Pacific Islands Energy Roundtable

Climate crisis journalist and scholar with a focus on small islands, gender, environmental negotiations and human rights.

John has 20 years of energy & microgrid industry experience in the Pacific, in isolated, and in high-risk regions. John is skilled in strategic planning, transformative business models, international business & logistics, entrepreneurship, and utility RE project development and financing. John was mentored by Utu Abe Malae who was Executive Director of the American Samoa Power Authority, working to combat critical environmental challenges in American Samoa and greater Polynesia.

Michelle Klassen (“MK”) Merrigan began her career in humanitarian aid, working frequently in the developing world. For the past decade, MK led the development of advanced energy solutions that meet the mission of US military, security and peacekeeping forces operating beyond secure supply lines. Opening up new markets with creative capital, this work quickly led to border security in support of national security interests; economic development efforts through small business models at the last kilometer; and in developing regions and markets. MK led a diverse team from an agile prototype shop in Ferndale, Michigan.

MK ADVISORS (formerly LkM Solutions) facilitates the progress and adoption of strategic solutions for resource equity needs, while driving policy in support of smart, affordable technologies and creating economic models. MK Advisors emerged from years of integrating distinct components into cohesive and reliable solutions that are more than the sum of their parts. As it is with our technological approach, so it is with our collective skill and drive.

Henk Rogers is a Dutch-born entrepreneur and clean energy visionary who has dedicated the past decade of his career to the research, development, advocacy and implementation of renewable energy sources in his adopted home of Hawaii. As the principal and visionary philanthropist of Blue Planet Foundation, Rogers’ efforts led to Hawaii becoming the first state in the nation with a policy requiring that 100% of the state’s electricity come from renewable sources by 2045.

Rogers is now focusing beyond Hawaii to help others enact mandates for 100% renewable energy in their regions. He has spoken at three Inter-Parliamentary Union assemblies, where he collaborated with the 178 member countries to draft an emergency climate change resolution.

His newest initiative, Blue Planet Alliance, takes a “mandate first” approach to initiate global climate change action by creating measurable and scalable results among individuals, organizations, cities, states, countries and eventually, the world. The Alliance’s mission is to regenerate the environment and become 100% sustainable by 2045. The vision is to create a world in which humanity and nature live in harmony.

He is also the founder of Blue Planet Energy, one of the leading providers of energy storage systems that power homes, business and critical infrastructure. The company’s innovative Blue Ion technology has allowed Henk to take his own residences off-grid.

Rogers is also renowned as a global leader in the gaming industry, when he created Japan’s first Role-Playing Game. One of his software companies holds the exclusive intellectual property rights to Tetris, the world’s most popular video game (over 125 million units sold). Rogers revolutionized the industry when he brought the now legendary game to U.S. and world markets more than three decades ago.

As the Secretary General, Ambassador Mara has overall responsibility for the management and administration of the Pacific Island Development Forum Secretariat to support members through regional leadership, genuine partnerships and innovative mechanisms, reporting to the Governing Council.

Ms Toelupe Tago – Elisara is a graduate of the University of New South Wales, where she graduated with a Masters in International Social Development in 2002. She is also a graduate of Massey University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Social Work in 1997. Later in her career she also completed further qualifications through distance learning including an Advanced Diploma in Business Management from the University of New England through the UNE Partnerships (Armidale, New South Wales) delivered under the Executive Development Programme for senior public servants in Samoa (coordinated through the Public Service Commission –Samoa); and a Diploma in Government and Certificate IV in Training and Assessment from Victoria University (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia).

Before joining SPC, Ms Toelupe Tago-Elisara was Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development (MWCSD) in Samoa where she worked for 7 years before she was appointed CEO. She held the position of CEO for 5 years before she resigned to take up her role in SPC. As CEO for MWCSD, Ms Toelupe Tago-Elisara’s portfolio covered village governance and village development; advancing gender equality; youth development; child protection and disability; including work on human rights, more specifically on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). As CEO for MWCSD, she also served on several Government Boards and National Committees providing oversight and strategic direction across different sectors of Government, some of which included Health, Education, Agriculture, Water and Sanitation, Environment and Law and Justice. She was also Chairperson of the national partnership committees for CEDAW and CRC, and the National Disability Taskforce. These Forums brought together both government and civil society organisations working on the promotion of gender equality, child development and disability in Samoa. Ms Toelupe Tago – Elisara in her role as CEO represented the Government of Samoa on various regional and international fora including regional Ministerial and High Level forums; and international forums such as the Commission on the Status of Women; the Universal Periodic Review and the reporting at the UN on Human Rights Conventions the Government of Samoa is a State Party to.