Melissa Iwamoto
Director and Principal Investigator, Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS)
As a social scientist with a passion for ocean communities and all they encompass, Melissa Iwamoto strives to collaborate with organizations and island communities to achieve their goals relating to environment, economics, culture and public safety.
She has over 20 years of experience working with interested parties in the Pacific Islands to help identify and address their needs related to coastal and ocean resources, whether through coastal management, policy development and implementation, community engagement or increased access to coastal and ocean data and information.
As a Peace Corps Volunteer in Yap of the Federated States of Micronesia, Iwamoto fell in love with the islands. She went on to obtain her master’s degree in Geography with a focus on tropical coastal resource management from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Prior to joining the PacIOOS team, she was a Planner with the Hawaii Coastal Zone Management Program, where she supported community-based resource management efforts and facilitated early efforts of climate change adaptation through state policy.
Iwamoto has also worked closely with small-boat recreational fishermen to document the cultural and economic value and flow of fish in the islands.
Speakers & Moderators
Angelika Brandt
Head of Department Marine Zoology, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt
Beth Fulton
Lead, Integrated Marine Management, CSIRO Oceans & Atmosphere
Deputy Director, Centre for Marine Socioecology
Judith Giblin
Senior Technical Officer in Oceanography in the Geoscience, Energy and Maritime Division/ Pacific Community
Melissa Iwamoto
Director and Principal Investigator, Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS)
Marjolaine Krug
Senior Scientific Advisor, OCIMS, Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE)
Mojib Latif
Professor, University of Kiel and researcher, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Roshan T Ramessur
Co-Chair OA-Africa
Advisory Member, The Ocean Foundation
Associate Professor, University of Mauritius
Derrick Snowden
Chief, Operations Division, US Integrated Ocean Observing System Office at NOAA/National Ocean Service
Detlef Stammer
Professor and Director of the Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability, University of Hamburg
Janice R. Trotte-Duhá
Special Adviser, Directorate-General for Scientific, Technological and Nuclear Development of the Brazilian Navy
Ramasamy Venkatesan
National Institute of Ocean Technology, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India, Chennai India
Martin Visbeck
Professor of Physical Oceanography, GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and Kiel University
