JASON SUMIYE

After a decade-long absence, Jason Sumiye rejoined the Nature Conservancy of Hawai‘i as its Science Manager in 2007, overseeing all science and planning components of Conservation by Design for terrestrial conservation in Hawai‘i, providing support and assistance on these science and planning components for Hawai‘i marine projects and Palmyra, and administering a small statewide team of staff to develop the best scientific information for conservation decision making.

Most recently, from 2001-2006, Jason worked for the Ko‘olau Mountains Watershed Partnership, writing their management plan, and then serving as the watershed coordinator responsible for implementing the partnership’s management plan to steward about 111,000 acres of forested watershed lands in the mauka region of the Ko‘olau Mountains.

Jason’s educational background reflects his interest in social ecology, having received a BA in Anthropology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and an MEM (Master of Environmental Management) from the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale.  Jason’s work experiences have been varied, from conducting research with the Yale New Haven Watershed Project, to surveying invasive weeds for the Bureau of Land Management in Winnemucca, NV and experiences abroad as a wildlife database specialist with the US Peace Corps in Nepal and as an English teacher in Kumamoto, Japan.