Celebrating International Day of Women and Girls in Science

Kirana memiliki latar belakang di bidang Ilmu Kelautan dan Lingkungan, Politik, dan Masyarakat, dengan fokus pada polusi plastik di laut.

Pada bulan Oktober 2019, ia berlayar bersama eXXpedition Round the World, sebuah tim yang seluruhnya terdiri dari perempuan yang mempelajari plastik di lautan. Ia adalah perempuan Indonesia pertama yang mengikuti perjalanan selama dua minggu melintasi Atlantik Utara dari Plymouth, Inggris, menuju Azores, Portugal, yang didukung oleh beasiswa dari International Maritime Organization.

Sebelum menempuh pendidikan pascasarjana, Kirana berpartisipasi dalam program United Nations-Nippon Fellowship pada tahun 2018 di Divisi Urusan Kelautan dan Hukum Laut di New York City. Ia kemudian melakukan penelitian tentang tata kelola laut di Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security di Australia.

Sebelumnya, ia bekerja di Friends of Nature, People and Forests (FNPF), Kementerian Kelautan dan Perikanan, Sekretariat Regional Inisiatif Segitiga Terumbu Karang untuk Terumbu Karang, Perikanan, dan Ketahanan Pangan, dan World Resources Institute Indonesia.

Di waktu luangnya, Kirana senang bepergian, yoga, berenang, menyelam, dan mengunjungi kedai kopi lokal.

Kirana has a background in Marine Science and Environment, Politics, and Society, focusing on ocean plastic pollution.

In October 2019, she sailed with eXXpedition Round the World, an all-female crew studying ocean plastic. She was the first Indonesian woman to join a two-week journey across the North Atlantic from Plymouth, UK, to the Azores, Portugal, supported by a bursary from the International Maritime Organization.

Before her postgraduate studies, Kirana participated in the United Nations-Nippon Fellowship program in 2018 at the Division of Ocean Affairs and Law of the Sea in New York City. She then conducted research on ocean governance at the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security in Australia.

Previously, she worked at Friends of Nature, People and Forests (FNPF), Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, Regional Secretariat of the Coral Triangle Initiative on Coral Reefs, Fisheries, and Food Security, and World Resources Institute Indonesia.

In her free time, Kirana enjoys traveling, yoga, swimming, diving, and visiting local coffee shops.

Michella began her career in 2009 by managing her family’s second-generation business in the fishing industry, which has been operational for over 30 years. Her efforts have been focused on implementing a zero-waste model, including the management of fishing vessels, cold storage facilities, and katsuobushi (dried and fermented tuna) manufacturing. In 2015, Michella’s involvement with NEXUS, a global network focused on social impact, sparked her realization that she could merge her professional work with her passion for the ocean. This marked the beginning of her journey as the “Tuna Girl” in 2017.