Annie Griffiths
One of the first women photographers to work for National Geographic, ANNIE GRIFFITHS has photographed in nearly 150 countries during her illustrious career. She has worked on dozens of magazine and book projects for National Geographic, including stories on Lawrence of Arabia, Galilee, Petra, Sydney, New Zealand, and Jerusalem.
In addition to her magazine work, Griffiths is deeply committed to photographing for aid organizations around the world. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Ripple Effect Images, a collective of photographers who document aid programs that are empowering women and girls in the developing world. In just five years, Ripple’s work has helped 24 non-profits raise over ten million dollars.
Griffiths has published 4 books, is an accomplished speaker and a regular guest on NPR, The Today Show and other media outlets.
Annie has received awards from the National Press Photographers Association, the National Organization of Women, and the White House News Photographers Association.
3 words to describe Nature?
ESSENTIAL. COMFORTING. ENDURING
3 things Nature taught you?
TO PAUSE
TO GASP
TO BE HUMBLE
3 most treasured Nature spots?
MY CABIN IN NORTHERN WISCONSIN
MY LITTLE HOME ON A LAKE IN VIRGINIA
ANY NATIVE PRAIRIE
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel…?
SMALL, PEACEFUL
When you see a forest, it makes you feel…?
SAFE
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel…?
HUMBLE
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel…?
GRATEFUL
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel…?
THAT ALL LIVING THINGS ARE ABOUT TO GET A DRINK
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel…?
CAUTIOUS
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
I’M A LAKE PERSON
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
SO MANY. THE MIRACLE OF FIREFLIES, CATCHING TOADS AND FROGS, CREATING A FORT OUT OF AN OLD SNAG, CATCHING CRAYFISH WITH A PIECE OF CORN ON A STRING. MARVELING AT SPIDER WEBS.
Dave Brownlie
Born and raised in British Columbia, DAVE BROWNLIE is a graduate of the University of British Columbia Bachelor of Commerce (1985), an FCPA, and Whistler Community member since 1989. Dave began his career in the ski industry with Blackcomb Mountain rising to the position of President & CEO of Whistler Blackcomb Holdings Inc. and then working as COO for Vail Resorts through the ownership transition. Accomplishments include the integration of Whistler and Blackcomb mountains, the implementation of the Peak2Peak gondola, leading the very successful run of Whistler Blackcomb as a public company and securing new 60 Year Master Development Agreements for both Whistler and Blackcomb mountains with the province of British Columbia and the Squamish and Lil’wat Nations.
A passionate skier, hockey player, biker and golfer; Dave enjoys everything the Sea to Sky corridor has to offer with his wife and three kids.
3 words to describe Nature?
Beautiful. Inspirational. Powerful
3 things Nature taught you?
Life’s true pleasures are not based on material things
There is so much to learn
How something so powerful can also be so extremely vulnerable.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Top of Blackcomb or Whistler Mountain
The sandy beaches of the West Coast (e.g. Tofino)
The British Virgin Islands.
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Adventurous
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Strong
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Vulnerable
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Peaceful, calm, relaxed
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Alert
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Alive
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
It is so hard to pick one! If I had to ……. Mountain.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
It is the foundation …… 10.
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Living in Whitehorse, Yukon at the age of 11, me and my buddy back packed into a small lake and camped for the night! Two 11 year old’s experiencing life and nature on our own ………… very cool.
Kate Williams
KATE WILLIAMS is CEO of 1% for the Planet, a global movement inspiring businesses and individuals to support environmental nonprofit solutions, through annual membership and everyday actions. Kate stepped into her role at 1% for the Planet in May 2015 bringing a strong track record as a leader, including roles as Board Chair of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), as Executive Director of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, as founder and owner of a farm business enterprise, and as an elected political leader in her community.
Kate also brings a deep passion for and commitment to the power of collective action, which is at the core of 1% for the Planet’s model and approach. “When people come together across traditional boundaries to solve complex problems, they create stronger, more ethical, and more lasting solutions,” she says. “It is my best hope that I can lead by creating and supporting these kinds of powerful connections.”
Kate earned a BA at Princeton University where she majored in history, and an MS at the MIT Sloan School of Management where she focused on organizational systems. Kate is a master’s distance runner, kitchen gardener, and always wants more time to read and write.
