Mary McDonald is the Finance Manager for Te Ipukarea Society (TIS), an environmental NGO based in Rarotonga, Cook Islands. TIS was established to promote harmony between the people of the Cook Islands and their environment. TIS works to ensure that economic development does not come at the expense of the environment.

Alissa Takesy comes from a diverse Micronesian background and grew up in a multilingual household, which has enabled her to work in a variety of sectors including government, civil society, education, and retail. In her last assignment with the national government of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), she oversaw the complex institutional arrangements of the agriculture, forestry, biosecurity, coastal fisheries, and tourism sectors. Alissa’s work has focused on integrated management of FSM’s natural resources and maintaining partnerships to achieve collective goals in the region.