Official Bio:
Kathy is a Marshall Islander poet, performance artist, educator. She received international acclaim through her poetry performance at the opening of the United Nations Climate Summit in New York in 2014. Her writing and performances have been featured by CNN, Democracy Now, the Huffington Post, NBC News, National Geographic, and more. In February 2017, the University of Arizona Press published her first collection of poetry, Iep Jāltok: Poems from a Marshallese Daughter.
Kathy also co-founded the youth environmentalist non-profit Jo-Jikum dedicated to empowering Marshallese youth to seek solutions to climate change and other environmental impacts threatening their home island. Kathy has been selected as one of 13 Climate Warriors by Vogue in 2015 and the Impact Hero of the Year by Earth Company in 2016. She received her Master’s in Pacific Island Studies from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
Promotional Material:
- KathyJetnilKijiner_CV
- Previous Public Speaking Engagements, Artist Performances, Workshop Facilitations:
- National Conference on Race and Ethnicity, Oregon (Keynote Speaker): May 2019
- Digital Storyteller’s Workshop, Marshall Islands (Workshop Facilitator and Organizer): April 2019
- Pacific History Association at the Asia Pacific Triennial, Australia (Keynote Speaker, Performance Artist, Workshop Facilitator): March 2019
- Innovative City Forum, Japan (Keynote Speaker): October 2019
- Laudato Si’ Conference on Climate Change in the Vatican, Italy (Opening Ceremony Speaker): July 2018
- Asia Pacific Triennial, Australia (Performance Artist): November 2018
- Conference of the Parties 23 (COP23), Bonn (Performer): November 2017
- PREL Storyteller’s Workshop, Saipan (Workshop Facilitator): July 2017
- Pacific Education Conference, Palau (Presenter, Workshop Facilitator): July 2017
- ‘Ae Kai Culture Lab, Honolulu (Artist): July 2017
- Climate Action Network Japan Debriefing Event on Bonn Conference, Japan (Speaker): June 2017
- 350.org Japan Storytelling Workshop, Japan (Workshop Facilitator): June 2017
- Sasakawa Peace Foundation’s Pacific Ambassadors’ Roundtable, Japan (Speaker): June 2017
- Rhodes Trust: Generation 1.5 C An Intergenerational Climate Workshop, London (Speaker): April 2017
- Honolulu Biennial, Honolulu (Artist): February 2017
- Climate Generation 10th Anniversary Celebration, Minnesota (Keynote Speaker): December 2016
- Conference of the Parties 22 (COP22), Morocco (Performer, RMI Delegation Member): November 2016
- Portland State University, Portland State of Mind, Oregon (Keynote Speaker): October 2016
- Asian Pacific Islander Network of Oregon (APANO) Rolling Tides (Panelist, Performer): October 2016
- Pacific Asia Tourism Association Annual Summit, Guam (Opening Speaker): May 2016
- Conference of the Parties 21 (COP21), Paris (Performer, RMI Delegation Member): November 2016
- European Union African Caribbean Pacific Islands Conference, Fiji (Performer, Panelist): July 2015
- University of Guam Presidential Speaker Series, Guam (Speaker): April 2015
- United Nations Secretary General’s Climate Summit, New York (Civil Society Representative): June 2012
- ‘Aha Mo’olelo Hawaii Literary Conference, Hawai‘i (Panelist, Performer): 2012
- Leaves Keep Falling: The Asian/Pacific Basin & Sustainability After Empire, Film Screening, Hawai’i (Panelist and Performer), Hawai‘i: 2012
- Native Voices Reading, Hawai‘i (Featured Poet): 2012
- International Poetry Parnassus Festival, London (RMI Representative, Performer, Panelist): 2011
- Queer Pacific Islanders Sustaining Community, California (Performer): 2011
- Poetic Crossroads: An Open Mic with Swag, California (Featured Poet): 2010
- Sisters Rising, The Garage, California (Performer): 2010
- The Kaleidoscope Reading Series, California (Featured Poet): 2010
- Third Roots Art Collective, California (Solo Performance Artist): 2010
- City Solo, Off Market Theater, California (Solo Performance Artist): 2010
- Words First, California (Solo Performance Artist): 2010