Kate lives in Vermont with her husband and two children.
3 words to describe Nature?
Complex. Simple. Vital
3 things Nature taught you?
Humility
Strength
Patience
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Great Pond, Maine
Northern Wind River Range, Wyoming
San Pedro Park, New Mexico
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...
Small in a good way, and connected to things greater than myself and humans in general. I also feel curious about both the horizon and what is below the surface
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Small in a good way, alive, surrounded by wise elders
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
A little frightened, but also awestruck in a positive way
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
At peace and reminded to pause for beauty. Also a sense that while science can explain most things, even the colors in a sunset, it can’t explain the breathtaking feeling of seeing vast natural beauty.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
If I’m in a safe place, I feel curious and compelled to count between lightning strike and thunder boom. If I’m in the mountains, I feel duly respectful of the power and kick into risk management mode.
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Very presently aware of the power of nature. I live at the dead end of a dirt road with a forested hill sloping up behind our home. When the wind blows, I feel both connected to those trees that bend but also sometimes fall in that wind.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
I am a mountain person. I love nothing more than being in, looking at, hiking in, living in, finding beauty in mountains…. Mountains are what most fill my heart.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10. I’ve chosen to live in, work on behalf of, recreate in, and draw inspiration from nature. I find both peace and strength in nature, whether it’s in wilderness or in my kitchen garden.
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Some of my earliest memories are of the lake in Maine where our family has a small cabin. I have memories of all seasons on the lake – skinny dipping on hot summer nights and skiing in the fading light as the frozen lake cracked and popped. While I have many specific memories, what I love about these early lake memories in general is how they incorporate every sense: I can taste the lake water on my lips as I dry off after a morning swim, smell the pine needles baking in the August sun near the rocky shore, feel the lichen rock under my toes before jumping into the deep, hear the waves pushing against the shore under a strong Northwest wind, and see the golden light of sunset reflecting on the underside of the leaves shading our cabin porch. I’m grateful to my parents for knowing the value of immersing us in nature as a central part of our childhood – it’s certainly shaped me.
Karla Ballard Williams
Karla Ballard Williams is co-founder and CEO of YING, a peer to peer skill sharing and global time sharing platform (IOS /Android App) engaging consumers and brands in a complimentary currency that supports community and individual benefits. Ms. Ballard Williams was formerly SVP of Participant Media’s TAG division, a social-action agency working with brands, foundations and the public sector to ignite compelling campaigns that drove impact in vulnerable communities. Prior to joining Participant Media she was with Ogilvy & Mather as the SVP and lead for The IMPACT Studio working on projects that ranged from the State of California to Sony Pictures Television. Previously Karla worked at One Economy Corporation where she led a vital division of a $51 million BTOP grant focused broadband adoption and became and appointee to the Federal Communication's Committee on Diversity in Media. In addition, she created and led corporate relationships with partners such as Comcast/NBC, Verizon, Participant Media, Sprint, City Year and others.
She is a current board member of Alliance for Women in Media and Co-Chair of the Gracie’s Awards Gala, the Marcus Graham Project, Hashtaglunchbag, A Sense of Home, and USC’s Next Gen Council for Stephen Spielberg’s SHOAH Foundation. She's been a visiting speaker at Harvard, UCLA and Georgetown University and is a former board member of the nation’s second largest Community College, Northern Virginia Community College. Karla is also the co-founder of the first Urban League in the state of Delaware, The Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League, and served as the first female national president of the National Urban League Young Professionals.
In 2012 Karla was awarded in NYC the Keeper’s of the Dream award from the National Action Network.
3 words to describe Nature?
Peaceful. Complex. Systematic
3 things Nature taught you?
To listen
To be seen
To observe the flow
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Point Dume, California
St. John's Parrish in Barbados
McKenna Beach, Maui, Hawaii
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Renewed
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Introspective
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Overwhelmed
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Romantic and connected to God
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Well Exxxxxcuse me!
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Grandma and the Big Bad Wolf
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Ocean
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
11
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
On the school grounds at Germantown Academy I had a secret place to escape along a little creek path on our 152 acres property. I would create mystical stories around what this play was and the creatures that lived there. The play was so imaginative yet so real. I could never in a million years recreate the love I had for this spot in the woods but going back to the memories takes me back instantly.