Cassie Ordonio
Culture & Arts ReporterCassie Ordonio is the culture and arts reporter for Hawaiʻi Public Radio. She previously worked for Honolulu Civil Beat, covering local government, education, homelessness and affordable housing.
She also reported for San Francisco-based newspapers El Tecolote, 48 Hills, Ingleside Light and Castro Courier.
Cassie, of Filipino and Chamorro descent, was born and raised in California. She graduated from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 2021 with bachelor’s degrees in journalism and Pacific Islands studies.
She was one of 22 fellows for AAJA Voices, a mentorship program that aims to increase diversity in journalism while providing mentors from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN to train them.
When she’s not working, she’s on a desperate search for some good horchata or simply trying to keep her house plants alive.
Contact Cassie at cordonio@hawaiipublicradio.org.
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Jennifer Santos has been on the job for a month as head of the Mayor's Office of Culture and the Arts, or “MOCA.” HPR's Cassie Ordonio spoke to her about plans for the city. -
A new mural at the intersection of Waialae and Koko Head avenues in Kaimukī honors the late musician Fiji. Tony Rocks of the Honolulu Piercing Company commissioned street artist Tehrell Porter to create the mural. -
Jeffrey Shaffer sits on the sidewalk off Waianuenue Avenue while practicing overtone singing. It’s also known as throat singing, a vocal technique where the singer produces multiple notes at the same time. -
Instructors at Aerial Arts Hawai‘i had a grand opening on Aug. 6. They taught LGBTQ+ youth the basics of sling, hoop and juggling, while helping them find their community. HPR's Cassie Ordonio reports. -
Two years after the 2023 Maui wildfires, Native Hawaiian artist Sam Kaʻai is anxious to start his new line of work. HPR's Cassie Ordonio has more. -
Hōkūleʻa crew members arrived Monday to be reunited with the Tautira community in French Polynesia, or Māʻohi Nui. Captain Kaleo Wong said it felt like returning to family. -
A federal program providing funeral assistance to those who lost loved ones — excluding citizens of Micronesian nations — to COVID-19 is set to end in late September. But the City and County of Honolulu has funded a $2 million program to assist Pacific Islander migrants on Oʻahu. -
Unlike other islands, Kaua‘i was the only one that was never conquered by King Kamehameha's military forces. Some of the cast members for the new series “Chief of War,” including the actor who plays King Kamehameha, are from Kaua‘i. HPR's Cassie Ordonio reports. -
The beloved musician Fiji was widely recognized as a pioneer of Pacific sound. He died last week in Suva, Fiji, while surrounded by his family. HPR's Cassie Ordonio reports how his legacy lives on. -
Some Hawaiʻi college students say they are entering an uncertain post-graduation landscape with the Trump administration's federal hiring freeze and cuts to research grants. HPR's Cassie Ordonio has more.
