Kirsten Oleson — who holds a Ph.D. in environment and resources, as well as master’s degree in applied environmental economics and bachelor’s in environmental engineering — says the great outdoors has been her happy place since she was young.
“My inspiration for being an environmentalist [stems from] childhood; I spent a lot of time outside, looking under rocks for bugs, and just understood being connected to my surroundings,” she told Aloha State Daily. “I had a fortunate childhood where I was around green space and the outdoors a lot, and in my early education, I was pretty pragmatic about the damage humans were causing [to the environment].”
Oleson grew up in Virginia and spent some time overseas to pursue education and familial ties in the Netherlands before moving to the Islands 15 years ago. She has focused her work on climate adaptation, conservation and sustainable resource management in Hawai‘i and the Pacific Islands.
Oleson is a professor of ecological economics in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. She also currently serves as a Climate Change Commission member with the Honolulu City and County in an advisory role under its Office of Climate Change, Sustainability and Resiliency.
She told ASD that Climate Change Commission chair Melanie Islam, who is the is principal and sustainability director of architecture firm MASON, helped introduce her to American Institute of Architects, or AIA Hawaiʻi. The statewide professional membership association is led by Lance Hirai, who now leads Henningson, Durham & Richardson (HDR)'s Honolulu architecture studio, according to a recent LinkedIn post.
This year as part of AIA Hawai‘i’s centennial, the organization has offered a quarterly Book Club, inviting “the community into timely, accessible conversations that connect architecture to history, culture, place and lived experience in Hawai‘i,” per the organization.
This third-quarter Book Club event will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26, at Hawaiʻi Nature Center’s Rain Shelter, which is located at 2131 Makiki Heights Dr. in Honolulu. Admission is free, though organizers request those interested in attending register online ahead of time, here. (Read more from the book club's Q2 speaker Honolulu DTS director of transit Jon Nouchi here.)
Oleson said she aims to take a hopeful look at the future of climate action through the lens of writer and climate activist Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, who authored “What If We Get It Right?”
“I admire the author of the book, her hopeful advocacy that gets people involved, which is a nice anecdote to the doom and gloom," Oleson explained of the climate change conversation. She notes that the author breaks problems down in a way people can understand and see pathways forward.
“My interest is helping people see themselves as agents of change and able to do something (about it), not just be the victims of forces beyond their control,” she continued.
According to AIA Hawaiʻi, no prior reading is required. The Book Club is open to anyone, especially those who are curious about architecture’s broader impact in the Islands.
When ASD spoke with Oleson on Tuesday, she was still fine-tuning the agenda and activities for the event.
“It will be an interactive, creative two hours,” she said. “I hope folks will walk away with new connections and ideas — and a smile.”
She’s also leaning into what she expects to be a “creative and captive audience of architects, planners and designers.”
“Imagine what those brains can do and think about!”
Without giving too much away, Oleson noted that the author of this quarter’s book asks readers: What needs doing? What are you good at? What brings you joy?
We thought it’d be fun to ask her for her thoughts, too:
ASD: What needs doing?
Oleson: I’m both inspired and want to weep over so much that needs doing (in the environment) from small things to enormous structural change. We all need to manage water from our rooftops and change our consumer economy. More realistically, we need more people thinking and engaging.
… Don’t fly as much, try to use public transportation, eat less meat and be careful to think before buying something new to keep things out of landfills?
For more tips, Oleson recommends the following resources by Kimberly Nicolas, Ph.D: “Under the Sky we Make” by Nicolas; Podcast: Climate Actually; Substack: "We can fix it".
ASD: What are you good at?
Oleson: Analytical systems thinking and problem solving.
ASD: What sparks joy?
Oleson: Hawaiʻi is a wonderful place, where native species are flourishing. … I adore being in the ocean or looking onto the water to get centered. Another calming place for me is beside cold mountain streams. I enjoy listening, watching, and being slow and still.
“What If We Get It Right?” is available for purchas online or at local libraries and bookstores.
For this event, participants are encouraged to bring their own lawn chair(s), per AIA Hawaiʻi. Visit aiahonolulu.org for more information.
Kelsey Kukaua Medeiros can be reached at kelsey@alohastatedaily.com.
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