Climate Policy & Planning Program, Office of the Governor
Northern Mariana Islands

Tina Sablan is the Special Assistant for Climate Policy and Planning and a senior policy advisor for the Office of the Governor in the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), located in the western Pacific just north of Guam. In her role as Special Assistant, Tina oversees the development of the CNMI's first climate action plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and transition the islands to a clean energy future. She holds a master's degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and has served her community in the CNMI in various roles over the past twenty years, as an elected member of the legislature, U.S. congressional staffer, journalist, and advocate for public health and environmental protection. Tina currently sits on the boards of Tano, Tasi, yan Todu and the Friends of the Mariana Trench, both community-based nonprofit organizations dedicated to environmental stewardship in the Mariana Islands. She has also previously served as a member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Small Communities Advisory Subcommittee representing the territories, and as a conservation planning consultant for the National Ocean Protection Coalition. She loves scuba diving, birdwatching, and exploring new places.

St. Croix Environmental Association
St. Croix

Jennifer Valiulis is the Executive Director of the St. Croix Environmental Association (SEA), a small non-profit that serves the island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Since starting with SEA in 2015, Jennifer has focused on community engagement in environmental sustainability. She is working with a coalition of nonprofits to move the island away from an economy that has depended heavily on an oil refinery, towards a more environmentally sustainable and just economy.

Before joining SEA, Jennifer’s primary career focus was wildlife ecology, working in the local government in the Division of Fish and Wildlife, and in the private sector as the co-owner of Geographic Consulting, a natural resources consulting business. Much of the focus of this work was endangered species recovery; the highlight of which was running the Sandy Point NWR Sea turtle monitoring program for five years. She has a BA in Biology from Earlham College and MS in Zoology from Colorado State University.

Global Island Partnership (GLISPA)
New Zealand

Kate Brown is the Executive Director of the Global Island Partnership, a platform that enables island leaders and their supporters to take action to build resilient and sustainable island communities. Kate is a passionate advocate for islands. She is a valued and trusted international partnership and collaboration leader, with a unique ability to connect dots for issues and people. Kate has extensive experience in all island regions globally, and brings an extensive network of island leaders, blue sky thinkers and people dedicated to supporting islands.

Kate has experience working inside government, non-profits and intergovernmentally as well as a keen sense of the most important elements of the international policy setting space relevant to islands as well as what is needed for implementation to happen. A strategic thinker who is able to present clear ideas and set up the right conditions for collaboration to thrive. Kate is originally from New Zealand and lived for eight years in Apia, Samoa.

The Ocean Foundation
Washington, D.C.

Jason leads the planning and execution of a comprehensive individual fundraising program to further cultivate current donors and bring in new support in collaboration with team members, the Board of Directors, and external partners. Jason is a Phoenix native with more than fifteen years of experience in fundraising and development, organizing and coordinating public campaigns. After graduating Arizona State University, Jason worked for public advocacy and environmental organizations in Arizona, Maryland, Vermont and Colorado, leading teams of up to sixty on crucial campaigns affecting environmental conservation, civic engagement, consumer protection and higher education affordability.

As Director of various development departments, Jason has overseen multi-million-dollar fundraising campaigns, developed and advocated for public policy and has experience cultivating donors to support organizational programs. Jason also serves as the Chair of the Development Committee for the Climate Strong Islands Network (CSIN), focusing on uniting U.S. Island communities for local action and federal policy reform and serves as the Chair of the Development Committee for the Local2030 Islands Network, which catalyzes international support for islands focusing on implementing the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the local level. Jason also serves as the Chair of the Board of Governors for the School of Architecture (TSOA), a Masters of Architecture (M_Arch) program located in Arizona and founded by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1932.

Aleut Community of St. Paul Island
Alaska

Dr. Lauren Divine is the Director for the Ecosystem Conservation Office for the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island, a Federally recognized Tribe in the Pribilof Islands, Alaska. Lauren’s diverse education and experiences have brought her to a unique position with the Tribal Government where she has the opportunity to span the boundaries across western sciences; local and traditional knowledges; tribal, federal and state management; and stakeholder engagement through community-based and citizen science programs. She seeks to strengthen relationships across these boundaries in order to better serve the Pribilof Islands communities, wildlife, and overall marine and terrestrial ecosystems of the Bering Sea, and pan-Arctic.

