Living Islands is a non-profit, volunteer-driven organization, dedicated to supporting Micronesian Communities through cross-cultural education and awareness since 2013.
Living Islands is a Cultural and Educational Network Organization supporting strong Micronesian communities everywhere, by celebrating and advocating for the diverse and unique cultures of the Micronesian people.
We form strong and permanent relations between local and international leaders, stakeholders, and communities through traditional storytelling, cultural research, knowledge sharing, community work, awareness building, and targeted educational programming.
We believe supporting strong communities is the first step towards strong and sustainable societies.
Kianna Juda Angelo
Founder, Executive Director, Board Member
Kianna was born in the Republic of Marshall Islands but was adopted and raised in America since her earliest childhood. She has been serving communities since her young years, from youth counselor at summer camps in Oregon to volunteering and teaching handicapped children to ride horses for physical therapy lessons. She has worked with numerous NGOs, ranging from assisting Homeless food programs in the USA to the American Women's Club in Copenhagen, Denmark. She worked as a Domestic Violence Advocate for the Pierce County Domestic Violence & Suicide Hotline for three years, as well as a local Domestic Violence Women and Children Advisor for the Washington State Patrol. Always being a firm supporter of Women’s Rights and Child Protection, she has been a strong supporter and volunteer for the YWCA and shelters in both Tacoma, Washington and Portland, Oregon. Kianna is often giving time to local sustainability initiatives, such as the Lake Oswego City Sustainability Board and the Lake Oswego School Districts Green Team. She helped facilitate the start of a greenhouse program for local food and education in the local school district, where she has volunteered her time for all four of her children in their classrooms. In the last decade, Kianna has reconnected with her Marshallese heritage. Continuing her passion for serving communities, Kianna founded the international non-profit organization Living Islands in 2013 and co-founded the social justice organization COFA Alliance National Network in 2014. She continues to serve as Executive Director for Living Islands and as Board Member for CANN. Kianna is a strong believer in international community work and a fierce supporter of the United Nations and is a member of the United Nations Association. She is always working on connecting governments, organizational partners, commercial interests, Native Americans and indigenous communities across the globe. Kianna’s next goal in life is to pursue an education and career in International Trade & Sustainable Development. Kianna currently lives with her tri-cultural family in Lake Oswego, Oregon, with her four children and danish husband Jesper. With the full support of her family, Kianna is committed to her life goal of bringing development, opportunity and cross-cultural education to everyone.
- +1 971-220-5484
- [email protected]
James Miller
Board Member
Researcher, Architect, Sustainable Design, and Planning Advisor
Barbara Rose Johnston
Board Member
Barbara Rose Johnston is an award-winning anthropologist and senior research fellow at the Center for Political Ecology in Santa Cruz and an affiliated member of the faculty at Michigan State and the University of California Santa Cruz where she explores the intersect between environment, health and human rights. Her research experience includes a major focus on the biomedical, psychosocial, cultural, and environmental impacts of the U.S. nuclear weapons testing program, including the history and consequences of its classified human radiation experimentation program. Since 1999 she has served as a scientific advisor and expert witness for the Marshall Islands Nuclear Claims Tribunal. Recent books of hers include Half-lives and Half-truths: Confronting the Radioactive Legacies of the Cold War; Consequential Damages of Nuclear War - The Rongelap Report; and the newly released Life & Death Matters: Human Rights, Environment and Social Justice.
Jacob Ericson
Board Member, Director of Environmental Compliance and Sustainability
Since his high school days, Shimkus has served as a leader in a growing sustainability effort in his hometown of Lake Oswego, Oregon and beyond. Working with the Sierra Club’s Student Coalition, Shimkus has organized and led multiple regional and national training on environmental and sustainability leadership, with a focus on project management. More recently, Shimkus has turned his focus internationally, where he has worked for several years with a range of international education and research organizations in sub-Saharan Africa. Following a year of international study and research in developing nations, Shimkus maintains an earnest passion for combining the benefits of environmental stewardship with the promises of development. As a part of the Living Islands team, Shimkus is looking forward to taking a whole systems-look at sustainability as it pertains to life in the Marshall Islands. Helping to create a model for sustainable living within the Marshall Islands is something of a personal dream for him, and one he looks forward to pursuing with the team. Shimkus is currently a senior at Claremont McKenna College in California pursuing a degree in International Relations and Economics with a focus on development. He is also working at the energy efficiency consultancy, PECI based in downtown Portland.
Management Team
Aschlee Angelo
Deputy Director
[email protected], Deputy Director, (971) 344-0323
- (971) 344-0323
- [email protected]
Scott Paul
Washington State Community Liaison
Media Team
Roland Sarrazen
Lead Photographer
Roland has lived in and around Portland for 30 years. He currently resides in Lake Oswego, OR with his wife of 27 years and their 17 year old twin daughters. Roland has been a professional photographer for more than 10 years, and was previously a filmmaker and producer. Last year he served as the campaign photographer for a U.S. Congressional candidate, and did photo work for both Governor Kotek and President Biden.
Indigenous Architecture Team
James Miller
Researcher, Architect, Sustainable Design, and Planning Advisor
James Miller is looking for ways to rebuild and preserve an entire culture. Miller is a Ph.D. candidate in sustainable architecture, and his research investigates the cultural losses that occur when an entire nation is forced to relocate due to climate change. Miller believes that architects can play an important role in mitigating the cultural degradation of these displaced populations. Miller was awarded the prestigious Julie and Rocky Dixon award, which supports doctoral students who are interested in pursuing a career outside of academia. Going forward, Miller has plans for the research and development of adaptable housing prototypes that are resilient in the face of climate change. In an ever-changing world increasingly impacted by the effects of climate change, innovators like Miller will be instrumental in helping those hardest hit by a warming planet.
- [email protected]
- Bellingham, WA
Chuck Genuardi
Ambassador
Dial Keju
Planner
- Fredericksburg, VI
Previous Board Members
Neil Berl
Board President (2015-2017), Board Member (2014-2018)
Neil Berl is a financial planner in Stevenson, WA. Neil has been on the Board of Living Islands since the start in 2013 and until 2017. Neil was Board President from 2015-2017.
Tony deBrum
Board Member (2014-2017)
Tony de Brum (1945-2017) has dedicated a lifetime of public service in pursuit of an independent, secure and sustainable Marshall Islands, and he has courageously advanced his peoples’ vision of a world free of nuclear weapons. Having witnessed the deleterious effects of US nuclear tests in his country as a young boy, Tony de Brum, as Foreign Minister of the Marshall Islands, took the unprecedented step of filing lawsuits against all nine nuclear weapons states in the International Court of Justice in 2014, seeking to hold them to account for their failure to abide by the provisions of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and customary international law. As the architect of the Majuro Declaration for Climate Leadership, adopted in September 2013, Tony de Brum has also been instrumental in securing the commitment of Pacific Island States to adopt concrete measures to combat climate change. Tony was a Board Member from 2014 and until to his passing away in 2017. He will be missed dearly.
- [email protected]
- Majuro, MH
Brian L. Clem
Board Member (2016-2022)
Brian L. Clem is an Oregon Democratic Representative (District 21). Brian has sponsored numerous bills in the Oregon legislature that support the COFA citizens. He and his wife Carol live in Salem their daughter Kohana.
- [email protected]
- Salem, OR
