Fa’aui Ekapale-Telii has undergraduate degrees in both marine affairs and law from the University of the South Pacific, and is currently working as a consultant for the DUWANNE Pty Ltd on marine management and legal practices. She intends to study potentially effective fisheries management regimes for Tuvalu. She wants to look at existing fisheries management initiatives and identify any weaknesses and/or gaps, particularly focusing on the most vulnerable inshore fisheries.
Emma Kabua-Tibon grew up with a love for the ocean in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). She holds a Bachelor of Marine Science from the University of the South Pacific and a Master of Marine Science from the Hawaii Pacific University. She takes pride in her fisheries career with the Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority (MIMRA) where she has made various contributions to scientific surveys and legislation/policy development including the Reimaanlok National Conservation Area Plan and the Protected Areas Network.
Danita Strickland is from Samoa and earned her bachelor’s degree in geography from the University of Otago in New Zealand. She also holds a master’s degree in conservation and development from the University of Kent in the United Kingdom. Her dissertation focused on evaluating the performance of Samoa's first national multi-sectoral project addressing land degradation. Danita has also completed the Pacific Island Conservation Co-management Course at the University of the South Pacific.
Apisalome Movono has an undergraduate degree in marine affairs and tourism studies and a Master of Arts Degree from The University of the South Pacific (USP). His thesis on tourism's social and economic impacts on indigenous Fijian communities strengthened his passion for examining issues that affect Pacific Islanders. Dr. Movono became a Lecturer of Tourism at USP after completing his Ph.D. at Griffith University in Australia.
Amelia Faotusia is a development aid coordination economist in the Government of Tonga’s Ministry of Finance where she helps to coordinate and manage the World Bank’s development portfolio which addresses areas such as disaster resilience and sustainable oceans. As a former fellow in the prestigious Tonga Fellowship on the Environment and Oceans in 2018, Amelia was also part of a team that undertook and published policy-oriented research focused on the ongoing Marine Spatial Planning process in Tonga.
The Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) and the Office of the Pacific Ocean Commissioner (OPOC), in partnership with Conservation Strategy Fund, the Conservation Finance Alliance (CFA) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), launched the Pacific Ocean Finance Fellowship Program earlier this year.
Fifteen professionals from 12 different countries in Africa, Asia, and South, Central, and North America gathered in northern California for two weeks of new inspiration, strategies, networks, and tools to confront the most pressing environmental challenges of our time. Below are some participant reflections on the powerful experience and insights they received.
