Chandler O’Connell was born and raised in Sitka, a guest on Lingit Aani. She moved back home in 2016 to work as the Sitka Sustainable Community Catalyst with the Sitka Conservation Society and the Sustainable Southeast Partnership. Chandler graduated from Harvard University with a degree in Human Evolutionary Biology and a minor in Health Policy. Following graduation, she worked in Sitka and San Francisco, before moving to Burundi as a Global Health Corps Fellow with the Clinton Health Access Initiative. At the end of her fellowship year, she moved to Rwanda to work with One Acre Fund, a fast growing social enterprise that supports smallholder farmers to build resilient communities. Five years later, humbled and grateful for the experiences she had living and working Internationally, Chandler headed home. Alongside her community, she hopes to contribute to creating a healthy, vibrant, just and sustainable future for the people and place of Southeast Alaska.