Jurisdiction Representation
Alaska
Where do you call home?
I was raised in the hilltowns of Western Massachusetts, but a little urban homestead tucked between the mountains and ocean waters of Southcentral Alaska has been my home for over the last decade. So much of the substance of my life happened there, the most beautiful and the most challenging of times. I am humbled by the opportunity to now also have another home on the island of Oʻahu and be invited to immerse myself in the culture, climate, and community. No matter where home is, in the far north or on a tropical island, food is a thread, a recurring recipe of my sense of place in the world.
What inspired you to be a CHL Food System trainee?
Thanks to my parents, my early years were full of exposure to a wide array of flavors, ingredients, and cuisines. It is the blending of a lifetime of positive food memories plus the hardship of rare diseases experienced in my family that inspired me to become a CHL Food System trainee so that I may one day apply my passion in a meaningful way in my professional life.
What are your professional aspirations?
A career in Alaska as a grant writer has allowed me to work closely with people who are committed to addressing disparities and injustices and improving health and wellness. I am privileged to both hear the stories and help to share them. I aspire to contribute more deeply as a participant in these conversations and solutions upon completing my degree at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UHM). I find great joy in connecting people with that which nourishes and sustains them.
Education
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI
In-progress towards a MS in Nutritional Sciences
University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA
BA in Sustainable Development and Public Policy, Minor in Women’s Studies, Certificate in Public Policy
What are you looking forward to studying while a CHL FS trainee at UHM?
I am excited to be amongst peers while attending UHM as a CHL Food System trainee, to learn from them and with them. I specifically look forward to educational experiences that cover nutrition throughout the lifespan; maternal and child health; cultural considerations in foodways; food as a social practice; nutrition education at the individual, family, and community levels; environmental concerns and opportunities for food systems; local food infrastructure; and ethnobotany. I hope to take home tangible skills in public health interventions and policy making, application of research methods and analysis, and in serving as an nutrition educator for my community.
Describe your long term research interests in the jurisdiction you represent.
Everyday I am in awe of the landscapes and peoples of Alaska. It is a place that provides so much beauty and abundance and yet also must continue to endure through much trauma and complexity. My long term research interests are two fold. First, I am interested in levels and experiences of individual, family, and community wellness. I think it is important to understand how aspects of health and diet are perceived across the state and identify strengths and assets as well as barriers and gaps. What does wellness mean across the diverse populations and locations of Alaska? How can people be effectively empowered to take nutritional data into their own hands? Secondly, I am interested in the way that this wellness is interconnected with food systems, with an emphasis on subsistence, wild, and locally-grown foods. Alaskans of all walks of life often share values related to living off the land, but just as often, the shared values are fraught with conflict due to differing lenses. What is the comprehensive, holistic benefit that we gain from our foodways? How can we collectively ensure these benefits and the practices that lead to them live on in future generations?
What did you do before you became a CHL trainee?
Before CHL, my life overflowed with adventure in Alaska. My husband and I, and now our three-year-old daughter, could be found gardening, hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, snowboarding, boating, fishing, berry picking, hunting, trail running, wild harvesting flowers and greens, camping, cross country skiing, and snowshoeing just about every weekend. With beloved family and friends we explored peaks and valleys and rivers and coasts, staying up too late under the midnight sun and bundling up in layers to enjoy the immense and sparkling cold. Life on the land and life in the kitchen comprise most of our traditions. I love re-experiencing all of these activities as a mother and seeing the excitement and curiosity in my daughter as she wayfinds on a trail or makes a mess blending up our own special wild berry fruit leather puree. In earlier years, my husband and I traveled extensively across the United States and internationally, visiting outdoor places and trying new foods at any chance. On a regular workday in Anchorage, you could find me focused and furiously submitting funding proposals for the Alaskan issues that speak most to my heart.
Jurisdiction Representation
Guam
Where do you call home?
Hafa Adai! I grew up on the beautiful island of Guam.
What inspired you to be a CHL Food System trainee?
My initial interest in nutrition developed when I began educating myself more about nutritional strategies that could benefit my father during cancer treatment and thereafter. I immersed myself in all things nutrition and spent several years working in a holistic nutrition clinic where I witnessed the transformative effect food and nutrition could have on an individual’s health. To further my education in nutrition, I obtained my MS in Sustainable Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources (Food & Nutrition Track). During this time, I also transitioned into the research setting and worked on various research projects in Guam related to nutrition and food and community health.
What are your professional aspirations?
