Earl T. Kim grew up in Kāneʻohe, Hawaiʻi. He graduated from ʻIolani School before attending Cornell University on an ROTC scholarship. On graduation in 1984, he was commissioned a lieutenant of Marines and served in the Western Pacific, Europe and Asia. Mr. Kim’s awards include: Honor Graduate, Officer Candidates School; Navy-Marine Corps Parachutist Insignia; and the Navy Achievement Medal.
After leaving the Marine Corps in 1988, Mr. Kim taught at Trenton Central High School where he also coached wrestling, advised The Stock Market Club and coordinated the After-School Tutoring Program. In addition to his many volunteer activities, Mr. Kim was named a “Dodge Teaching Fellow” while at TCHS and worked as a summer research assistant at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory.
In 1991, Mr. Kim matriculated at Princeton University. He graduated in 1993 with a Masters from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. While at Woodrow Wilson School, Mr. Kim served as a graduate assistant in a course on higher education policy, a research assistant in the Industrial Relations section and a math instructor in a summer program for undergraduates.
After graduating from Princeton, Mr. Kim assumed an Assistant (House) Principal position at Cherry Hill High School West. His duties broadened over time to include supervision of the math, music and science departments. While at West, Mr. Kim also team-taught Algebra II and assisted with the wrestling and community service programs. In 1996, Mr. Kim joined the Emerson Public Schools as the principal of Emerson Junior-Senior High School.
In 2003, Mr. Kim was appointed Superintendent of Schools in Verona, New Jersey, and in 2008 he was appointed superintendent of Schools in Montgoemry Township, New Jersey.
In November 2011, Kim was appointed by CEO DeeJay Mailer to succeed Dr. Michael J. Chun as Head of School for Kamehameha Schools – Kapālama Campus. Kim started his new position on July 1, 2012.
Mr. Kim is married to the former, Kathryn Hughes. The couple has two children, Lauren and David, and a dog, Speedbump.