Marushka Hirshon

Marushka Hirshon is the founder of the South Pacific Islander Organization (SPIO), a non-profit dedicated to increasing the presence of Pacific Islanders in higher education and professional fields.1267 She is a program manager and sustainability consultant with over seven years of experience in creating and managing strategic plans and programs.1

Hirshon's LinkedIn username is marushkahirshon. She is based in Papeete, Windward Islands, French Polynesia.1

Experience and Roles::

• Program Management Consultant at Natura Consulting: Since September 2022, Hirshon has been creating strategic plans and program plans for government agencies, managing sustainability festivals focused on marine animal conservation, developing sustainability strategic plans for startups, and crafting strategic plans for nonprofits in the sustainability space.1
• Founder of South Pacific Islander Organization: Founded in June 2018, the organization manages six digital programs reaching 100,000 individuals, manages over 100 advisors, board members, and global volunteers, disburses $70,000 in scholarships to Pacific Islander scholars, and manages partnerships with foundations, corporations, and nonprofits.1 The organization was co-founded by MichaeLynn Kanichy and Eldred “JR” Lesansee.35
• Program Manager / Student Services Specialist at Stanford University: From September 2017 to June 2018, Hirshon revamped and standardized internal processes for the campus-wide student hearing process, collaborated with students and campus partners to streamline the campus-wide student event administrative approval process, and provided day-to-day support to student organization leaders.1
• Alumni Relations Coordinator / Admission Counselor at Stanford University: From January 2016 to September 2017, Hirshon read over 1,000 global applications, participated in applicant selection meetings, served as the Asian Pacific Islander diversity lead, managed 50+ annual global events, developed alumni volunteer training material, created a quarterly newsletter for over 10,000 alumni volunteers, and gave public presentations on the college admission process to 1,000 students across the U.S.1
• Associate Solutions Consultant at Oracle: From July 2014 to January 2016, Hirshon became a Human Capital Management (HCM) Taleo subject matter expert, supported sales representatives during discovery calls, prepared online product demonstrations for prospective customers, and completed Demo2Win and Sandler sales training.1

Education::

• Hirshon holds a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) from Stanford University in Science, Technology and Society, with a focus in Environment and Sustainability.1

Licenses and Certifications::

• LEED AP Building Design & Construction (BD+C) from the U.S. Green Building Council, issued August 2021.1
• Construction Project Management Certificate from Emeritus, issued August 2021.1

Honors and Awards::

• Stanford Award of Excellence, issued by Stanford University in June 2014.1
• Team Impact Award, issued by Stanford Student Affairs in 2018.1

Languages::

• Tahitian (elementary proficiency)1
• Spanish (limited working proficiency)1
• Italian (limited working proficiency)1
• French (native or bilingual proficiency)1
• English (native or bilingual proficiency)1

The South Pacific Islander Organization (SPIO) is a 100% volunteer-led 501(c)3 non-profit that creates digital resources for Pacific Islanders to successfully navigate higher education.46 SPIO aims to increase visibility, strengthen the higher education community, and share educational resources for Pacific Islander students.2