Chris Conybeare, professor emeritus at the University of Hawai‘i–West O‘ahu, Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker, human rights attorney and former television journalist died on Sept. 20, 2026. He dedicated decades to public interest media, labor education and civil rights.
Conybeare served on the faculty at UH West O‘ahu, where he developed impactful broadcast productions through the Center for Labor Education and Research (CLEAR).
Previous to UH, Conybeare worked at Hawai‘i Public Television (then known as PBS Hawaii). In 1981 he became producer/host of “Rice & Roses” — a groundbreaking co-production with UH dedicated to Hawai‘i’s labor movement. At PBS Hawaii, Conybeare also served as co-executive producer of the international news program Asia Now, produced in partnership with Japan’s NHK and PBS KCTS Seattle.
Among his most notable productions with longtime collaborator Joy Chong-Stannard was “Ah Quon McElrath: The Struggle Never Ends!,” detailing the life of the legendary Hawai‘i labor leader and UH regent. Conybeare, who considered McElrath a personal hero, viewed the project as both a tribute to her legacy and a message of compassion and courage for future generations. The film earned national public broadcast distribution, airing on PBS stations across the country in 2026.
He served as executive producer for “Canefield Songs: Holehole Bushi.” Narrated by Jake Shimabukuro, the documentary illuminating the lives of Japanese plantation workers in Hawai‘i was screened at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History in 2017.
Through his work with “Rice and Roses” and other labor productions, Conybeare helped establish a digital moving image archive documenting Hawai‘i‘s plantation and working-class history that is included in ‘Ulu‘ulu: The Henry Ku‘ualoha Giugni Moving Image Archive of Hawai‘i located at UH West O‘ahu.
In a message to the UH West O‘ahu faculty and staff, interim Chancellor Carlos Peñaloza wrote, “Chris was a man of immense warmth, intellect and courage. He believed fiercely in the power of giving a voice to the voiceless, and he mentored many within our community with that same guiding passion. His presence on our campus and his contributions to the preservation of our working-class history will never be forgotten.”
Media reform advocate
Beyond filmmaking, Conybeare was a steadfast advocate for democratic broadcasting and media reform. As president of Media Council Hawaii, he collaborated with UH Mānoa journalism faculty and Common Cause Hawaii to challenge local television news consolidation and analyze campaign advertising on local airwaves.
Retired UH Mānoa Professor Gerald Kato said Conybeare was very much like his hero, McElrath.
“Like AQ, Chris had boundless energy spent fighting for social justice and believing that free speech meant speaking up for the underdog and protecting the public interest in an honest and independent press,” Kato wrote. “Among other things, Chris had a deep interest in Hawai‘i’s social and political history. He believed the news media, when it works in the public interest, is a means of documenting that history. In one of our last conversations, Chris talked about what we could do to make Hawai‘i a better place for journalism and for preserving the public memory. I’ll miss those conversations.”
In a 2011 Hawaii Business story examining the uncertain future of local broadcast stations, Conybeare underscored the vital role of local media control: “We know from national studies that local ownership provides the best local coverage of communities, and I would hope that local owners would step up to the plate.”
A former Fulbright Scholar on the faculty of Marmara University in Istanbul, Turkey, Conybeare worked with the Press Council of Turkey and studied press freedom in Turkey and transitional democracies in the region.
Dedication to human rights
Throughout his life as an educator, attorney and advocate, Conybeare remained dedicated to human rights at home and abroad. He and his partner of 48 years Kathryn Braun, a distinguished professor in UH Mānoa’s Department of Public Health Sciences at the Thompson School of Social Work and Public Health, were true global citizens.
Braun said, “Over the years, we visited all seven continents and more than 120 countries. Chris worked in Latin America and Africa, as well as in Turkey and Japan.”
The couple recently established an emergency fund for undergraduate public health students.
The fund will provide emergency assistance to students facing unexpected financial hardships, helping cover such urgent needs as food, transportation, technology and tuition gaps.
“We would like to provide a small amount of assistance when it’s needed to help students keep going,” Conybeare said when the fund was announced.
Article by Kelli Abe Trifonovitch originally posted to UH News on Sept. 28, 2026.