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Staff Bios
We have a diverse team of people working to write curriculum, direct professional development workshops and manage an online learning community forum for the Sea. Earth. Atmosphere program. Our staff, listed here, is supplemented by the many scientists and curriculum experts who have consulted on this project.
Kanesa Duncan Seraphin
Science Education Professor
Kanesa is a curriculum developer for Sea Earth Atmosphere. She is a professor at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and director of the Hawaiʻi Sea Grant Center for Marine Science Education in the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. Kanesa holds a BS in Biology, an MS in Zoology, a PhD in Zoology (for work studying scalloped hammerhead sharks), and a post-baccalaureate education certificate in secondary science education. She is also an experienced classroom teacher and holds a secondary science credential for the state of Hawaiʻi. Kanesa was the principal investigator for development of the companion Exploring Our Fluid Earth curriculum and is the host and producer of the science outreach TV series Voice of the Sea.
Robert Nakama
IT Specialist
Robert was part of the team that modified the content management system used to house Sea Earth Atmosphere (SEA) from its Exploring Our Fluid Earth relative. He also helped to organized the initial taxonomic structure of SEA. Robert is an information technology specialist in the Curriculum Research & Development Group (CRDG) in the College of Education, at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
Hal Richman
Sea Grant IT Specialist
Hal Richman, PhD, is an information technology specialist at UH Sea Grant who joined the program in 2001. Initially, he worked to document the products of Sea Grant’s research and extension programs. He also introduced the use of an on-line proposal submission software called Webnibus that was initially developed by Oregon State Sea Grant. Since that time, he has worked to merge this software with the tracking of Sea Grant research and extension programs and the documentation of their products. This led to the development of an application titled eProjects, a web interface database system to integrate and manage these tasks. Hal earned a bachelor's degree in zoology and a master's in zoology and computer science from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln, and a doctorate in endocrinology from the University of California at Berkeley.
Emily Sesno
Curriculum Developer
Emily is a curriculum developer for Sea Earth Atmosphere. She has a BSc in Marine Science and received her MSc in Marine Biology from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, conducting research at the Hawai’i Institute of Marine Biology. Emily’s research focused on the impacts of climate change on the common collector urchin found in Hawai'i. Emily continues to develop NGSS based educational tools in collaboration with the Pacific Island Climate Adaptation Science Center (PI-CASC).
Kēhaunani Llanos
Hawaiian Immersion Elementary School Teacher
Kēhau is a curriculum consultant for Sea Earth Atmosphere. Her objective in education is to teacher the Hawaiian culture, history, and arts in the Hawaiian language. She is an elementary teacher the Hawaiʻi Department of Education school, Kula Kaiapuni ʻo Ānuenue, where she teaches Hawaiian immersion. Kēhau has a masters degree in multi-cultural education and is actively enrolled in graduate school courses, working toward a PhD degree.
Judith Lemus
Education Specialist
Judy is a science education specialist at the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology, where she is currently serving as Director. She develops collaborative partnerships that promote community-science interactions, integrate science and culture, and provide professional development opportunities for both young and established scientists. She received her BS and MS degrees in Biology from UCLA and a PhD in Marine Biology from the University of Southern California with a specialization in symbiotic systems. Judy has been teaching and leading science education and outreach programs in different venues for over 20 years.