We’re proud to share that Nicole Yamase, PhD, our Director of Impact, has been named to Grist’s annual list of leaders delivering real-world environmental solutions.
Nicole’s work in community-led reef management exemplifies how Indigenous knowledge systems and modern science can work together to build ocean resilience. In her leadership role at OneReef, she collaborates with local leaders and communities, other NGOs, and scientists to monitor coral and reef health as part of community-driven conservation.
As a proud member of the Stingray Clan in Pohnpei, one of the four states that make up the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the Pacific, Nicole reflects that the ocean has always been her home, a core part of her identity, and essential to the well-being & survival of her community.
Her deep cultural connection to the ocean, along with a strong sense of responsibility to protect it, shaped her academic path. She earned a B.A. in Biology & a B.S. in Environmental Studies from Chaminade University of Honolulu, followed by a Ph.D. in Marine Biology from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in 2022, becoming the first person from the Federated States of Micronesia to hold a doctorate in this field. Her doctoral research explored the ecophysiology of macroalgae in Hawaiʻi, organisms critical to coral reef ecosystems, which in turn are critical to 25% of ocean biodiversity and the livelihoods of coastal communities.
Her journey has also been shaped by unique, formative experiences. In 2021, she became the first Micronesian to reach Challenger Deep, the ocean’s deepest known point, an expedition completed by only 27 people to date. Her story was featured in the upcoming documentary Remathau: People of the Ocean. In 2023, she joined the National Geographic Pristine Seas and Blue Prosperity Micronesia–FSM expedition, which conducted research on coral and fish populations across some of the FSM’s most remote islands. More recently, in June, she moderated a panel at the UN Ocean Conference where Indigenous women leaders shared their firsthand experiences from the frontlines of climate change.
Learn more about One Reef’s community-based conservation model and how you can work with us towards this collective goal at onereef.org. Read Nicole’s profile at https://grist.org/fix/grist-50/2025/#nicole-yamase and join us in celebrating this well-deserved honor!