About Us

SUMMARY

Immerse strives to provide a space for local residents and Native Hawaiians to learn in depth about their land, their community, and themselves and ignite a feeling of purpose and passion through science, culture, and history. Immerse encourages people to be proud of their awe-inspiring home and to want not only to maintain its current beauty and culture, but to restore and grow it to be a healthy supportive place to live for our future generations.


GOALS

    • Inspire youth to explore multiple career opportunities geared toward supporting our community.

    • Inspire community members to care for themselves, their community, and their land.

    • Teach community members how to care for themselves, their community, and their land.

    • Support local nonprofits, small businesses, and science organizations.

    • Perpetuate Hawaii’s Culture

    • Appreciate Hawaii’s History

    • Connect to Hawaii’s nature and wildlife


Our Team

Captain Alexis Iacuzzo, Executive Director & Founding Board Member

Alexis Iacuzzo is a real life mermaid who lives in a treehouse in Kaloko. She grew up riding and training horses in the mountains of Colorado. At a young age she broke her own wild mustang, and after years of experience working with multiple ranches and began training other’s horses. Alexis grew up with the mentorship of many Paleontologists including Dr. Robert Baucher. She even discovered a new species of lungfish while on a dig with him. She’s an adventurer through and through, hiking, skiing, horseback riding, diving and freediving are just a few of her favorite hobbies. She worked under scientists Dr. Robert Otis researching Orcas in the San Juan Islands off Washington. She’s worked as a programs coordinator and educator at the Las Vegas Natural History Museum teaching to hundreds of Children. Alexis moved to Kona, Hawaii working as a Divemaster and Boat Captain in 2015 and since then has coordinated multiple youth programs camping and traveling to six of the Hawaiian Islands. Alexis has a passion for marine biology, science, racial justice, substance abuse support, and lgbtqa+ rights. She is a lifelong learner and is a current online student of UH Hilo. She has a special connection with animals and loves sharing her knowledge and excitement for wildlife with youth. She’s the ultimate adventure guide, eager to introduce you to the neighborhood sharks and learn as much as she can alongside you.