Board of Directors

Kristen Harmon recently obtained her PhD in Natural Resources and Environmental Management with a specialization in Ecology Evolution and Conservation Biology from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. Her research focused on the conservation of native Hawaiian waterbirds, as well as restoration and management of native systems in Hawai‘i. Kristen is also committed to outreach and education, and she regularly participates in community conservation events and youth educational programs. (https://kristen-harmon.weebly.com/)

Raised in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, Jessica found her passion for wildlife management and conservation after completing a two-week study abroad program in South Africa learning about African ecology and conservation. She then earned her B.S. in Natural Resource and Environmental Management at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa where she conducted a research project through the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program. The project sought to understand the effect of human traffic on the fledging success of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters nesting along Kailua Beach. Jessica just obtained an MSc degree in the same program, with a thesis focused on Hawaiian Stilt chick habitat use and survival. (https://jessicaidle.weebly.com/)

Dr. Lindsay Young is the Executive Director and co-founder Pacific Rim Conservation, a non-profit organization dedicated to conserving, and preventing the extinction of, imperiled birds throughout the Pacific. Lindsay’s main focus is on the “not net loss” initiative which involves creating and restoring island ecosystems that are resilient to the effects of climate change, matching acre for acre what is being lost to sea level rise throughout the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. This is done through predator exclusion fencing and the translocation of endangered bird species into newly protected areas. Lindsay earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of British Columbia and a Master of Science and Ph.D. from the University of Hawai`i where her research focused on the population genetics, at sea foraging ecology, and conservation needs of Laysan Albatross. A world expert on seabirds, she is the chair of the World Seabird Union, a member of the IUCN species specialist and IUCN species reintroduction groups and is a recipient of the Endangered Species Recovery Champion Award from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, a Special Achievement Award from the Pacific Seabird Group, and the Koa Award for Conservation Leadership from the Conservation Council for Hawaii. She has published dozens of peer reviewed papers and her work has been featured on media outlets around the world including National Geographic, BBC, the New York Times and Animal Planet among others. She currently serves as an affiliate graduate faculty member at the University of Hawai`i Natural Resources and Environmental Management Department, as a past faculty member on the Fall 2018 voyage of Semester at Sea through Colorado State University, and a visiting faculty member at Hokkaido University in 2019. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, she fell in love with seabirds while completing a semester abroad program on a ship sailing to 11 countries and watching a single albatross follow their ship for more than a thousand miles. When not out in the field working with birds, Lindsay spends her time with her own flock of children, chickens and guinea pigs.