Ilana
has gone by the nickname Nimz for just as long as
she's been interested in nature. Nimz grew up in Waimanalo
on Oahu with arborist parents that love to dive. Subsequently
nature has been at the forefront of her life and an
inspiration to learn and travel.
Marine Biology had always been a career goal, so
Nimz stayed on Oahu to attend the University of Hawaii
at Manoa. She designed her own major in Conservation
Biology and Marine Science for a more tailored education
of courses specific to her interests. Taking advantage
of her love for unique wildlife and activities such
as skiing and hiking, Nimz participated in a year-long
international exchange to the University of Otago
on the South Island of New Zealand, selecting courses
in phycology and marine vertebrates. To figure out
what awesome area of marine science she wanted to
focus on, Nimz explored many pathways through jobs
and internships during college. She became a scientific
diver, worked at the Kewalo marine lab rearing nudibranchs,
and interned at NOAA's Hawaiian Monk Seal Research
Program. Before her final semester, she volunteered
for a summer on Kure Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian
Islands with the State of Hawaii.
The experience of biological research, active conservation
and remote living was the perfect combination of science
and adventure, and Nimz was completely hooked on the
Bio-Tech lifestyle. Following her final semester at
UH Manoa, she returned to Kure Atoll for a season
with the Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program's Assessment
and Recovery Camp.
Over the last seven years, Nimz has completed numerous
research seasons in beautiful corners of the Pacific
studying both seabirds and seals. She participated
in seabird monitoring projects on South East Farallon
Island off of California and on tiny Aiktak Island
in Alaska's Aleutian Chain. Nimz worked with seabirds
in the Main Hawaiian Islands as a technician for the
Kauai Endangered Seabird Recovery Project, Oahu Offshore
Islets Restoration Program and Oikonos Ecosystem Knowledge.
For the last several seasons, she has led Monk Seal
research field camps on Kure Atoll and Lisianski Island
in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
Nimz transitioned from just liking birds in to loving
them- her appreciation for their incredible lives
has grown through working and living amongst these
fascinating and amusing animals. The understudied
Christmas Shearwaters (Puffinus nativitatus) on Kure
Atoll especially captured her interest and have become
the focus of her Master's program research. She aims
to further understand the foraging habits of this
species while developing skills involved with data
analysis and scientific writing to become a well-rounded
research biologist.
In her free time, Nimz enjoys being under water and
on the water, climbing trees, and painting all the
animals she photographs from her field seasons.
Nimz won two awards at the 2020 Pacific Seabird Group
Conference, in Portland (Oregon):
best student oral paper & people's choice award
Nimz defended her MSMS thesis in April 16, 2020.
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After graduating
Nimz plans to continue integrating her passion
for art and science in a variety of ways.
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