Coral Reef Restoration Project at University of Hawai'i at Mānoa
Meet the Team
Vanessa Banogon, Team Captain
Adventure, passion, and respect is what comes to mind when Vanessa thinks of the ocean. Growing up surfing and diving in the waters of Oʻahu has given her first hand experience of the changes seen in surrounding coral reefs and their steady decline. She is motivated with the opportunity to give back to the ʻāina. Her drive for learning, perfecting, and improving has given her skills in many different career fields, with a common factor of team leading and project management experience. She looks forward to pushing the team’s limits and seeing the success of the project.
Aleca Borsuk, System Integrator
Aleca is interested in bio-inspired engineering and sustainability. She is currently involved in cross-disciplinary research combining marine botany and engineering, which makes for a natural extension of her expertise to this project. With research experience at institutions such as Columbia University and Caltech, and having executed roles in local organizations such as Energy Excelerator and Expanding Your Horizons Hawaiʻi, she is looking forward to taking on this real-world engineering challenge while helping to facilitate team communication.
David Todd, System Integrator
David is a returning student who is both a US Navy veteran and someone who brings over 14 years of technical work experience as a mechanic and project manager. His exposure to shipyard culture has been a major influence for him while earning his degree in mechanical engineering, and has motivated him to take a proactive stance in sustainability and resource management. As someone who’s not from Hawaiʻi, but from a small coastal town in south Georgia, he has seen first hand the impact that we as a species can have on the ocean in the various places he has lived and traveled. It is his determination to ensure that his education and work experience be used to make a positive impact with sustainable practices in the field of marine engineering.
Raquel Kamalu, Financial Advisor
Raquel was born and raised on the island of Oʻahu, and spent much of her youth learning to appreciate the ocean through surfing, kayaking, snorkeling, and much more. Her work experiences have seen her as an intern with local environmental engineering company Environet, and as an engineering design intern with The Boeing Company. She has spent several years as an undergraduate working with University of Hawaiʻi boards and organizations to acquire funding for various projects and conferences. She is excited to be part of a project that will have a real impact in her community, and will work hard to ensure its financial success.
Bryson Clemente, Co-Financial Advisor
Bryson was born in Hawaiʻi and raised by the Waiʻanae coast and beaches along southern California. With his wife from Brisbane, Australia, Bryson also calls this home. His coastal life has given him an affinity for the ocean and a sense of duty to preserve this environment. As an Army combat veteran specializing in tactical communications equipment and current USACE engineering intern, he has a sharp eye for real-world problem solving and is excited to take on this one-of-a-kind project.
Eric Guyett, Team Member
Growing up fishing, diving and surfing in the ocean surrounding Kauaʻi, Eric has had a lifelong passion towards preserving and protecting the ocean environment. With work experience as a mechanical engineering intern for both Kauaʻi Island Utility Cooperative and a General Contractor, as well as research, design and fabrication experience as a project engineer for a privately funded project, Eric’s ready to facilitate the team in executing this environmentally beneficial project.
Nathaniel Lizama, Team Member
Born on the Tropical Pacific island of Guam, Nathaniel has been brought up within the ideals of protecting and preserving the ocean and all other habitats that provide for subsistence lifestyles. Growing up fishing and close to the water, he has seen firsthand the negative effects that humans have had on coastal areas. Along with these ideals, he brings to the team his project management experience from interning at Guam Water Authority's Engineering Department and technical experience in CAD modeling. Nathaniel is excited for the opportunity to apply his skills and passion towards a project that is positively impactful and the first of its kind for Hawai’i.
Joshua Lui-Kwan, Team Member
Joshua, raised on Oʻahu’s windward side and shorelines, visits the ocean on a daily basis and has a personal stake in ensuring the protection of his primary source of recreation. While he has been known to lend a helping hand at beach cleanups, he is motivated to tackle the adverse effects of human-ocean interactions in a bigger way by means of NOAA’s coral nursery project. Joshua has project experience in 3D modeling and design, and intends to present his best effort and a sea-level perspective to solving the problem at hand.
Kristen Monico, Team Member
Kristen was born and raised on Oʻahu, and has been interested in the ocean and marine environment her entire life. She has work experience as a mechanical engineering intern for Pelatron, a government contracting firm, and is proficient in design. Kristen is excited to use her knowledge from her classes and do her best to execute the NOAA Coral Nursery project.
David Yoshimoto, Team Member
Born and raised in Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi, Yoshi shares a passion for the care of the oceans he grew up in. Having experience in construction, as both a laborer during his summers and as a Project Engineer through an internship with USACE, and in fabrication for a FIRST Robotics team, his background will prove helpful during the construction and testing of the structure.