Paula Moehlenkamp is an interdisciplinary coastal adaptation specialist with the University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program at UH Mānoa. In partnership with Pacific RISA and the University of Hawaiʻi Sea Level Center, she leads a study to co-produce actionable flood-impact indicators for adaptation planning in Palau. Grounded in stakeholder interviews and sector-based workshops, her work integrates social and physical sciences—pairing community insights with sea-level and elevation analyses—to link flood exposure, community impacts, management responses, and progress toward resilience goals.

Paula is passionate about translating science into decisions and respectfully integrating traditional knowledge and practices with Western methods. She earned an MS in oceanography from UH Mānoa (2018, Hawaiʻi Sea Grant fellow), where her research monitored environmental variability and ecosystem health at a traditional Hawaiian fishpond in the Heʻeia watershed (Oʻahu) to support restoration and resource management. Previously, Paula worked with Pacific RISA at the East-West Center, collaborating with the Local2030 Islands Network to develop climate indicators aligned with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the Freely Associated States, co-creating metrics that are locally grounded and culturally appropriate.