Nicole Galase - Chair
Nicole Galase was born and raised in Hawai'i and obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration with a Marine Option Program Certificate from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. Nicole has spent time working for various agencies on Midway Atoll, Kure Atoll, and French Frigate Shoals. She achieved a Master of Marine Conservation from Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, then went on to study the Band-rumped Storm Petrel at Pōhakuloa Training Area on the Island of Hawai'i. She is currently the Managing Director for the Hawai'i Cattlemen’s Council, Hawai'i Beef Industry Council, and the Hawai'i Rangeland Stewardship Foundation in a position that supports Hawaii’s ranching industry and aims to increase local food production. Her goal is to highlight the overlapping goals of cattlemen and the conservation community to foster closer collaboration.
Ilana Nimz- Vice Chair
Ilana Nimz is from Oahu, and remained in Hawaii to design her own major in Conservation Biology and Marine Science at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She is currently an ecologist for Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge and an ecological consultant with her own business, Leaf & Feather. Nimz has spent six field seasons in Papahānaumokuākea working with monk seals, seabirds, and habitat restoration projects. She has also participated in seabird research in the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, Farallon Islands, and on Kauai. Nimz recently completed her Master's degree in the Pelagicos lab at Hawaii Pacific University, focusing on foraging habits of Christmas Shearwaters in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. In addition to research, she enjoys sharing stories of the unique habitats of Hawaii through writing and painting.
Barry Stieglitz - Secretary
Barry was a second-generation employee of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Born in Florida, he lived in several other states before earning his Bachelor of Science in Forest Resources with a concentration in Wildlife Management from the University of Georgia in 1983. He worked in the Service’s Division of Law Enforcement as a Wildlife Inspector before moving into the National Wildlife Refuge System. His interests in recovering endangered species and combatting invasive species led him to positions in Florida and South Carolina before he transferred to the Headquarters Office to work on policy and conservation planning. While there, he earned his Master of Public Administration and was recognized as a Certified Wildlife Biologist ® by The Wildlife Society. He was grateful to serve as the Refuge and Monument Supervisor for 13 years, overseeing the National Wildlife Refuges and Marine National Monuments in the Pacific and thoroughly falling in love with Hawaiʼi, before family responsibilities required his early retirement and return to the continent. He hopes to continue the important work of conserving the special places of Hawaiʼi from afar by service on the Board.
Asher Loring- Treasurer
Asher Loring is from Santa Rosa California and received his bachelors degree in Political Economy from Evergreen State in 2013. While residing in Olympia he volunteered as a homeless advocate and was a member of the local Move to Amend chapter. Since moving to Hawaii Asher has been working with the land: farming and foresting. He currently works for Hawaiian Legacy Hardwoods, a native reforestation project. In his free time Asher enjoys running trail, playing music and exploring the Big Island.
Keelan Barcina - Board Member
Keelan Barcina fostered his passion for responsible marine resource management and conservation at the beach across the street from his childhood home in Pūpūkea, Hawai‘i. After earning his B.S. in Natural Resources and Environmental Management from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Keelan conducted protected-species research in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and around O‘ahu for nearly four years. His invaluable experiences in the Monument inspired Keelan to complete his master’s degree in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation from Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, CA. While there, he focused on broadening his multi-disciplinary perspectives on ocean management to further bridge science communication and management gaps across federal, state, NGO, and the public sectors. Currently, Keelan is an analyst with Hawai‘i’s Coastal Zone Management Program, and he is a dedicated cat dad living on the North Shore, O‘ahu.