Dr. Fisher grew up in Kula, Maui and at age 17 enlisted in the United States Marine
Corps, serving in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait during the first Gulf War, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Panama and Japan. After his discharge, he studied in Colorado, Indiana and Australia. Scott’s graduate work includes an M.A. in peace studies with a concentration in native Hawaiian strategies of peacemaking and reconciliation. His Ph.D. explored the dynamics of post-conflict recovery in a civil war on the island of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, with a particular emphasis on sustainable peacemaking related to conflicts over natural resources. Scott also holds a graduate certificate in Ecological Restoration. During the summer months from 2017-2020 Scott was a visiting fellow at the University of Leicester conducting research into the relationship between ecological restoration, ecosystem resilience and palaeoecology.

Since 2003 Scott has worked for the Hawaiian Islands Land Trust (HILT; initially with
its predecessor the Maui Coastal Land Trust). He currently serves as Chief Conservation Officer for the land trust on Maui, O`ahu, Kaua`i and Hawa`i, Island, on HILT’s 19,500 acres of protected land. In this capacity he leads all aspects of the ecological restoration and land protection work conducted by the Land Trust. In addition to his work with the land trust, since 2019 Scott has worked as a consultant with the Mikajy (Restoration) project in Menabe Province, Madagascar, where he is assisting with the ecological restoration of coastal dunes and mangrove wetlands along Madagascar’s west coast. At the University of Hawai`i, Maui, Scott teaches a course titled Tradition and Sustainability, which explores indigenous Hawaiian sustainability practices and strategies. Scott also serves on the Maui/Lana‘i Island Burial Council and the Friends of Haleakala National Park.