Cohort I

Josh Worth

Office of Senator Brian Schatz (HI)
Home State: Maui, Hawaiʻi
School: Princeton University
Degree: Public and International Affairs, minor Cognitive Science (BA ‘25)
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Joshua Worth was born and raised on Maui. He grew up in Kula and attended Kamehameha Schools Maui from kindergarten through senior year. Joshua went on to attend Princeton University, graduating in 2025 with Honors from the School of Public and International Affairs and a minor in Cognitive Science.

Joshua is committed to serving the communities of Hawaiʻi and representing his Native Hawaiian heritage through his work. At Princeton, his senior thesis investigated the conditions that led to wildfire vulnerability in West Maui, culminating in the 2023 Lahaina wildfire. Through interviews and archival research, his thesis found that there was no singular cause of the Lahaina wildfire, and rather a combination of political shifts, capitalist pursuits, infrastructural developments, and behavioral changes—factors all rooted in the legacy of colonialism—degraded Lahaina’s environment and made the region susceptible to such a disaster.

Joshua is dedicated to protecting the resources and individuals that make Hawaiʻi so special. Joshua now serves as one of the inaugural Prince Kūhiō Fellows in the office of Senator Brian Schatz, where he hopes to support constituents, preserve Hawaiian land and culture, and strengthen Native Hawaiian communities.

It has always been Joshua's goal to return to Hawaiʻi after gaining an education and experiences that can help shape solutions to Native Hawaiian issues. Joshua aims to offer nuanced approaches that will spark meaningful change and is interested in pursuing a career in social work, public service, and non-profit organizations. Joshua is especially excited about work that involves his Native Hawaiian heritage, cultural exchange, coming up with creative solutions, and serving the communities that helped raise him.

"This fellowship has provided me with a closer view of the federal policy-making process and a better understanding of how Hawaiian communities in the islands and on the continent can benefit from federal support.
Another large component of the Prince Kūhiō fellowship is the capstone project, which has created leverage for me to more deeply examine issues that I am passionate about. I am currently reading through materials that would help me create a dashboard that would display how local environmental initiatives in the Indo-Pacific region are contributing to climate quotas and goals set by the Conference of the Parties (COP).
With the support of the foundation, I have been able to attend an indigenous conference in Aotearoa, take part in professional-development events led by APAICS (Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies), and share meals with notable policy-makers and public servants."