Alissa’s familial ties are to Palau and Chuuk, and she has connections to Saipan (birthplace), the Outer islands of Yap (extended family connections), and Pohnpei (permanent residence). She also has kinship ties to Asia through her maternal grandmother and paternal grandfather.
She graduated from Xavier High School and studied abroad for two years in Japan. Then, received her bachelor’s degree in biology from Fairfield University in Connecticut and her master’s in sustainable international development from Brandeis University in Massachusetts. This led her to work in the education sector, civil society sector, and then public sector where she worked for the Federated States of Micronesia national government in resource management and development, which included coastal fisheries, agriculture, forestry, biosecurity, and tourism. It allowed her to collaborate with her governmental and non-governmental organizational counterparts at the Micronesia sub-regional and Pacific Islands regional scale.
Currently, she is an international PhD student in the Environmental Studies Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz with a designated emphasis in coastal science and policy and critical race and ethnic studies. She also supports the ethnic student resource centers in her graduate student capacity.
PROFILE
Position: Ph.D Student
Organization: University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC)
Contact: atakesy@ucsc.edu
Website: https://envs.ucsc.edu/
AREAS OF FOCUS
- Civic Engagement
- Culture
- Environment
- Indigenous Values
- Natural Resources Management
- Non Governmental Organization
LANGUAGE
Carolinian, Chuukese, Palauan, Pohnpeian, Yapese (outer island), Sonsorolese
Photo: @TannerSholten