Former Sea Life Park leader returns to guide iconic attraction’s next chapter under Native Hawaiian stewardship

Hawaiian Council announced the appointment of Christina M. Leos as general manager of Sea Life Park Hawaiʻi, naming a former member of the park’s leadership team to oversee one of Hawaiʻi’s most iconic attractions as it begins its first chapter under Native Hawaiian stewardship.

Leos returns to Sea Life Park with more than a decade of leadership experience spanning marine education, conservation, business operations and organizational management. During her previous tenure, she helped expand the park’s educational programs, strengthen community partnerships and shape its marketing and business strategy before overseeing operations and strategic growth for a Honolulu law firm.

“Sea Life Park has the opportunity to become something even more meaningful for Hawaiʻi,” said Kūhiō Lewis, CEO of Hawaiian Council. “It can be a place where Hawaiian culture, conservation and education come together to help people better understand our relationship with the ocean and our responsibility to care for it. Christina understands the legacy of this place, shares our vision for its future and has the experience to help bring that vision to life.”

Leos joined Sea Life Park in 2012, helping establish and grow its education department before advancing into leadership roles overseeing education, conservation, marketing and business strategy. She later served as business manager for Yim & Yempuku Law, where she led firmwide operations, financial management and organizational growth. A graduate of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa with a bachelor’s degree in marine biology, Leos conducted coral reef ecology research through the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology before beginning her career in marine education.

“Returning to Sea Life Park feels like coming home,” said Leos. “This park helped shape my career and my passion for connecting people with Hawaiʻi’s marine environment. I have tremendous respect for what Sea Life Park has meant to generations of local families and visitors, and I’m honored to help steward its next chapter with Hawaiian Council, our staff and the community.”

Under Leos’ leadership, Sea Life Park will continue building on the experiences that have made it a beloved Hawaiʻi institution while expanding its role as a place where Native Hawaiian culture, marine education and conservation come together. Guided by Hawaiian Council’s broader work to advance Native Hawaiian culture, education, economic opportunity and destination stewardship, Leos will lead the park’s next chapter by creating experiences that help residents reconnect with Hawaiʻi and give visitors a deeper understanding of the islands through the moʻolelo, traditions and values that have shaped this place for generations.