About Marshall Islands RPCV Jack Niedenthal
About the Author of the Bikini Atoll web site:
Jack Niedenthal
Title: Trust Liaison for the People of Bikini (hired by the Bikinians)
Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA
Age 45
Dual citizen of the U.S. & the Marshall Islands
Educated: University of Arizona (1978-80)
B.S. degree in Business Economics with Distinction
Clarion University of Pennsylvania (1975-77)
Vice President of Student Senate, All American swimmer
PADI Divemaster, IANTD wreck diver
Voluntary Public Service in the Marshall Islands:
*Elected and served as the Vice-Chairman of the Marshall Islands Social Security Administration Board (March 2000--January 2003)
*Elected and currently serves as the Chairman of the Board for the Marshall Islands Social Security Administration (January 2003--?)
*Elected and served as the Majuro Co-op Elementary School PTA President for the 2002-2003 school year (October 2002).
*Elected and currently serves as a Board Member and Treasurer of the Majuro Co-op Elementary School (October 2003).
*Elected and currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Bank of the Marshall Islands. Sits as the Chairman of the Audit Committee for the bank. (April 2003).
*Selected and currently serves as a Board member and the Vice Chairman for the Prior Service Trust Fund Administration for Micronesia, (January 2003).
Having lived, studied and worked in the Marshall Islands from 1981 until the present, he speaks fluent Marshallese. His wife, Regina, is a Bikini islander. They have five children, two of them by adoption.
His first six years in the Marshalls were all spent in the isolated jungles of the outer islands. He was a Peace Corps volunteer on Namu Atoll (1981-84). He then contracted to work with the Bikini Council on Kili Island (1984-late 1986) teaching English to the adults, teaching in the elementary school and working with the Kili/Bikini/Ejit Local Government Council.
After the death of former Trust Liaison, Ralph Waltz, he was asked by the Council to begin work as the Trust Liaison for their local government (1987 to present).
Duties of the Trust Liaison for the People of Bikini include the management and coordination of the funds allocated by the United States government to compensate the Bikinians for their suffering and to facilitate the radiological cleanup of Bikini Atoll. He acts as a liaison for the Council to the media, the U.S. government and its various agencies, the scientists who work on Bikini, the Bikini Council's attorney, trustees, money managers, construction companies, engineers, project managers, auditors and business associates. The Trust Liaison also coordinates travel schedules, is used as an advisor and translator, manages the Bikinians' scholarship program, and is responsible for the Bikini Council's accounting.
He also manages the Bikini Atoll Dive Program for the Bikinians [read a letter to dive customers].
The government of the Marshall Islands awarded him an honorary Marshallese citizenship in December of 2000.
Along with his book about the people of Bikini, he has published a number of articles and photos about the Bikinians in The Guardian (United Kingdom), World View magazine, The Health Physics Journal, the San Francisco Chronicle and others.
Film Credits
Radio Bikini produced by Robert Stone [nominated for an Academy Award in 1988]. Toured with Bikinian elder Kilon Bauno publicizing the film. [right: At the Academy Awards in 1988. No, I don't know who she is, nor do I remember her. This is the way everyone looks on Oscar night].
Nuclear Exiles produced by the National Geographic Explorer series[nominated for an Emmy Award in 1988]. Credited for all translation work, responsible for taking the film crews to Bikini, Ejit and Kili Islands.
Bikini: Forbidden Paradise produced by Bill Livingston for ABC's World of Discovery [nominated for an Emmy Award in 1994]. Credited for all translation work, responsible for taking the film crews to Bikini, Ejit and Kili Islands, also, some of writing for this film was taken from an unpublished book by Jack Niedenthal.
The Bikini Atoll produced by the A & E Channel in 1996. Credited for all translation work, responsible for taking the film crews to Bikini, Ejit and Kili Islands.
Live from a Shark Cage with Al Giddings by the Discovery Channel in 1999. Credited for all translation work, responsible for taking the film crew to Ejit Island, assisted in the underwater production of the live broadcast.
Also assisted in news reports filed by CNN, the McNeil/Lehrer News Hour, ABC News, the NY Times, the LA Times, the Wall Street Journal, the BBC, the Washington Post and many others.
