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Keoni Williams

Mr. Keoni Williams is Director of the Young Leaders Program at Pacific Forum, a Honolulu-based foreign policy think tank focused on the Asia-Pacific region. In this role, he works to integrate emerging leaders and young scholars into high-level policy discussions throughout the United States and Asia. He concurrently manages the Hawai’i Asia-Pacific Affairs Leadership Program (APAL), an initiative designed to ensure the next generation of Hawaiʻi’s business, political, and civil society leaders can effectively address the challenges of the 21st century and understand Hawaiʻi’s role in regional trends. Prior to joining Pacific Forum, he liaised with city and state agencies to address local issues as a legislative aide in the Hawaii State Legislature and served under foreign affairs and health policy advisors as an intern in the United States Senate. Keoni holds a dual bachelor’s degree in Korean and communications from the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, having studied for one year at Korea University. His research interests center on the nexus between economics and security in Asia, focusing on the Korean Peninsula.