Josephine Satele is a 22-year-old from Georgia whose lifelong interest in the ocean has led her to a bachelor’s in marine biology. After graduating from Brigham Young University of Hawaii, she set her sights on conservational work. Pursuing marine science and educational outreach while working for the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa.

Josephine’s interest in the marine world started at a young age when she was taught to love and respect the power and beauty of the sea. She hopes to share this love with those around her and wants to teach people about the preservation of our ocean. Josephine has taken steps towards her goal by participating in the creation of localized lesson plans on climate change for the school of American Samoa. In which the team she worked with created and implemented a professional development for teachers with resources to allow them to teach their students about how climate change is affecting their island.

She hopes to continue this work with OceanEcho Fellowship to help others have a better understanding of our ocean and the effect we have on it. So that we can continue to enjoy the wonders and resources it provides for future generations.

Campaign Impact

Josephine Satele, the representative from American Samoa, decided that the MPA’s of American Samoa were not easily accessible with bits of information spread around the different departments. In order for people to have access to everything in one spot, she decided to make a website with all of the information necessary to access the sites while being safe. In order to make this happen, she chose one site to start with. This site is the national marine sanctuary Fagatele Bay, which is the first ever established in American Samoa from this department.  The sanctuary system only protects the water and its resources, so the land to access the water is protected by the landowners, the Fuimaono family. The family uses personal resources to maintain and protect the trail. Josephine decided this website could be multipurpose to provide information, and to help the family coordinate tours by giving a booking feature. This allows them to give designated time slots for people to book, and it gives a point of contact for people to reach out with. This allows for a more concise time allocated for the family with minimal maintenance, allowing visitors the chance to ask questions and get information without directly approaching the family. With this in mind, Josephine reached out to the Fuimaonos and pitched the initial idea with room for their input. They allowed her creative freedom with a request that she include the family; she suggested that they write out a passage introducing themselves and their ties to the land. She decided that in order to truly understand the beauty of the area, it must be shown through photos and videos. Through hiking, she captured plenty of photos of the trail and even of the reef. She also had a maintenance day cleaning trail signs and clearing the path from fallen debris. The trail can also be hard to follow so she thought it would be a good idea to include maps to help people navigate the area.

It was an honor to represent my culture and share my experiences and expertise with such a welcoming community. I genuinely had such an amazing experience with this program, and I hope to be able to inspire others in my community to take advantage of such a wonderful opportunity. Thank you for providing a safe space to share our thoughts as the youth and show us how to navigate the real world.