Lauren collaborates regionally and internationally in working groups and public-private partnerships to advance the ecological goals of the Tribal Government, such as participation at several Arctic Council working groups, co-chairing the Aleutian Bering Sea Partnership, steering committee member of Businesses for Conservation and Climate Action, and advisory board member to the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team.

St. Croix Foundation for Community Development
St. Croix

Deanna James is President of St. Croix Foundation for Community Development (SCF) in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Having held a number of executive level positions at the Foundation during her 18-year tenure, today, Deanna oversees general operations, grantmaking, and program development. She is currently spearheading some of the Organization’s most innovative and holistic initiatives in its 30-year history including a first of its kind Nonprofit Consortium which has adjoined 30 local social impact organizations around a collaborative vision of equitable, community-rooted social change. With four distinct Sectors including (Arts & Culture, Health & Human Services, Youth & Education, and the Environs) the Consortium is evolving in fulfillment of SCF’s core mission of encouraging greater philanthropic activity into (and within) the USVI.

Deanna has concurrently been advocating for the field of philanthropy to demonstrate greater courage and aptitude for radical systems change from within, in the same way it seeks to invest in, and inspire external systems change. A native of the USVI, she holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Lehigh University and a Master of Arts degree from American University in Washington D.C.

Hawai'i Local2030 Hub
Hawai'i

Celeste Connors has 20 years of experience working at the intersection of economic, environment, energy, and international development policy. Before joining Hawai‘i Local2030 Hub, she was CEO and co-founder of cdots development LLC, which works to build resilient infrastructure systems and services in vulnerable communities.

Celeste previously served as the Director for Environment and Climate Change at the National Security Council and National Economic Council in the White House where she helped shape the Administration’s climate and energy policies, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Prior to joining the White House, Celeste served as a diplomat in Saudi Arabia, Greece, and Germany. She also held positions at the U.S. Mission to the UN, served as the Climate and Energy Advisor to the Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, and worked for City of New York. Celeste is a Senior Adjunct Fellow at the East-West Center and grew up in Kailua, O‘ahu.

Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust
Puerto Rico

Lirio Marquez is the Executive Director of the Vieques Conservation and Historical Trust (VCHT), the oldest non-profit organization in Vieques, and co-manager of the Vieques Bioluminescent Nature Reserve. As a member of the Climate Strong Islands Network Steering Committee, Lirio is committed to contributing local experiences to the search for site-appropriate, culturally respectful, and technically viable solutions to the issues presented by climate change to island communities.

During the past decade, Lirio represented the Vieques NGO sector in the White House Vieques Sustainability Task Force created by President Obama. Before working for the VCHT, she served as Legislative Advisor on Environment and Community Affairs in the Senate of Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rico House of Representatives. Previous to her work in the PR Legislature, Lirio was a consultant in Puerto Rico and Latin America on environmental and voter’s rights projects. She is a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico.

Aleut Community of St. Paul Island
Alaska

Marissa Merculieff serves as the Director of the Office of Justice and Governance Administration for the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island (ACSPI), a federally recognized tribe located on St. Paul Island in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska. Marissa, a tribal member, was raised on St. Paul in a halibut fishing family and left to earn her J.D. from Arizona State University.

After law school, she worked with the Waikato-Tainui tribe in New Zealand on an environmental co-management structure over their ancestral river. Marissa then returned to provide culturally appropriate policy direction, advocacy, training, and technical assistance to the ACSPI Tribal Government. As the ACSPI works towards self-sufficiency and independence, she dedicates her efforts to assist with building and enhancing self-governance, economic strength and stability, and securing health and welfare resources for the Aleut people residing on the remote Bering Sea island.

University of Guam Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant
Guam

Dr. Austin Shelton is a native of Guam who grew up observing environmental degradation and was inspired to become a marine and environmental scientist. He now serves as an assistant professor and the director of the University of Guam Center for Island Sustainability and Sea Grant. Austin is an Obama Leader and one of 50 Under 40: Emerging Leaders in the Government of Guam.

Austin works to revive island ecosystems and advance the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. He co-chairs the steering committee of Guam Green Growth, the island’s most comprehensive public-private partnership ever created to achieve a sustainable future. He also collaborates regionally and internationally as a trustee of the Micronesia Conservation Trust; steering committee member of the Local2030 Islands Network; and representative to the Global Island Partnership (GLISPA), Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), and National Sea Grant Association

Executive Director, San Juan Bay Estuary Program
Puerto Rico

Brenda Torres Barreto is a professional in the field of sustainability with vast experience in environmental management, corporate social responsibility and public policy development through empowerment and multi-sector alliances. She has excelled in leadership positions in Puerto Rico and the United States.

