Victoria Keener is an associate extension agent with the University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program and the co-lead of the Pacific Research on Island Solutions for Adaptation (Pacific RISA) program. As a NOAA RISA team, the Pacific RISA team of investigators and staff works with Pacific Island and coastal populations in adapting to the impacts of weather variability and change, and engages in research collaborations and exchanges with both Hawaiʻi and Guam Sea Grant. Pacific RISA emphasizes the engagement of local residents, governments, and businesses in developing effective policies to build resilience in key sectors such as water management, coastal and marine ecosystems, fisheries, agriculture, tourism, disaster management, and public health.

Victoria is jointly appointed as a research professor at the Arizona State University Global Institute for Sustainability and Innovation, and an affiliate senior fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu. She earned a Ph.D. in Agricultural & Biological Engineering from the University of Florida, specializing in hydro-climatological research. Dr. Keener does interdisciplinary and applied research working with Pacific Island communities to transform climate information into resource management policies aiming to reduce climate-induced risk. She was the lead author of the Hawai‘i and Pacific Islands Chapter of the 4th U.S. National Climate Assessment (NCA4), an author on NCA5, and helps to direct the Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment (PIRCA) network and reports. Dr. Keener was appointed to the City & County of Honolulu Climate Change Commission from 2018 to 2024.