Jaclyn Stallard (she/her)

About Jaclyn's Community Action Project (CAP)

Jaclyn's Community Action Project will leverage her unique location to expand environmental education (EE) partnerships and collective impact for the state of Hawai’i, specifically the island of O’ahu, where she currently resides. Her project goal revolves around not only bringing Project Learning Tree (PLT) programming back to the 50th state but also identifying opportunities for measurable civic engagement relevant to local EE Providers. The EE partnerships established will be invited to reengage the local NAAEE Hawai'i Affiliate, a decentralized, grassroots network of professionals working to advance EE, state-by-state.

Across the 8 Hawaiian islands, there is currently no entity organizing or communicating EE efforts to share collective knowledge, resources, and expertise. Jaclyn's project will help rebuild and reengage a network of networks to share environmental and civic education resources, tools, and templates for ʻāina (land)-based action in a very isolated and unique place. To achieve this, Jaclyn will combine individual research with listening sessions to "talk story" and build trust with local Hawaiian EE Providers. Her results will be transformative not only for PLT but also for NAAEE, kama ‘āina (residents), and ecosystems into the future.

About Jaclyn

Jaclyn loves to drink coffee, get lost in a good book, and admire ānuenue (rainbows). In Jaclyn’s free time, you can find her exercising at her community park, hosting a family hui (parent support group), or driving her keiki (kids) around Honolulu. Jaclyn has lived in Hawai’i’s Mānoa Valley for 4 years, gaining her ʻāina-based confidence (and humility!) from a nonprofit group she regularly volunteers with, Family Hui Hawai’i. She is a Board Member of a small nonprofit called Our First Garden, and her family spends Friday nights helping to tend a community farm in Mānoa. She is learning to make lei and dance hula, and enjoying every moment her Hawaiian life has to offer. She attributes her success to her creative problem-solving, big ideas, sense of humor, and loving ʻohana (family), both personal and professional. It takes a village!

More About Me

What is one fun fact people should know about you? 
My love language is Words of Affirmation. This goes for my colleagues and professional contacts too. This makes it natural for me to love using words to empower others. So, if you are ever in need of a kind word, don’t hesitate to drop me a line. I will always have your back.

If you could ask your future self one question, what would it be?
I am the kind of person who likes to ask for advice and learn from the wisdom of others. If experience is the teacher of all things, I would ask about the best 5 pieces of advice that I have received over the course of my life. I always listen to sage advice, and I try to never make the same mistake twice. 

If you could tell your past self one thing, what would it be?
A: You are brilliant, your personality is magnetic, and you are so funny! Voice your ideas louder and try to share them before they are requested. Stand up for yourself, speak your mind with kindness, and always take the opportunity to make people laugh. And lastly, don’t be afraid to spike the punch (after you are 21, of course)!