Three Fish and Wildlife Service volunteers and two paid Volunteer Co-Coordinators are currently working tirelessly all three islands within Midway Atoll. The six month volunteers include Owen Sobel, Emily McGuirt and Micah Kimura. The two Co-Leads are Dan Rapp and Molly Henling, whose positions are now generously supported, through September 2025, by members and donors like YOU!
Owen Sobel
Hello, my name is Owen Sobel. I'm originally from Long Island, New York, and I graduated from Franklin & Marshall College last year with a degree in Environmental Studies and Economics. My past fieldwork experience includes working at a fish hatchery in Arizona, a farmland trust in Pennsylvania, and spending last summer in Sequoia National Park as part of a forest fire reforestation research project.
Read more about Owen and his love for Midway.
Emily McGuirt
My name is Emily McGuirt, and I am originally from Southwest Virginia! This is my 5th season as a Wildlife/Field Technician, and I am privileged that these positions have taken me all across the U.S. I started my field journey during undergrad where I was an intern in Michigan for the Forest Service. I completed my degrees in Zoology & Wildlife Biology and Conservation & Environmental Biology with a dual minor in Biology and Psychology. After this I decided to go back to the same station in Michigan and complete another field season restoring native savannas for an endangered butterfly.
Read more about Emily's travels and what lead her to Midway Atoll.
Micah Kimura
Hello! I was born and raised in Honolulu, HI then hopped to Hawai'i island to pursue a B.S in Marine Science at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. In studying the marine environment, I learned how large and interconnected the natural world is and in turn how important the conservation of remote places like Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll) is.
Read more about Micah, the gift he brings to Kuaihelani and what he is anxious to learn.
Dan Rapp
Dan Rapp, known as the man behind the camera and current FWS volunteer and biologist, is now currently serving as a co-crew lead for the volunteers. This position was cut from the Midway Atoll Refuge staffing chart when a previous 4-year term biology specialist and volunteer coordinator position ended in Spring. Dan is tremendously grateful to be able to return to directly support this critical program.
Read more about Dan and his journey to Midway Atoll.
Molly Henling
I am currently serving as a co-crew lead for the volunteers and first came to Kuaihelani in 2021 as a seven-month volunteer. Growing up in Washington State with access to the outdoors, I was deeply influenced by the beauty and diversity of the wildlife, which shaped my passion and goals to work in conservation. I attended the University of Washington, where I majored in Wildlife Conservation and minored in American Indian Studies, Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, and Quantitative Science. I began my career mainly working with mesocarnivores and plants before coming to Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll).