AJ Halagao serves as president of the Hawai‘i Leadership Forum (HLF), which seeks to develop, engage, and inspire leaders to drive impact and catalyze positive change. Prior to joining HLF, AJ was vice president of corporate & community advancement at Hawaiian Electric Industries (HEI) and president of the HEI Charitable Foundation. 

AJ chairs the Filipino Community Center board of governors and HawaiiKidsCAN board of directors. He also serves as vice chair of University of Hawai‘i Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (PACE) and PBS Hawai‘i board of directors. He is a board member of the East-West Center Foundation.

Formerly, AJ chaired the Honolulu Grants-in-Aid Advisory Commission and After-School All-Stars Hawai‘i. He previously served on the leadership boards of Aloha United Way, Aloha Medical Mission, Blue Zones Mānoa, and Japanese American Citizens League. AJ is the former president of Hawai‘i Cares, Hawai‘i Catholic Community Foundation, and the Hawai‘i Presidential Center Initiative.

AJ wrote and produced Illumination Hawai‘i: A Project Footprint Story, a documentary film on energy and climate. In 2023, the film aired on Hawai‘i TV stations during Earth Week, and premiered theatrically at the Hawai‘i International Film Festival.

In 2013, in collaboration with leaders and community groups across Hawai‘i, including the

Consuelo Foundation and the Filipino Community Center, AJ spearheaded Aloha For Philippines, which raised more than $3 million for disaster victims of Typhoon Haiyan.

AJ earned a BS in Commerce from the University of Virginia, an MBA from the University of Hawai‘i, and a Juris Doctor from UCLA School of Law. AJ is a Pacific Century Fellow and an Omidyar Fellow. 

AJ is married to University of Hawai‘i Education Professor Patricia Espiritu Halagao, and has two children, Marissa, a sophomore at Yale University, and Jordan, a senior at Punahou School.