While I still believe that food can be medicine, I have learned over the years that nutrition is incredibly complex. Today, we face numerous challenges to ensuring accessible and affordable high-quality nutrition for all, many of which are exacerbated in the Pacific region. In order to create effective solutions for these issues, it is imperative we take into account a multitude of factors including culture, economics, and environmental impacts, to name a few. When the opportunity to apply to the CHL -FST program arose, it seemed like a natural progression. It is a privilege to further my education and research experience through this program and learn from others conducting food and nutrition research in the region.
Education
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI
In-progress towards a PhD in Nutritional Sciences
University of Guam, Mangilao, GU
MS in Sustainable Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources (Food & Nutrition Track)
Smith College, Northampton, MA
BA Anthropology
What are you looking forward to studying while a CHL FS trainee at UHM?
I am interested in interdisciplinary research across the food system/food supply chain with a focus on human health. For example, in the context of food waste (one specific area of interest), how can reducing or redistributing food waste contribute not only to economic and environmental benefits, but benefits to human health? If we consider food waste in terms of its caloric or nutrient potential, can it be utilized to address food insecurity and poor nutrition or diet quality?
Long-term, I would like to contribute to the ongoing efforts to create a more sustainable food system in the Pacific. I hope to continue to be involved in projects related to human nutrition, food science, and sustainable agriculture in the region.
Describe your long term research interests in the jurisdiction you represent.
I am interested in interdisciplinary research across the food system/food supply chain with a focus on human health. For example, in the context of food waste (one specific area of interest), how can reducing or redistributing food waste contribute not only to economic and environmental benefits, but benefits to human health? If we consider food waste in terms of its caloric or nutrient potential, can it be utilized to address food insecurity and poor nutrition or diet quality?
Long-term, I would like to contribute to the ongoing efforts to create a more sustainable food system in the Pacific. I hope to continue to be involved in projects related to human nutrition, food science, and sustainable agriculture in the region.
Fun Fact
I have traveled to Hong Kong, Rarotonga, and Saipan to compete in beach volleyball tournaments.
Jurisdiction Representation
American Samoa
Where do you call home?
Talofa! I was born and raised in American Samoa, in the village of Leone on the west side of the main island of Tutuila.
What inspired you to be a CHL Food System trainee?
The Nutritional Sciences PhD program here at the UHM Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences Provided me with the perfect blend of academics, research, professional development, and support towards my educational and research goals. I was also blessed with the opportunity to work with my mentor Dr. Rachel Novotny and the Children’s Healthy Living (CHL) Team, which eventually led to where I am now – a CHL FST scholar.
What are your professional aspirations?
In my profession, I am interested in teaching and counseling nutrition with an indigenous lens. I want to be able to navigate nutritional advice to patients and students that uplifts their cultural foods and traditions rather than resorting to Westernized diets to make them “healthy.” Later on, I aspire to teach nutrition and indigenous health at a university and mentor students who are underrepresented in our field.
Education
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI
In-progress towards a PhD in Nutritional Sciences
University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA
MPH in Nutrition
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
BS in Exercise & Sports Science
What are you looking forward to studying while a CHL FS trainee at UHM?
In addition to learning research methodology, data analysis/statistical software, and other needed skills, I am hoping to network and build relationships with various CHL team members, partners, and colleagues from around the region and within UHM I am also interested in developing my presentation and written communication skills – both professionally and within the community.
Describe your long term research interests in the jurisdiction you represent.
Being a CHL FST scholar gives me the opportunity to study and work with my own Samoan culture and community to address specific health and nutrition disparities and issues that they and other US Affiliated Pacific Islands face. I am interested in conducting a dietary assessment of young American Samoan children who were part of the CHL study.
What did you do before you became a CHL trainee?
Before being a full-time graduate student here at UHM, I was an Instructor at the American Samoa Community College. I was teaching courses in Nutrition, Family & Consumer Sciences, Health Sciences, and General Agriculture.
Who inspires you most?
My family!
Jurisdiction Representation
Northern Mariana Islands
Where do you call home?
I was born and raised on Saipan in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).
What inspired you to be a CHL Food System trainee?
My inspiration and commitment to improving health through food and nutrition stems from my personal experiences as a native to the CNMI and my professional endeavors. I have worked in the CNMI primarily in chronic disease prevention and management for about 6 years. During which time, I was exposed to various partnerships, complex systems, and challenges to improving health in the CNMI. These experiences led me to pursue an MPH to further my knowledge and skills in this field, specifically through the lens of nutrition. As a CHL FS trainee, I continue to refine my knowledge and skills specifically to serve our unique Pacific Island populations.
