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.

Dr. Kealoha Fox applies Indigenous innovation for collaborative solutions in business, science, and policy and is a Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) advocate based in Hawai‘i. She is President and Senior Advisor to the Institute for Climate & Peace, recognizing climate and peace as integrated collaborative fields to advance just and sustainable peace for thriving, cohesive communities.

Dr. Fox is a co-chair of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences Climate Commission; an Obama Leader Asia-Pacific with the Obama Foundation; Policy Co-Chair of The Native Hawaiian & Pacific Islander Hawaiʻi COVID-19 Response, Recovery & Resilience Team; a Technical Contributor to the 5th National Climate Assessment with the U.S. Global Change Research Program; and member of the Embassy of Tribal Nations Climate Action Task Force.

Her actions elevate healthy people, places, and futures with her new work entitled Kūkulu Ka Wanaʻao, which uplifts mana wāhine to combat climate change. She serves on the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and Hawai‘i Budget & Policy Center, among many other community leadership roles.

Naima’s work focuses on developing international law and policies that serve the needs and amplify the voices of Pasifika communities facing climate impacts and climate-induced displacement. She is a graduate of the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawaiʻi – Mānoa, where she studied environmental law focusing on Pasifika climate displacement and served as President of the Pacific Islander Legal Association, receiving certificates in Environmental Law and Native Hawaiian Rights. Naima founded The Moana Tasi Project committed to co-creating dignified pathways with and for climate-affected Pasikifa communities by holding spaces to engage, collaborate, and connect through resilience, advocacy, environmental stewardship, and cultural connection. She is a founding member of the Commission of Small Island States on International Law and Climate Change Secretariat (COSIS) and Council Member for the World Future Council.

What truly drives Naima in her work is her familial roots in Tuvalu and her family residing across the South Pacific. This personal connection has instilled in her a deep commitment to collaborating with communities in the region to combat the effects of climate change with resilience and culturally appropriate restorative justice approaches. Her Pacific Islander and multicultural upbringing and world-embracing views have charged her engagement in numerous environmental spaces and discourses, particularly environmental justice non-profit work, legal research, education, and policy transformation.

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.

Bridget is enthusiastic about leveraging data analytics in marketing and communications strategies to bolster messaging for environmental justice and climate change mitigation initiatives. A Los Angeles resident who grew up in Boston, she is particularly passionate about environmental justice initiatives focused on green spaces in urban settings, and she volunteers with LA Compost supporting urban communities by creating spaces for local compost access. Bridget holds a B.S. in Communications from Syracuse University and an MBA with a Marketing concentration from Jacksonville University.

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.