Pacific-Continental Network of Biosecurity Professionals
Key Personnel
Helmut Kae
Professor
Dr. Kae received his PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, BC) in 2007, and he has been a Professor of Microbiology at Leeward Community College (Pearl City, HI) since 2008, teaching microbiology and general biology classes. Dr. Kae is also passionate about bringing science to the community. He coordinates the Leeward Regional Science Olympiad tournament, and he's an active participant in a number of community events.
Ashley Alobres
Project Specialist
Ashley Albores received her bachelor’s degree at The University of British Columbia Okanagan (Kelowna, BC) in 2014. She is working at Leeward Community College as a Project Specialist for PaCoN in recruitment and curriculum development for the Summer, Fall, and Spring ELPs. She is passionate about connecting students to land and food in meaningful ways, cultivating crops to share with the community, and spending time in the ocean.
Samuel Krakowiak
Project Coordinator
Samuel Krakowiak received his bachelors from Pacific University of Oregon in Agricultural Science with a Minor in Economics. Through the PaCoN program he received his Masters Degree in Tropical Plant Pathology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and has been selected to better support the PaCoN program as its project coordinator in order to provide valuable insights from both a student, and leadership lens in order to continue building strong, and capable professionals in the fields of biosecurity and food security.
Nina Tian
Former Project Coordinator
Nina Tian received her B.S. in Economics from the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics in China, and her M.S. is in Finance from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. With over a decade of extensive supply chain and project management experience, she served as the project specialist for the PaCoN project.