What are your professional aspirations?
Upon my return home, I hope to continue to strive towards the vision of a CNMI community that further supports choices towards improved nutrition, health, and overall quality of life.
Education
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI
In-progress towards a PhD in Nutritional Sciences
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC
MPH in Nutrition
University of California, Davis, CA
BS in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior
What are you looking forward to studying while a CHL FS trainee at UHM?
Through my previous coursework, I was able to expand my knowledge and skills to address food and nutrition-related issues. However, there were not many opportunities to apply concepts in the Pacific Island context. As such, I am looking forward to expanding my knowledge on indigenous research methods and indigenous peoples’ health. I am also eager to explore the available scientific research and evidence generated in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific region.
Describe your long term research interests in the jurisdiction you represent.
I hope to explore the unique characteristics in the CNMI that best support and enable sustained behavior change for optimum nutrition and disease prevention. Such characteristics include governmental systems, food and nutrition policies, local agriculture, food environments, and access to nutrition-related services. I hope to discover how the CNMI can leverage the assets of its food system, such as the level of interconnectedness and proximity. Providing such evidence for policies, systems, and environmental changes in nutrition and the food system are critical to promote sustainable, long-term benefits and improved health outcomes.
Who inspires you most?
My family and my community inspire me the most. I would not be who I am or accomplish what I have without a community to dream for. It is an immense privilege to be in the spaces that I have been. I am forever grateful and will ensure that I bring the experiences of my community with me wherever I go. Un dangkulu na si yu’us ma’ase para i mañaina-hu yan i saina-hu.
Jurisdiction Representation
Hawaii
Where do you call home?
Fremont, CA
What inspired you to be a CHL Food System trainee?
I was inspired to become a CHL Food System trainee when I wanted to make the connection between the social determinants of health and nutrition. When looking at the health of an individual or a community, there is more factors that play a role than just their nutrition. Specifically here in Hawaiʻi, ʻāina used to play a huge role in our food systems which allowed our people to thrive off of the land and to be deemed as a healthy people. By becoming a CHL Food System trainee, I want to learn how to use cultural and historical knowledge of our Kānaka, which allowed them to thrive, in our modern day food system.
What are your professional aspirations?
In my profession, I am interested in teaching and counseling nutrition with an indigenous lens. I want to be able to navigate nutritional advice to patients and students that uplifts their cultural foods and traditions rather than resorting to Westernized diets to make them “healthy.” Later on, I aspire to teach nutrition and indigenous health at a university and mentor students who are underrepresented in our field.
Education
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI
In-progress towards a PhD in Nutritional Sciences
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI
2023 Individual Supervised Practice Pathway (ISPP) in RDN Concentration
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Honolulu, HI
B.S in Dietetics
What are you looking forward to studying while a CHL FS trainee at UHM?
As a CHL FS trainee, I am excited to learn more about indigenous food systems and the unique challenges isolated regions like the Pacific face in terms of health and nutrition. In addition to food systems, I look forward to learning more about how to bridge Western ideology with indigenous knowledge through nutrition.
Describe your long term research interests in the jurisdiction you represent.
My long term research interests are within the health status and social determinants of health that Kānaka and underrepresented populations face. There are many factors that affect the health of Native Hawaiians and other minorities in their own home. I would like to use the research that is explored to make health policy recommendations targeted towards health equity for these populations.
What did you do before you became a CHL trainee?
Prior to becoming a CHL trainee, the majority of the work I was involved in focused on Native Hawaiians. Throughout the internships I held, I worked in Native Hawaiian spaces in the capacity of policy, mentorship, research, and health. These experiences had led to pursue a career in nutrition and dietetics with a focus in Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islander populations.
What’s your favorite food or meal your family makes?
A meal that my family and I eat that makes me feel most at home is Hawaiian or Chinese food. These are always the foods that we eat whenever we are together or with other family members. Since we all live in different places, food is always the thing that brings us all together. Which is why I feel the most at home when we eat our cultural foods around the table together.
Who inspires you most?
Both of my grandmothers inspire me the most in my life as they are both the matriarchs of each side of my family. They have taught and showed my parents the dedication of hard work based on their experiences of making ends meet to provide for their families. My grandmothers’ determination of being hard workers has been instilled over the generations after them which has inspired me to work hard based on their ethics that they have lived by.