Leading with intention: Xiaodan Mao-Clark

Her research, mentorship and commitment to sustainability are preparing TIM students to lead with purpose in a rapidly changing world.

By Dani Douglass

The first clue that Xiaodan Mao-Clark does not fit the stereotypical image of an assistant professor at a business school is the oversized off-road eBike parked inside her office.

Sunlight pours through a large arched window, illuminating a neatly organized bookshelf, a bright white standing desk, which clearly did not come from the school’s furniture inventory, and carefully placed indoor plants. The space feels less like a traditional university office and more like a reflection of its occupant: thoughtful, disciplined and designed with intention.

Less than seven years ago, Mao-Clark was on a completely different career path as a successful investment banker in Houston. But the birth of her daughter, now 12, sparked a pivotal change that would ultimately lead her from a nearly two-decade career in finance to academia.

“When I was holding her in my arms, I just all of a sudden had this urge to make this world a better place.”

That realization became the impetus for earning her doctoral degree and pursuing research focused on sustainable hospitality and tourism and future generations.

Mao-Clark’s journey to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s School of Travel Industry Management began, fittingly, at another UH: the University of Houston, where she completed her doctoral studies before heading west to one of the world’s leading tourism destinations.

Living Laboratory

Mao-Clark’s research focuses on environmental sustainability and responsible hospitality and tourism and is informed by years spent solving real-world business challenges.

She sees Hawaiʻi as a living hospitality and tourism laboratory and explains that it occupies a unique position because tourism is actively debated here, creating opportunities for important conversations and critical thinking.

“Our students aren’t studying hospitality in the abstract. They’re studying an industry in real-time tension with the place it operates in.”

Major global hospitality and tourism destinations are grappling with issues associated with overtourism, including environmental impacts, resource scarcity, gentrification and infrastructure strain.

Mao-Clark says what sets Hawaiʻi apart is that it is further along in confronting many of these challenges.

“Every destination in the world is grappling with the same questions,” she says. “Hawaiʻi is just further along in confronting them.”

Along with being ahead of the curve in many ways, Mao-Clark says Hawaiʻi is a cutting-edge place to study hospitality and tourism. Students have access to a wide range of guest speakers who don’t need to fly in; they simply drive over from Waikīkī or the North Shore to share their expertise.

She describes Hawaiʻi’s visitor industry as a living, breathing asset and points to the hotel real estate lining Kalākaua and Kūhiō avenues as some of its crown jewels.

“Hospitality is an incredibly sophisticated, and may I say, very sexy industry,” she says.

Her wish for her students is that they become comfortable with failure while evolving as professionals. She often tells them that excellence is more about discipline than talent.

She points to Michelin-starred kitchens, where chefs refine their dishes through repeated failure while maintaining exacting standards in every detail, from menu development to deep cleaning each night. The lesson, she says, is not perfection but consistency in excellence, introspection and a willingness to fail in pursuit of something better.

“Everything that you do is a reflection of you. How you do anything is how you do everything.”

Learning Through Innovation

Mao-Clark herself is continuously striving to grow, both personally and professionally. So when former Shidler College Dean Vance Roley encouraged her to get involved with the Pacific Asian Center for Entrepreneurship (PACE) while they were both at a TIM event, she didn’t hesitate.

After connecting with PACE Executive Director Sandra Fujiyama and learning about the Kalo Grants program, which awards grants to UH students who want to develop an idea, she was immediately drawn to its mission.

As a coach for the program, Mao-Clark provides students with the critical feedback needed to sharpen their presentations and effectively communicate their ideas, all while staying connected to emerging trends in innovation and entrepreneurship.

She says her involvement with PACE keeps her learning. She is energized by hearing new ideas and business concepts, innovative solutions and creative approaches to solving problems.

Those experiences have influenced her teaching, inspiring assignments centered on real-world sustainability challenges and startup development.

Beneath the Surface

For someone who works so hard to make learning relevant, pose real-world challenges and create meaningful community impact, Mao-Clark’s love of freediving makes perfect sense.

It is more than a hobby. Given her passion for meditation, mindfulness and sustainability, it seems only natural that she finds peace in a place few people ever experience.

“At 120 feet, everything dissolves into complete stillness, and there is only clarity and an overwhelming sense of oneness with everything that exists.”

It is that sense of purpose, along with her impactful research and dedication to her students and community, that would make any daughter proud of the bold choices she has made to help create a future that is meaningful and rooted in intention.

This story was originally published spring/summer 2026 issue of Shidler Business.