Biography
Fern Ānuenue Holland was born and raised on Kaua'i and graduated from Kapa'a High School in 2002. She was raised by her mother who is a teacher and early childhood development educator. Fern is an avid homesteader and gardener, dog owner, ecologist and community advocate.
After graduating high school at Kapaʻa, Fern studied science at Griffith University’s School of Environment. While earning her undergraduate degree, Fern participated in a range of research projects including ecological surveys, water quality assessments, plankton identification studies, fauna trapping projects, laboratory work and environmental monitoring work. Fern assisted with botanical research in the Southern Alps and sea turtle monitoring and tagging research on Lady Musgrave Island in the Great Barrier Reef. Fern is passionate about marine and ecological conservation and sailed to Antarctica in 2007 to intervene in illegal whaling activity in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary with Sea Shepherd, on the Steve Irwin.
Fern graduated in 2009 with her Bachelors in Science with triple majors in Marine Biology, Wildlife Management & Environmental Science. She graduated in the top 5% of her university and was awarded the Griffith Award for Academic Excellence. She was immediately offered a graduate position with an international consulting firm, GHD. During her years with GHD, she worked as an environmental scientist where she conducted a wide range of ecological assessments, waste management plans, water quality monitoring at landfills, as well as contaminated land projects. Fern knows what it takes to build a landfill and the importance of doing it right and will push to get it done. While at GHD, Fern spent nearly a year on contract to the Department of Transport to work as the state environmental officer for rural road projects across the Wide Bay Burnett (Bundagerg) Region of Queenslands Central Coast.
Fern gave up her consulting career with GHD in 2012 and returned home with her education and experience to serve Kauaʻi. Since moving home, Fern has been very active in the community and proactive on local issues. She was directly involved in drafting and helping to pass Bill 2491, which would have given Kaua'i the right to know what restricted use pesticides are being heavily used by biotech research centers on Kaua'i, provide buffers to our sensitive locations and request environmental and health monitoring studies. She was behind the negotiations and permits for both historical marches in 2013 to bring awareness to the community concerns related to the presence of large agribusiness testing on Kaua'i. Fern continues to be active in this area in a professional capacity and was involved in the passing of Act 45 (Bill 3095) in 2018 at the Hawaii State Capitol, which was a step towards obtaining protections for communities against pesticide drift. Fern has been active on the issue of land management and large agribusiness impacts for over 15 years and works to support efforts to expand local food and regenerative agriculture solutions. Much of Ferns work in this area is heavily featured in the award winning documentary, Poisoning Paradise.
In 2016 Fern graduated from the Kuleana Academy and ran for State House District 15 (then 14), north and east Kauaʻi. Through her years of public involvement and political networks and participation in the Kuleana Academy leadership program, Fern is part of a large network of leaders throughout the islands working to create and inspire change for the betterment of Hawai'i. Fern now works on a range of community issues. She is the Fair & Sustainable Food Systems Director for the Hawaiʻi Alliance for Progressive Action (HAPA) and is working to support efforts statewide to enhance our food security and expand local regenerative agriculture and food production. She is passionate about ecological restoration of native systems and services and wrote recently about her concerns about increased fire threat due to excessive invasive species growth post plantation in her Civil Beat article Invasive Species are Radically Altering Hawaiʻi’s Ecology. Fern is a founding member of I Ola Wailuanui helping to develop the non profit to oversee the long term restoration and protection of Wailuanuiahoʻāno.
Like many of us, Fern works multiple jobs to survive on Kauaʻi and understands how local families are getting pushed out. Keeping generational local families here on Kauaʻi is her top priority.
Fern regularly takes on contracts for local environmental consulting and monitoring work. She has worked on a wide range of local projects including Lima Ola affordable housing project in ʻEleʻele, Hanalei to Haʻena road reconstruction projects post flooding and a range of islandwide environmental consulting projects. Fern has also worked for over a decade at Tahiti Nui in Hanalei as a server, bartender and manager and is a part of the Tahiti Nui ʻohana. With over 20 years of hospitality, business and project management experience, Fern knows how to reach benchmarks and get projects accomplished in a way that is effective, respectful and collaborative.
In September 2021 Fern lost the love of her life to an accidental fentanyl overdose. She intimately knows the pain that drugs have caused, in her own family, within her immediate friend circles and our wider community here on Kauaʻi. Fern is committed to addressing the crisis situations we are facing and finding real solutions to address our drug problems and the many issues that are deeply rooted into our society which require systemic change.
Throughout her life, Fern has traveled the east coast of Australia and much of the continental US. She has seen many examples of ways communities have managed tourism, infrastructure and community and environmental needs with the goal of preserving their culture and way of life while creating prosperous healthy communities. Fern is hard working, committed and genuine and will fight for Kauaʻi and our community.
