Members
The Asia-Pacific Leadership Network for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (APLN) has over one hundred members from eighteen countries across Asia and the Pacific, consisting of former political, diplomatic and military leaders, senior government officials, and scholars and opinion leaders. APLN aims to inform and energize public opinion, especially high-level policymakers, to take seriously the very real threats posed by nuclear weapons, and to do everything possible to achieve a world in which they are contained, diminished and eventually eliminated.
Rhea MOSS-CHRISTIAN
Executive Director of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), Former Chair of the Marshall Islands National Nuclear Commission (NNC)
Rhea Moss-Christian is the Executive Director of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC). She is also the former Chair of the Marshall Islands National Nuclear Commission (NNC), and has served as the WCPFC Chair from 2015-2018, the first woman to hold this position.
Rhea Moss-Christian is the Executive Director of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), an international fisheries body responsible for managing the world's largest tuna fishery. Rhea was appointed by the organization's 41-member countries and territories in December 2022. From 2015-2018, Rhea also served as the WCPFC Chair, the first woman to hold this position. Her regional fisheries experience spans over 20 years and includes work with the US National Marine Fisheries Service, the FSM National Fisheries Authority, and the RMI Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Resources and Development, as well as experience as an independent fisheries consultant supporting clients such as the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency and The Nature Conservancy.
Rhea is also the former Chair of the Marshall Islands National Nuclear Commission (NNC), a government entity established in 2017 to address outstanding impacts of the US nuclear weapons testing program in the Marshall Islands. She was appointed by the RMI President and Cabinet shortly after the NNC was established and served alongside two other Commissioners from 2017-2021. Rhea led the development of a National Strategy for Nuclear Justice, which was adopted by the RMI Government in 2019.
Rhea's additional appointments include the Republic of the Marshall Islands Honorary Consul to the Federated States of Micronesia as well as a member of the Australia-Pacific Security College Advisory Board.
Rhea’s public service career began in the RMI Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1996 when she held the portfolio of Undersecretary of Asia-Pacific Affairs. She later served as RMI's Assistant Secretary for Resources and Development and as an Oceans Adviser to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Rhea was born in the Marshall Islands and is a dual national of the Marshall Islands and the United States. She holds a Masters in Global Business Administration ('23) from The Fletcher School at Tufts University, a Master of Arts in International Policy Studies ('05) from Stanford University, a Post-Graduate Certificate in Diplomatic Studies ('00) from Oxford University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics ('96) from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Rhea resides in Pohnpei with her husband, Christopher Christian, and her young daughter, Isla.