Interested in Corals to Committees 2026-2027?

Leadership Team

Meet the young pioneers in spaces for youth advocacy and science for Hawai'i's ecosystems!

Whether through meeting directly with policy-makers on wildlife legislation or conducting hands-on scientific field surveys, our leaders are passionate about mālama ʻāina.

Youth Directors

Jenavive Meays • Founder • Co-Director

Jenavive Meays is an Animal Ecology & Conservation student at Cornell University, bridging conservation research and global policy advocacy.

Rooted in the Hawaiian waters where she grew up, Jenavive’s marine conservation efforts earned her the inaugural youth SDG 14 Ocean Stewardship award at the UN World Ocean Day Gala in NYC. Making waves at home, she was selected as a 2026 Mission Blue & Whale Trust Youth Scholar — diving alongside Dr. Sylvia Earle at the Olowalu Hope Spot — and founded "Oceans & Biodiversity," Hawaiʻi’s first youth-led ocean advocacy group.

Equally committed to terrestrial ecosystems, Jenavive brings extensive experience in wildlife rehabilitation. Through tube-feeding, blood-drawing, and bandaging species ranging from marsupials to raptors, her passions bloom in grassroots efforts. Looking toward community-empowered conservation, she is engaged with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, learning the acoustic signatures of primates and wild felids in preparation for future bioacoustics fieldwork in Indonesia.

Driven to translate this cross-biome conservation science into legislative action, Jenavive leverages global platforms to champion youth access. As a Carnegie Young Fellow, she expands this mission through her project, "Corals to Committees," uniting island advocates through scientific field days, educational podcasts, and legislative presentations. Furthermore, she serves on the Jane Goodall Institute's Roots & Shoots U.S. Youth Council and is an alum of the 6th cohort of Heirs To Our Ocean’s U.S. Youth Leadership Council, where she led a Pacific Island policy team in advancing UN Ocean Decade goals.

Irene Chen • Co-Director

Irene is currently a member of the Oceans & Biodiversity youth group and the Corals to Committees project. Her passion for conservation first came from interning at local nonprofits that held volunteer events and field days at which she was able to learn about the true problems Hawaiian ecosystems faced and issues that the community cared about. With this knowledge and continued open mind to listen and understand, she stepped into the realm of research where she conducts independent research using environmental DNA to support restoration-based decisions.

Hoping to advocate for her research and the community, she wanted to join in legislative outreach. Irene originally joined and started in advocacy by becoming one of the youth leaders of Climate Justice at Climate Future Forum and Hawaiʻi Youth Food Council, both in which she had helped lead discussions among youth in many different settings, at the state capitol, in loʻi fields, or at different events. As she was supporting an ocean related-bill she was introduced to Oceans & Biodiversity group, and joined, helping to make education and outreach material and continue to help with CFFʻs mission of inspiring youth to advocate for causes they care for. Now, she is a Co-director for Oceans & Biodiversity group, a NOAA Ocean Guardian Ambassador, and hopes to continue to serve the community that allowed her to grow.

Youth Leaders

Kalae Millikan

Kalae Millikan is a recent university graduate born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. She earned her Bachelor of Science from the University of Portland, where she double majored in Biology and Political Science, with a focus on the intersection of science and policy.

Kalae is part of the inaugural Pacific Islands Coastal Health Fellowship cohort, where she will be working with the Division of Aquatic Resources to support marine conservation and community-based resource management efforts. She is passionate about increasing accessibility to environmental science and strengthening connections between communities and decision-making processes in Hawaiʻi. Her work centers on using science to inform policy, particularly in marine ecosystems and climate resilience.

During her time in school and beyond, Kalae was actively involved in research, including work with coral reef resilience and ecosystem change in the Pacific. She has also gained experience through internships in government and policy, including working in a congressional office. Outside of academics, Kalae was a member of the University of Portland Pilots Dance Team and has been dancing for over 16 years.

In her free time, she enjoys spending time in the ocean, surfing, snorkeling, and connecting with her local community. Through projects like Corals to Committees, Kalae aims to empower youth and create more inclusive pathways into science and policy in Hawaiʻi.

Julie Tam

Born and raised in Hong Kong and now based in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi, Julie Tam is Hawaiʻi Green Growth’s Sustainability Program Associate, where she supports partner coordination, membership processes, youth engagement, and community-centered efforts to advance the Aloha+ Goals. She earned her B.S. in Natural Resources and Environmental Management with a minor in Economics from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

Julie has long been interested in how policy, planning, and economics can be used to build more resilient communities and sustainable futures. She previously worked at the University of Hawaiʻi Office of Sustainability, where she supported efforts to accelerate renewable energy projects and develop a green purchasing policy across the university system. She also interned with Hawaiʻi Food+ Policy through the Purple Maiʻa Foundation, an experience that deepened her passion for regenerative food systems and legislative advocacy in Hawaiʻi.

Bringing a global perspective to local environmental challenges, Julie is especially passionate about climate resilience, sustainable food systems, ocean conservation, and place-based solutions that support Hawaiʻi’s people and places. She is excited about this program because it offers an opportunity to connect with fellow youth leaders, learn from community-driven approaches, and help advance policy solutions rooted in care for ʻāina and community.

In her free time, Julie enjoys surfing, freediving, spending time in the ocean, and continuing to learn from the communities and environments that inspire her commitment to sustainability.

Charla Teves

Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawai‘i, Charla Teves is an incoming 1L at the University of Hawai‘i William S. Richardson School of Law. Charla has long been committed to advocacy and advancing youth civic engagement across a range of social issues. She previously served on the Hawai‘i State Youth Commission and received a grant from the Sodexo Stop Hunger Foundation to organize a legislative summit that collected over 2,000 pounds of food and brought together lawmakers in Hawai‘i to address food insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

After participating in a summer research program that studied endangered Hawaiian land snails, and after completing her Master’s degree in Anthropology at Columbia University, where she wrote her thesis on a conservation- and place-based education program in Hawai‘i, Charla knew she wanted to combine her interests in public policy and environmentalism to better serve her community, with Corals to Committees providing an amazing opportunity to do just that with fellow passionate peers! In her free time, Charla is an avid movie rewatcher with her family and enjoys playing pickleball with friends.

Lauren Buck

Lauren Buck is a senior at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa pursuing a degree in Natural Resources and Environmental Management with a specialization in Watershed and Coastal Management. She is passionate about restoring Hawaiʻi's natural resources through a holistic approach that integrates ecosystem restoration, scientific research, and environmental policy.

Lauren's conservation experience includes working with the Ānuenue Sea Urchin Hatchery, where she helped breed and raise native collector sea urchins as part of an invasive algae mitigation effort to restore coral reef ecosystems in Kāneʻohe Bay. She also developed an imaging system to conduct quantitative analysis of sea urchin larvae. Beyond her research experience, Lauren volunteers with Mālama Maunalua, participating in community efforts to remove invasive algae from Maunalua Bay, and with Paepae o Heʻeia, helping to restore Heʻeia Fishpond.

She currently serves as the Manager of Environmental Policy at Hawaiʻi Public Policy Advocates, where she conducts legislative research, tracks environmental legislation, develops testimony on natural resource bills, and supports advocacy efforts by engaging with legislators and community organizations.

Originally from Utah and now living in Honolulu, Lauren enjoys spending her free time outdoors rock climbing, hiking, and snorkeling. Through both hands-on restoration and legislative advocacy, Lauren hopes to help build a more sustainable future for Hawaiʻi's communities and environment.