James T. Shon, Ph.D | |
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Member of the Hawaii House of Representatives from the 24th district 28th (1984–1992) | |
In office 1984–1996 | |
Preceded by | Reynaldo Graulty |
Succeeded by | Sam Aiona |
Personal details | |
Born | Syracuse, NY |
Political party | Democratic |
Residence | Honolulu, Hawaii |
Alma mater | Syracuse University University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa |
Jim Shon is a writer, former school administrator, former state representative,[1] and activist in Hawaii.[2] He served in the state house as a Democrat first elected in 1984.[3] He lost his seat in the 1996 election.
He was born in Syracuse, New York[4] and graduated from Jamesville-DeWitt High School and Syracuse University with a degree in music education.[5] Before moving to Hawaii, he served in Korea with the Peace Corps, teaching English as a second language on Jeju Island.[4][5] In 1973, Shon enrolled at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa as a graduate student in Korean history.[5]
Shon has written several novels.[4] He is also writes newspaper columns[6] and wrote a book about overseeing the establishment of Hawaii's Charter School system.
Shon led Hawaii's nascent Charter Schools program until he was fired from the post in 2006.[7][8] He served as director of the Hawaii Education Policy Center.[1]