Who We Are . . .
Yvonne Chan
As the John Kay Teaching Chair in Research Science and the Director of Community Science, I strive to fulfill Jack’s vision of a place that nurtures independent research, fosters science among students and schools in service to their communities, and provides outreach and workshops that connects scientists to teachers to support STEM education in Hawai‘i.
Email: ychan@iolani.org
Cory Yap
As an environmental researcher at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and outreach educator at ʻIolani School, my time is split into being an aquatic biologist, doing environmental outreach with K-12 students, and deploying/maintaining wireless sensor networks for environmental monitoring. In my spare time, I enjoy kayak/shore-fishing, canyoneering, free-diving, and gardening.
Email: coryy@hawaii.edu
Eric Tong
As the Genomics Program Specialist at ʻIolani School, I am creating new place-based teaching experiments for use in biology, environmental science, genetics and biotechnology classes. I also coordinate the ʻĀina-Informatics Network, which brings place-based genome science and pono bioethics curricula into local high school classrooms.
Email: etong@iolani.org
Joanna Kobayashi
As a Community Science Specialist for ʻIolani Community Science, I am focused on supporting educators and students as they work to connect their classrooms to communities.
Email: jkobayashi@iolani.org
Ethan Hill
As the Bioinformatics Specialist, my goal is to bring modern bioinformatic tools, workflows, and analysis pipelines into classrooms for students to explore the many uses of both genomic and non-genomic data. As the world of science transitions into the era of "big data" I believe students should be prepared to understand, manipulate, and analyze a variety of data types to answer their research questions
Email: ehill@iolani.org
Andi Charuk
As Community Science Specialist for Paʻēpaʻē o Waikolu, I hope my background as a classroom teacher and volunteer in the field of ecological conservation & biocultural restoration can provide tangible support for teachers seeking ways for their student's academic growth to be rooted in real world learning and 'āina stewardship.
Email: acharuk@iolani.org
rafael peres-david
As an epigenetic specialist and Science Teacher for ʻIolani Community Science, I am dedicated to supporting educators and students in bridging the gap between classrooms and communities, with a particular focus on helping communities learn more about health-related topics and improving overall well-being.
Email: rperesdavid@iolani.org