Willy Kostka was born and raised on the island of Pohnpei, in the Federated States of Micronesia.  After graduating from Xavier High School in Chuuk State, he went on to earn an Associate of Arts Degree in Liberal Arts from Santa Rosa Junior College in 1990. He returned and after a short stint with the Pohnpei State Government went to work at the College of Micronesia-FSM as the Student Services Coordinator at the Pohnpei Campus.  In 1998, he helped founded and became the first Board Chairman and Executive Director of the Conservation Society of Pohnpei, the leading local conservation NGO in the nation.  In 2002, Mr. Kostka also co-founded and currently serves as Executive Director of the Micronesia Conservation Trust, a charitable and irrevocable corporation organized to support biodiversity conservation and related sustainable development for the people of Micronesia by providing long term sustained funding. In 2006, Kostka became a Pew Fellow and now serves as Co-coordinator of the Pacific Islands MPA Community, and member of the President’s Sustainable Development Council, the National Biodiversity Strategic Planning Panel and the Pohnpei Resource Management Committee.  He was also involved and very instrumental in the development of the Federated States of Micronesia’s National Environment Sector Strategies for the Compact Re-negotiations with the United States Government. Currently Kostka is using his fellowship grant to support and further the implementation of the recently launched Micronesia Challenge, a common commitment by the countries and territories of Micronesia to a comprehensive system of resilient MPA networks. This commitment will see at least 30% of the nearshore marine and 20% of the forest resources across Micronesia under effective conservation by 2020.