The origins of Goals for Good Foundation are personal, the direct outgrowth of a family's experiences in Kiribati in August 2014. While assisting their father on a research trip, Liz and Mary Kate came to understand their father's affection for the I-Kiribati. Awestruck by the challenges of the nation, they were even more amazed by the warmth, kindness, and smiles of their new friends. Yet, they wondered why they never heard of Kiribati back home in the US. All of these combined to motivate the creation of the Foundation within a year. And the Foundation continues to grow....
Dr. Gene Rankey serves as the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Goals for Good, and is a Professor of Geology at the University of Kansas. He has visited Kiribati numerous times since 2008 for studies of sediment, waves, tides, currents and landforms, and island dynamics in response to climate and sea-level change. He has served on the board of directors for Society for Sedimentary Geology and is presently on the board of GeoScienceWorld. He is pleased to work to help his fellow Americans understand issues facing Kiribati, and to give something back to the I-Kiribati for their kindness and goodwill.
Liz Rankey is a college junior, and the Assistant Executive Director behind Goals for Good. As one of the founders of the organization, Liz considers herself deeply passionate about both the country and people of Kiribati. She has taken various environmental science courses and learned a lot in the process, but is majoring in communications.
Mary Kate Rankey is a senior at Florida State University, and serves as the Secretary of Goals for Good. A person with a passion for helping others, Mary Kate fell in love with the people of Kiribati and wanted to give back.
Board Member Tion Uriam’s area of interest is in mapping and surveying, and he has worked for the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources Development in Kiribati since 2008. Tion enjoys interacting with various communities on Tarawa and the outer islands. He also enjoys doing scientific fieldwork, many of which involves investigating the environmental impacts of climate change and sea level on local communities. Tion has a wealth of experience in dealing with large projects and was especially instrumental in delimiting Kiribati's Maritime Boundaries, a project which earned him and his Government a Technical Excellence Award by the Spatial Industries Business Association in 2014 (http://www.sopac.org/sopac/gis/GISNewsletterMarch2015). He has also been given a role as the chairman of the Kiribati’s Geographic Information Systems User Group, a technical working within the Kiribati Government whose task is to handle and maintain the countries geospatial datasets. He is now currently studying in Melbourne, Australia, on an Australian Government funded scholarship. The scholarship is part of the Australian Government's initiative in the training of people in areas that is lacking in their country for which they feel will assist in their countries development and growth. He is majoring in Geospatial Science.
Board Member Daniel Doolittle is a Principal Scientist at Inspire Environmental LLC and has 25+ years of marine science and project management experience, primarily focused on geological investigations and innovative technologies supporting offshore energy exploration and production. He has worked extensively in frontier basins and other remote regions, including high latitude waters from Antarctica to the Arctic and most global oceans. He and Gene were in Kiribati in 2009 to conduct baseline sea level surveys and other sedimentological research. That trip was an important catalyst for Daniel and sparked his desire to serve the people of Kiribati and educate others about the issues confronting the I-Kiribati.
Dr. Gene Rankey serves as the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Goals for Good, and is a Professor of Geology at the University of Kansas. He has visited Kiribati numerous times since 2008 for studies of sediment, waves, tides, currents and landforms, and island dynamics in response to climate and sea-level change. He has served on the board of directors for Society for Sedimentary Geology and is presently on the board of GeoScienceWorld. He is pleased to work to help his fellow Americans understand issues facing Kiribati, and to give something back to the I-Kiribati for their kindness and goodwill.
Liz Rankey is a college junior, and the Assistant Executive Director behind Goals for Good. As one of the founders of the organization, Liz considers herself deeply passionate about both the country and people of Kiribati. She has taken various environmental science courses and learned a lot in the process, but is majoring in communications.
Mary Kate Rankey is a senior at Florida State University, and serves as the Secretary of Goals for Good. A person with a passion for helping others, Mary Kate fell in love with the people of Kiribati and wanted to give back.
Board Member Tion Uriam’s area of interest is in mapping and surveying, and he has worked for the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources Development in Kiribati since 2008. Tion enjoys interacting with various communities on Tarawa and the outer islands. He also enjoys doing scientific fieldwork, many of which involves investigating the environmental impacts of climate change and sea level on local communities. Tion has a wealth of experience in dealing with large projects and was especially instrumental in delimiting Kiribati's Maritime Boundaries, a project which earned him and his Government a Technical Excellence Award by the Spatial Industries Business Association in 2014 (http://www.sopac.org/sopac/gis/GISNewsletterMarch2015). He has also been given a role as the chairman of the Kiribati’s Geographic Information Systems User Group, a technical working within the Kiribati Government whose task is to handle and maintain the countries geospatial datasets. He is now currently studying in Melbourne, Australia, on an Australian Government funded scholarship. The scholarship is part of the Australian Government's initiative in the training of people in areas that is lacking in their country for which they feel will assist in their countries development and growth. He is majoring in Geospatial Science.
Board Member Daniel Doolittle is a Principal Scientist at Inspire Environmental LLC and has 25+ years of marine science and project management experience, primarily focused on geological investigations and innovative technologies supporting offshore energy exploration and production. He has worked extensively in frontier basins and other remote regions, including high latitude waters from Antarctica to the Arctic and most global oceans. He and Gene were in Kiribati in 2009 to conduct baseline sea level surveys and other sedimentological research. That trip was an important catalyst for Daniel and sparked his desire to serve the people of Kiribati and educate others about the issues confronting the I-Kiribati.