Kaya joined PSR-LA in 2024 to work alongside a dedicated team addressing interconnected issues of air and water quality, land use and health, and toxics. Her upbringing in South Kona, Hawai‘i, and the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles fostered a deep appreciation for the interconnectedness of people with their natural and built environments and how each sustains and influences the other. She learned early on that working in solidarity and in community toward a more equitable, just, and healthy world created space within her to hold both the grief and the joy of being human.

Before joining PSR-LA, Kaya directed a public interest litigation program at the Center for Environmental Health (CEH). Often in partnership with NGOs, community-based EJ organizations, and impacted residents, she held large corporations accountable for air and water pollution, and toxic chemicals in consumer products. Her team’s efforts drove new industry standards through legally binding agreements. They forced companies like Chevron, Phillips, Walmart, and Precision Castparts Auto to come into compliance with state and national environmental health regulations. With 12 years of experience working within food justice, biodiversity law, human rights advocacy, and environmental health organizations, Kaya is honored to advocate for social and environmental justice with the communities and on lands that raised and shaped her.

Kaya holds a BA in Peace and Conflict Studies from UC Berkeley. She enjoys spending time in the ocean, hiking in the mountains, dancing, making art, and sharing good food with friends and family.