Currently, Brenda serves as Executive Director of the San Juan Bay Estuary Program, an initiative focused on the restoration of water bodies in the metropolitan area of Puerto Rico, and part of the National Estuary Program partly funded by the USEPA. Through the Estuary Program, she coordinates multi-sector efforts, empowers citizens to be part of the restoration process and ensures the well-being of residents of the metropolitan area.

CSIN Policy Advisor

Norah Carlos is a passionate advocate curious about the intersection of science, communication, and policy. Norah has worked in the environmental nonprofit sector focusing on environmental education and strategic communications for eight years.

Through her nonprofit work, Norah has built and fostered coalitions and partnerships with community leaders, organizations, state agencies, and government offices. Her work experience includes professional and academic studies in watershed management, water quality issues, and fisheries policy. The Climate Strong Island Network is of particular interest to Norah, as she spent two years living and working in the waterman community of Tylerton on Smith Island, Maryland.

She received a B.S. in Environmental Studies and a Minor in Political Science from the University of Vermont and holds a M.S. in Environmental Science & Policy from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. She lives in Richmond, Virginia with her dog, Minnow, where they enjoy spending time on the James River and the Chesapeake Bay.

CSIN Policy Advisor

Matt Mullin is the President & CEO of High Street Strategies LLC, a company he founded. Over the past 25 years, Matt has established himself as an expert in the nexus of business, policy, and politics. Throughout his career, Matt has developed strong relationships with some of the leading state and federal elected officials, agency leaders, business leaders and entrepreneurs, and a wide variety of key stakeholders and decision-makers in Washington, DC and beyond. As the firm’s Founder, President & CEO, he advises clients on legislative and political strategy, messaging and grassroots mobilization.

Matt holds a M.S. in Environmental Sciences & Policy from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland; a graduate-level Executive Certificate from Georgetown University; and a B.A. in Environmental Studies and a Minor in Biology from Washington College in Chestertown, MD on Maryland’s Eastern Shore as well as numerous professional memberships and appointments.

CSIN Network Facilitator

Elizabeth Okeke-Von Batten is the Climate Strong Islands Network Facilitator. In this role, Liz works with CSIN’s Advisors and Steering Committee to advance the mission of the organization through membership and program development, strategic communications and policy advisory delivery, and partnership management.

Over the past 20 years, Liz has worked with civic leaders to deliver context-sensitive and sustainable design and development solutions through training and tailored programs that help support transformational projects and provide for long-term solutions. As Founder of Context Ventures, an advisory and project management firm based in Washington, DC, she specializes in helping municipalities, nonprofit organizations, and philanthropies initiate, develop, and implement sustainable strategies for projects and programs supporting their communities.

Liz earned a Master of Arts in Historic Preservation from Cornell University's College of Art, Architecture, and Planning and a Bachelor of Arts from Augustana College and is certified as a charrette facilitator by the National Charrette Institute.

CSIN Communications Consultant

Mikayla “Micki” Etpison is a passionate environmental and climate justice advocate living in Palau. For the past two years, Micki has been with the Climate Strong Islands Network as a Communications Consultant. In her work, she strives to amplify island and indigenous voices and push for climate policies that safeguard the future of islands and oceans.

Micki also works for the Palau Office of Climate Change as the Data and Reporting Officer, where she reports on climate change initiatives across the country, as well as develops, analyzes, and advances National Climate Policies. She has represented Palau at the UN Climate Change Conferences since 2021 as a youth negotiator and ocean advocate.

Micki studied Social Work and Environmental Studies at Hawai'i Pacific University, during which, she completed internships with the City and County of Honolulu Office of Climate Change, Sustainability, and Resiliency, as well as with Hawai'i Green Growth and the Local 2030 Islands Network. She enjoys scuba diving, vegetarian cooking, and playing her guitar.

CSIN Policy Advisor

Erin is a government affairs, policy, and advocacy specialist with over ten years of experience working on federal policy issues, including four years on Capitol Hill as Senator Ron Wyden’s Natural Resources Counsel. Since 2017, Erin has focused her efforts on policy and advocacy related to climate, conservation, and outdoor recreation in roles at KEEN Footwear, Oregon State University, and now with High Street Strategies. Erin lives in Northern Virginia with her husband and two daughters.