Fellows mentioned in this story:
Jack Kittinger
Yunji de Nies

From Hawai‘i News Now:

Jack Kittinger was raised by the sea — boating, fishing, and surfing in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. That early connection to the ocean shaped everything that followed, including his decades-long pursuit of conservation, climate resilience, and community stewardship.

Today, Jack leads Conservation International’s work in Hawai‘i — but his path to this point has been anything but straightforward. It began in the classroom, with degrees in biology, marine studies, and geography. Along the way, he realized he wasn’t meant to stay in academia — he wanted to make a tangible impact on the environment. That clarity has guided every step since, anchoring his work in purpose and urgency. That purpose fueled one of Hawai‘i’s most consequential environmental victories: the passage of the Green Fee. Modeled after successful efforts in Palau and the Galápagos, the program will generate $100 million a year to restore and protect Hawai‘i’s natural resources. “It felt like a moonshot,” Jack said. “But we systematically tackled every reason it couldn’t be done — and then we did it.”

The win was nearly a decade in the making — and didn’t come easy. “Sometimes being a leader is just being persistent. You know, it’s not more complicated than that,” Jack said. “You’re gonna get a lot of failure before you get success in any endeavor.”

Watch at hawaiinewsnow.com.