Samantha Kies-Ryan

Samantha Kies-Ryan

OneReef Communications Officer

Samantha is a communication and social impact specialist. She is based in Fiji where she runs her consulting company Earth Water People working in communications in sustainable resource management and climate change adaptation for clients such as World Wildlife Fund Pacific, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

Samantha is an experienced communications and media professional with 15 years of experience working in Australia and the Pacific, focusing on communication for development and social change, as well as community-based media across print, radio, digital storytelling, and film. She has a Bachelor of Arts (Communication, Media and Culture) from the University of South Australia and a Master of Communication (Communication for Social Change) from the University of Queensland. She holds a professional Doctorate from the Queensland University of Technology, focusing on community cultural story mapping in community-based water management in the Solomon Islands. In 2024, Samantha was a Research Collaboration and Innovation Exchange Fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu. Samantha is an Adjunct Fellow at the Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research at the University of the Sunshine Coast in Australia.