Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner

Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner is a Marshall Islander poet, spoken word artist, and teacher. She has used her poetry to highlight the struggles of her people including social justice issues such as the threat of climate change for her islands, the American legacy of nuclear testing in her country, and racism against Micronesians in Hawaii. She received international acclaim after performing at the United Nations Climate Summit last September where she performed a poem to her daughter entitled, “Dear Matafele Peinam” which moved hundreds of world leaders to tears and has since launched her into global conversations on climate change. She also co-founded the youth environmentalist ngo Jo-Jikum based in the Marshall Islands, and is currently the Pacific Studies faculty instructor at the College of the Marshall Islands.

Kathy tweets from @kathykijiner