Dr. Brian Kastl

Maui Nui Project Manager

Brian’s ridge-to-reef conservation experience in the Pacific and Caribbean guides his efforts to protect clean water for reefs with CORAL and its partners in Hawai’i. In 2010, he earned his Master’s degree from the University of Hawai’i, specializing in stream restoration and sediment transport. Since then, he co-developed coastal watershed management approaches with local communities and led aquatic conservation projects, research, and courses for The Nature Conservancy, IUCN, Asian Development Bank, and National Geographic. This work was based in Belize, Barbados, Micronesia, Fiji, the Galapagos, New Zealand, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. As part of his PhD in aquatic ecology from the University of California, Berkeley, he developed a climate adaptation framework with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). His methodology leveraged local knowledge to reduce stressors in streams and to protect endangered fish species in California. He also served as a science advisor to the EPA on river flow policies, aimed at safeguarding downstream aquatic life. Brian is a National Geographic Explorer, Fulbright Scholar, East-West Center Asia Pacific Leadership Program Fellow, United Nations Environment Programme grantee, California Sea Grant Fellow, and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow. To energize his endeavors, Brian enjoys ridge hikes and surfing along reefs.

I have lots of heroes: anyone and everyone who does whatever they can to leave the
natural world better than they found it.

Dr Sylvia Earle