Bio
Clint Donelson, Development Fellow at the ACLU of Hawaiʻi, is driven by a passion for connection, compassion, and storytelling. He assists the affiliate’s fundraising efforts to support the protection of civil liberties for everyone in Hawaiʻi.
Clint began his nonprofit career with the New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, supporting statewide positive criminal justice advocacy. As Membership & Development Coordinator, Clint led initiatives to strengthen partnerships and business sponsorships, launch a major donor program, and expand the association’s membership base. He also managed a full calendar year of continuing legal education programs, along with two annual silent auction fundraisers.
In 2019, Clint pursued a long-held dream of teaching abroad as an Assistant Language Teacher in Sapporo, Japan. There, he taught and interacted with hundreds of elementary school students while experiencing the rich cultural traditions of Japan and the natural beauty of Hokkaido. After returning to the U.S., Clint rejoined the nonprofit sector with Equity Kids, an Austin-based organization creating learning spaces where children of diverse backgrounds connect and explore topics such as race and identity, justice, and action. When he arrived in Hawaiʻi in the fall of 2025, the ACLU felt like a natural next step in his commitment to community-centered work.
Born and raised in Texas, Clint earned a B.A. in Liberal Arts and an M.A. in Eastern Classics from St. John’s College in Santa Fe, NM, with a special interest in the philosophy and practice of Zen. In his free time, Clint enjoys experimenting with new recipes in the kitchen, reading quirky fiction, and helping feed a local trap-neuter-return cat colony.