We Do Islands
Web Reads: OIA Conversations – New Veterans Affairs Senior Advisor Focuses on Veterans in the Pacific Islands (youtu.be)
Vivian Hutson, newly appointed Senior Advisor for Pacific Strategy at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, talks about her goal and mission to understand the needs of Asian American and Pacific Islander veterans, in particular in the Pacific Island areas.
Web Reads: OIA Conversations – How was the 2020 Census conducted in the U.S. territories ? (youtu.be)
How was the 2020 decennial census conducted in American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands? Meet Jennifer Kim, Ph.D., Assistant Division Chief at the U.S. Census Bureau, who discusses how it was conducted compared to the continental United States and the COVID-19 impacts on their work.
Web Reads: OIA Conversations ¬– The Brown Tree Snake on Guam with Earl Campbell, Ph.D. (youtu.be)
Associate Regional Director at the National Park Service, Earl Campbell, Ph.D. tells of his early days with the Brown Tree Snake program and working on Guam. Learn more about the history of efforts to eradicate this invasive species, where it came from, how it has changed Guam, and the different team players who continue to work to mitigate its impact in the Pacific.
Web Reads: OIA Conversations – The Marshallese Educational Initiative in Northwest Arkansas (www.youtube.com)
MEI Co-Founder April Brown, Program Director Carlniss Jerry, and Program Specialist Benetick Maddison talk about their work bettering people's lives and bringing underserved communities together...
Interior Celebrates Native Hawai’ian and Pacific Islander Communities (www.doi.gov)
Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities make our nation more vibrant through a diversity of cultures, languages, and religions. The President’s Proclamation on Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Island Heritage Month is a call to reflect, as a nation, on these communities’ monumental contributions toward building and sustaining our country, our national character, and our rich heritage.
Web Reads: OIA Conversations – Gaafar Uherbelau, Palau’s Deputy Incident Commander COVID-19 Operations (youtu.be)
Uherbelau shares his work as part of a larger Palau team that has achieved herd immunity and navigates from being COVID-free to COVID-safe. He also discusses repatriations, a sterile corridor with Taiwan, and other issues.
Web Reads: OIA Conversations – U.S. Ambassador to the Federated States of Micronesia Carmen G. Cantor (youtu.be)
Ambassador Cantor shares her work towards strengthening United States and Micronesia relations while leading two Embassy teams from Guam. Stranded on Guam for months along with several Embassy staff, and residents of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the Ambassador anticipates return to Pohnpei on the 1st humanitarian/repatriation flight provided by the U.S. Coast Guard in mid-May.
Web Reads: OIA Conversations – Nicole Yamase, the First Pacific Islander to Descend the Challenger Deep in the Marianas Trench (youtu.be)
Meet the first Pacific Islander to descend into the Challenger Deep the deepest part of the Marianas Trench in the Pacific Ocean. Ms. Nicole Yamase, a PhD candidate at the University of Hawaii, who hails from the Federated States of Micronesia, accompanied scientist Victor Vescovo on March 11, 2021 to descend into the Challenger Deep and made history.
Web Reads: OIA Conversations – Former Congresswoman Donna Christian-Christensen of the U.S. Virgin Islands (youtu.be)
Meet the first woman elected by the people of the U.S. Virgin Islands to represent the territory in the U.S. House of Representatives and the first woman physician in Congress. Former Congresswoman Donna Christian-Christensen shares thoughts on years advocating at the national level for health equity in communities of color, managing COVID-19 mitigation, vaccination tourism, the insular cases, and more.
Web Reads: OIA Conversations – Joiel Setik, Micronesian Resource Center One Stop Shop (youtu.be)
The Micronesia Resource Center One Stop Shop (MRCOSS) on Guam is providing important support to combat COVID-19 that is having serious impacts on migrant islander communities on Guam. MRCOSS helps families and individuals with the support they need to improve their livelihood on Guam.