Aloha,

We’re excited to announce the latest additions to our Pacific Forum team.
First is Kimberley Lehn, our new Senior Director, Honolulu Defense Forum.
In addition, we also have two new Program Managers, Kula Kukonu and Christine Fisher.

Please join in welcoming them to our Pacific Forum ‘ohana!

Kimberly Lehn is Senior Director at the Pacific Forum, in charge of the newly established Honolulu Defense Forum (HDF).
Launched in January 2024 under the banner “Operationalizing Integration in the Indo-Pacific,” the HDF seeks to facilitate dialogue and solutions between a wide range of actors from the private and public sectors to bolster deterrence in the face of an increasingly contested regional security environment.

She is a national security professional with nearly 20 years of experience in the U.S. federal government and in the private sector. She is a Vice President at Beacon Global Strategies, a strategic advisory firm advising leading companies on national security issues; and previously served in various management and analytic roles in the Executive Branch and as a Professional Staff Member on the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee in the Legislative Branch.

There she led the committee’s oversight over Indo-Pacific issues among other areas that focused on the national security challenges facing the United States, particularly strategic competition with China and Russia, and the important role alliances and partnerships play to build collective security.

Kula Kukonu is a Program Manager at Pacific Forum.
Her role centers on organizing and providing logistical support for domestic and overseas conferences. From childhood, Kula has been interested in Hawaii’s unique position as a bridge between the East and the West. A firm believer in the power of studying abroad, she studied in Costa Rica, Thailand, and South Korea as an exchange student to expand her worldview.

She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from Hawaii Pacific University. Kula received her Master of International Studies from Ewha Womans University.

Chrissy Fisher will be joining the Pacific Forum in mid-July as a Program Manager.
Previously, she served as the (Australian) Defense Support & Engagement Officer and the Executive Assistant to the Consul-General & Public Diplomacy Officer at the Australian Consulate-General in Honolulu.

Chrissy has also held key administrative and event roles in various industries including management consulting, telecommunications, IT and renewable energy across Australia, Middle East and Asia. She received her Advanced Diploma in Tourism Management from William Angliss in Melbourne, Australia.