FSM Information Services/Blue Prosperity Micronesia
Press Release
Yolanda Joab Mori Joins Blue Prosperity Micronesia as Program Coordinator
PALIKIR, Pohnpei—Blue Prosperity Micronesia continues to grow, with the hiring of Island PRIDE Micronesia’s founder Yolanda Joab Mori as the Blue Prosperity Micronesia Program Coordinator. A long-time community organizer and activist, Yolanda brings her extensive experience to plan, guide, and implement program activities, as well as serve as the Secretariat to the newly established National Task Force for Blue Prosperity Micronesia.
Yolanda most recently served as His Excellency David W. Panuelo’s Advocate on Climate Change. She has also been a keynote speaker at the IUCN World Conservation Congress, the World Forum on Natural Capital, the United Nations ECOSOC Youth Forum, the United Nations High Level Political Forum, and is an alumnus of the inaugural Obama Foundation Leaders Program for the Asia-Pacific. Yolanda has worked on community-based Climate Change adaptation and education initiatives, with foci on women and youth engagement across the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) for ten years, and presently and serves on the Board for the United Nations Major Group on Children & Youth.
“As we continue to deal with Climate Change and its impacts on land and sea,” Yolanda said, “Initiatives such as this are becoming more and more critical. Through Blue Prosperity Micronesia, we can show that sustainability and prosperity don’t have to be mutually exclusive— both can co-exist, and even strengthen each other. My hope is that Blue Prosperity Micronesia will weave together both our own important traditional values rooted in guardianship, and reciprocity, with the innovative technical support of our partners, in a way that allows us to thrive today while leaving a legacy for our children that we can all be proud of."
The addition of Yolanda to Blue Prosperity Micronesia comes approximately one year after the FSM National Government and the Blue Prosperity Coalition signed a Memorandum of Understanding. Building on targets from the Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, and the Micronesia Challenge, the program will fully protect 30% of the FSM’s waters, develop strategies for sustainable economic wellbeing, and improve fisheries management. Blue Prosperity Micronesia will work with National and State governments to develop Blue Economy strategies for the islands, as well as create Marine Spatial Plans for offshore and nearshore waters. Yolanda’s addition to the team brings added capacity and connection to ensure program goals support the needs of the Nation’s citizens.
“Yolanda has a unique connection with all four states of the FSM,” said William Kostka, Director of Micronesia Conservation Trust, a founding member of Blue Prosperity Micronesia. “Her dedication to highlighting the voices of women and the most vulnerable members of our communities, as well as uplifting the role of traditional knowledge in large-scale projects, will help ensure this program moves forward with community needs and priorities at the center.”
“Yolanda Joab Mori is the real deal,” President Panuelo said in a statement. “I previously selected her to be my Advocate on Climate Change because, aside from being vibrant, passionate, articulate, educated, intelligent, enthusiastic, persuasive, and awe-inspiring, her genuine concern for this existential threat, combined with her resolve to take actions today for our Nation’s prosperity tomorrow, make Yolanda the superlative example of a leader willing and able to take on this immense challenge. I am honored and proud to have her on board as Blue Prosperity Micronesia’s Program Coordinator.”
