizations. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in political science and public policy from Creighton University and a Master of Business Administration from Chaminade University.
Terayama believes real-life experiences are critical to understanding educators’ needs and ensuring their voices are represented at the bargaining table.
“I’m really looking forward to coming to the table as somebody who’s from a [HSTA] household, so I’ve experienced those things without being the direct member. Because it’s easy for our administrators to think that this is something that just impacts our teachers, but it doesn’t just stop. It impacts their families, impacts their children […] it can matriculate down to grandchildren and far beyond just what happens today.”
His family owns Nanko Fishing Supply, a Kāneʻohe landmark that has provided fishing and diving supplies for generations. Terayama helped out in the store as kid and his grandparents, father, aunt and uncles have all worked there.
Outside of work, Terayama enjoys playing golf, a sport he’s played since childhood, and distance running. He ran cross country in college and remains active with a downtown Honolulu running club. He and his wife also share their home with Chai, a rescue dog adopted from the Hawaiian Humane Society.
As he begins his new role, Terayama said he’s eager to work alongside HSTA members and help improve the lives of Hawaiʻi’s public school educators.
“The work that HSTA does is one of the few places where you can really put your finger on the scale and actually have a demonstrable impact for people. Even the Legislature can’t directly do that work, but in negotiations, we have the capacity to take all of those things into consideration and make sure that the decision makers do take those real stories into account,” he said.