Our story? Alex and Jameson met in grad school at SDSU in 2009 and quickly became good friends and colleagues. Alex went to American Samoa for his PhD research in 2012 and Jameson soon followed to teach at American Samoa Community College. They collaborated on several projects for Alex’s dissertation work and Jameson’s grant-funded and student research projects. In 2016 Jameson and Alex both moved back to San Diego and started careers in environmental science consulting at Amec Foster Wheeler (now WSP).
To continue working in education and research in marine science and environmental science in American Samoa, they formed the non-profit Malosi Foundation in 2019. “Malosi” is the Samoan word for “strength” or “power”. The Covid19 pandemic unfortunately closed all travel to and from American Samoa for 2 years, and Jameson and Alex both had new babies in 2020/21 so the Malosi Foundation took a little break.
Jameson unexpectedly and tragically passed away in September 2021 due to a congenital heart issue. His wife, Carolyn, suggested the Malosi Foundation pivot to fundraising and granting scholarships to support students pursuing a career in environmental and marine sciences, in honor of Jameson and his love for teaching and research.
If you’re interested in helping out or getting involved, email us at info@malosifoundation.org!