Dr. Maya Soetoro is a Faculty Specialist in the College of Social Sciences at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She also serves as the University’s liaison to the Obama Foundation, working with the Obama Leaders program and Global Girls Alliance on initiatives in Hawaiʻi and the Asia-Pacific region. Previously, she was the Director of the Matsunaga Institute for Peace at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa where, in addition to leading outreach and development initiatives, she also taught Leadership for Social Change, Peace Movements, Peace Education, and Conflict Management. For many years, she worked at the College of Education at the University, where she taught Multicultural Education, Social Studies Methods, and Peace Education at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Maya sits on several voluntary boards and is the Co-Founder of the non-profits Ceeds of Peace, The Peace Studio, and the Institute for Climate and Peace. In 2021, Maya launched a podcast entitled “The Bravethrough Series: Courageous Conversations on Community” in partnership with KTUH Honolulu.

Professor Maxine Burkett is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oceans, Fisheries, and Polar Affairs in the Department of State’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. A professor of law, Burkett was on the faculties of the University of Hawaii’s William S. Richardson School of Law and Colorado Law and is a visiting professor at Harvard Medical School’s Department of Global Health and Social Medicine. Previously, Maxine served as an Expert Senior Advisor to Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry and was the inaugural Director of the Center for Island Climate Adaptation and Policy. Maxine received her B.A. from Williams College and Exeter College, Oxford University, and her law degree from the University of California, Berkeley. Professor Burkett was a Global Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and is a member scholar of the American Law Institute and the International Law Association’s Committee on International Law and Sea Level Rise, for which she served as a Co-Rapporteur from 2019 to 2021. 

Maxine is on sabbatical from the Institute for Climate and Peace as she pursues her work in the White House Administration.

Zelda Keller is a peace and conflict transformation strategist and consultant. Her other area of expertise is in the political realm, where she has been part of government relations teams and local, state, and presidential campaigns. In addition to her work with the Institute for Climate and Peace, Zelda is a longtime consultant on the international team at the Obama Foundation. A believer in the power of transformative spaces to advance social justice, Zelda is also a freelance events producer, curating environments and experiences for communities, campaigns, and causes worldwide. She received her B.A. Peace Studies from the University of Hawai‘i, a certificate in Asia Pacific Leadership from the East-West Center, and an alumna of the AmeriCorps VISTA national service program.

Jacqueline Akana has spent much of her career uplifting clean energy initiatives in Hawai‘i. As a lifelong learner, Jacqueline is passionate and driven by contributing to the health and well-being of our families across Oceania, Te Moana-nui-a-kiwa. Originally from Phoenix, Arizona, she now resides in Honolulu. Jacqueline enjoys connecting to the Polynesian culture through song and dance when not working towards climate justice and positive peacebuilding efforts. Jacqueline holds a B.A. in Public Health from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

Elsa Barron is an environmental peace and security researcher, writer, and youth activist. She is dedicated to mobilizing climate action within youth and faith communities and co-chairs the Young Professionals Interest Group at the Environmental Peacebuilding Association. She is also the host of the podcast Olive Shoot, which highlights reasons for hope through multiple approaches to environmental peacebuilding worldwide. Elsa graduated from the University of Notre Dame, studying biology and peace studies. She does some of her best thinking (and friend-making) on long-distance Amtrak rides.

Healani hails from Honolulu, Hawai‘i, and holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Additionally, she earned a Certificate in Peace and Conflict Studies from the Spark M. Matsunaga Institute for Peace and was named a Youth Changemaker by The Shawn Mendes Foundation. She is currently a Graduate Student at The New School pursuing a M.A in International Affairs. As a young Native Hawaiian woman, Healani aims to continue to support climate justice, peacebuilding efforts, and Indigenous resilience within the Pacific-Asia region and beyond. She is particularly passionate about the interrelated dimensions of peace, gender, and the environment. Her work at ICP revolves around advocating for gender equity, positive peacebuilding, well-being, and other forms of intersectional justice. In all of her work, she champions the adoption of inclusive, equitable, and intersectional approaches to enhance the understanding, progress, and sustainability of climate solutions and peaceful societies.