Islands Society Recognizes President of Leading Hawaiian Non-profit as a “Local Female Leader”

HONOLULU - Sept. 13, 2015 - PRLog -- Today, the Islands Society announced that it has selected Nicole Forrester as its “Local Female Leader” for September 2015. Forrester was given the award for her efforts to promote the health and well-being of the next generation of Pacific Islanders through partnerships in education.

As the current President and CEO of the Pacific Resources for Education Learning (PREL), Nicole Forrester joins a growing network of Local Female Leaders leading positive change in island communities.

“We welcome Ms. Forrester as a Local Female Leader,” says Keiko Ono, Managing Director of the Local Female Leaders (LFL) Project. “We are excited to share her perspectives on how we can improve the health and well-being of women in island communities. And, we know that she can serve as an inspiration for girls across the Pacific Islands.”

“Women bring great value to all work environments – be they for profit or not,” says Forrester. “This fact has been accepted in the education and community development sectors for some time now. As a female leader, I bring different perspectives, analysis, and ways of knowing to the organization and our stakeholders. I’ve been encouraged that, for the most part, co-creation, inclusive and consultative approaches (which some would argue as being feminine strengths) are accepted as being more than just ‘process’ now. Rather, they are seen as an integral means to delivering positive impacts alongside community partners. For sustainable development to occur, organizations must support communities to drive their own change. That means as agents of change, non-profit leaders (regardless of gender) must listen more than we speak.”

About Nicole Forrester

Nicole Forrester is the President and CEO of Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL), where she is working hard to enhance community well-being in the Pacific Islands through partnerships in education. Prior to this role, she directed the Young Leaders Program at Pacific Forum Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and served as consul for economic and political affairs at the Australian Consulate-General in Los Angeles. Thereafter, she was awarded the East-West Center’s Asia-Pacific Leadership Program Fellowship and the Amanda and Natalie Ellis Women Leaders Scholarship Award.

Local Female Leader Interview: http://islandssociety.org/projects/causes/equality/local-...

About the Local Female Leaders Program

Through the Local Female Leaders Program, the Islands Society recognizes females from around the world who are thought leaders in their local communities. Under the program, the Islands Society selects a local female leader from a different island community each month. That local female leader is then provided the opportunity to share her insights on how the health and well-being of girls and women can be improved in her own community based on her own life experiences.

About the Islands Society

The Islands Society is an independent, non-partisan, non-governmental organization that develops and implements projects that inspire and empower islanders around the world. These projects are currently organized around two main themes: community projects and next generation leaders. The community projects centre on ten issue areas, including charity, conservation, democracy, disaster relief, education, equality, health, innovation, security, and sustainability. Meanwhile, the next generation leader projects support artists, athletes, chefs, incubators, musicians, policymakers, storytellers, and technologists.

About the Pacific Islands Society (PacSoc)

The Pacific Islands Society is a constituent society of the Islands Society. Its mission is to respect, inspire, and empower Pacific Islanders around the world, especially women and the next generation of leaders. PacSoc is the oldest and most active of the Islands Society’s constituent societies. It currently runs a number of high-profile programs, including NexGen Pacific Artists, Pacific Security Scholars, and Pacific Young Leaders on Disarmament. The society also has almost 4,000 followers on Facebook.

About the Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL)

PREL is an independent, nonprofit organization with staff in Hawai’i, American Sāmoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia: Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap. Throughout the Pacific, PREL collaborates with schools, agencies, and communities to transform schooling and promote dynamic reciprocal learning communities built on strong social and cultural capital.