Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner ‘06

Catch Kathy at Orvis Auditorium this Wednesday 4/1, and at Native Books on Friday 4/17:

Earlier this February, in a moment both personal and profound, internationally acclaimed poet and Marshall Islands climate envoy Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner crossed the stage at The Australian National University to receive her PhD—surrounded by family, including her mother, President Hilda Heine, her father, Tommy Kijiner Jnr and her daughter, Peinam. It was a scene that captured more than academic achievement; it reflected a life deeply rooted in community, story, and responsibility.

Her thesis, by creative portfolio, Our Kapijukinen: Climate Policy and Poetry in the Marshall Islands, is an extraordinary achievement. It combines a new volume of poetry with an historical essay that shows how the climate crisis is the culmination of an extractive colonialism, assesses adaptation plans in the Republic of the Marshall Islands in the context of climate coloniality and offers reflections and exegeses of her poetry, a potent voice in political advocacy.

But as with much of Kathy’s work, this milestone is not a conclusion—it’s a continuation.

Just weeks after her graduation, Kathy has taken up a prominent role as the Spring 2026 Dan and Maggie Inouye Distinguished Chair in Democratic Ideals at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. It’s a position that places her at the intersection of scholarship, creative practice, and public engagement—spaces she has long navigated with clarity and purpose.

In Hawaiʻi, Kathy is doing what she has always done: bringing people together through story. On 1 April, she will deliver a keynote lecture and poetry performance at Orvis Auditorium—an open invitation to the campus and wider community to hear directly from one of the Pacific’s leading voices on climate and justice. Her lecture draws a clear line between the climate crisis in the Marshall Islands and the enduring legacies of colonialism, nuclear testing and displacement, offering a Pacific-centred perspective that connects lived experience to global climate conversations.

It is this ability to move between worlds—poetry and diplomacy, academia and advocacy—that defines her impact. As a climate envoy for the Marshall Islands, Kathy contributes directly to international climate negotiations and national adaptation strategies. As a poet and performer, she ensures those conversations remain grounded in human experience, memory, and voice.

Her presence at Mānoa has already resonated widely. Joyce Mariano, Chair of the Department of American Studies, describes her as “a force in culture and climate diplomacy,” noting that she has “ignited audiences with poetry and performance from Majuro to Suva, Brisbane to Bonn.”

Kathy is also working closely with students at UH Mānoa —co-teaching, running workshops, and extending her practice into the classroom. Beyond the university, her engagement continues through community events, including a public arts programme at Native Books Hawaiʻi on 17 April, where her work will again meet audiences in a more intimate, shared space.

These quieter, more intimate exchanges mirror the ethos that has always underpinned her work: that storytelling is not just about being heard, but about listening, learning, and building community.

For ANU, Kathy’s journey is a reminder of what research can be when it is connected to the world beyond the university. And for those who witnessed her graduation in February, it’s clear that this was never just a moment of arrival—but one point along a much longer voyage.

Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner graduated in February 2026 with her PhD from the Australian National University. Celebrating with her, from left: Mother and President Hilda Heine, daughter Peinam, Kathy and Tommy Kijiner, Jr.