April Vokey
Photo by Jeremy Koreski
April Vokey began fishing as a toddler. By the sixth grade she was saving her allowance for weekend visits to the local tackle shop where she eventually stocked her ‘hand-me-down’ Plano box with every lure and bait she could afford.
After discovering a passion for fly fishing in her late teens, April soon dedicated her entire life to the pursuit. She began her guiding career on the Fraser and Harrison rivers for sturgeon and salmon, but left after several season to found her own guiding operation, Fly Gal Ventures, in 2007 at age 24. The company was built on the basis of the promotion of education and encouragement to those who looked to chase their dreams. She has since established herself as a respected authority in the sport and has traveled the globe in pursuit of gamefish on a fly rod.
Her writing has appeared in numerous industry leading publications including Fly Fisherman, Fly Rod & Reel, and Fly Fusion magazines. In July 2012, April became the first fly angler to be featured in Outside magazine for their “XX-Factor” segment.
Also a popular TV personality, April has been featured on the Outdoor Channel’s Buccaneers and Bones series, 60 Minutes Sports, The Steve Harvey show, Discovery Channel’s Refined, Discovery’s/OLN’s Close Up Kings, and WFN’s Fly Nation TV.
Most recently, Vokey proudly wrote and hosted her own exclusive series, ShoreLines with April Vokey, as shown on the World Fishing Network. The series focuses on fly-fishing’s rich history and the people it consists of. Feeling limited by airtime, she has since branched out with her podcast, Anchored with April Vokey, an uncensored series dedicated to archiving the stories and personalities from some of fly-fishing’s most influential people. The show is one of the only fishing podcasts solely recorded in a face to face environment where April ensures to ask questions apart from the norm.
She now resides in Canada for six months of the year, and in Australia for the other six. Her dog, Colby, travels with her between countries, keeping her safe from grizzlies and kangaroos alike.
She is a FFF certified casting instructor, a fly-tying instructor, an active conservationist, traveling speaker and an eternal student of life and love.
3 words to describe Nature?
Beauty. Balance. Brutality.
3 things Nature taught you?
How small I really am.
That every day on this planet is a gift.
That predatory animals are more ruthless than an ethical human hunter/angler could ever be.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
BC’s north-west
Australia’s north-west coast
New Zealand’s South Island west-coast
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel…?
Humbled
When you see a forest, it makes you feel…?
Complete
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel…?
Intimidated
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel…?
Thankful
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel…?
Invigorated
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel…?
Eager to bunker down
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Mountain
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
When I was around seven years old my parents took me to a nearby river. A large, chrome chinook salmon lay dead and washed up on the rocks. It hadn’t spawned yet, but had died from a head injury during its migration. My parents explained salmon and their lifecycles. It was an invaluable lesson. In that moment, I learned: how complex BC’s eco-systems are, how the inevitable death of the salmon had a bigger reward in the end, and that I could catch these enormous creatures if I just waited for them to enter the river. From there I became an angler.
Julie Packard
Julie Packard is founding executive director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Based on a lifelong passion for science and nature, she has led the Aquarium to become a global force for ocean conservation. She chairs the board of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, a global leader in deep ocean science and technology and she is deeply engaged in ocean conservation strategies through her work as a trustee of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Julie served as a member of the Pew Oceans Commission which published a blueprint for improving governance of America's ocean waters, and more recently served on the California Parks Forward Commission to develop a sustainable path for California's state parks. Julie holds a master’s degree in biology with a focus in marine algal ecology.
3 words to describe Nature?
Calming. Safe. Inspiring
3 things Nature taught you?
Humility
Curiosity
Perspective
3 most treasured Nature spots?
California’s Sierra lakes
Big Sur Coast
Redwood forests
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Intrigued
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
At home
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Small
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Serene
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Unsettled
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Anxious
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Mountains. They put time in perspective and put us in our place.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
I grew up in the 50’s, in the foothills of what’s now called Silicon Valley. After school I’d ride my horse through our apricot orchard, into the hills and oak forest behind our house. We rarely had a destination in mind, but the act of aimless wandering was the best part. Sometimes I’d meet up with other kids and their horses, but some of the best times were alone. I loved experiencing the changing seasons in California, from the progression of spring wildflowers in the sunny grasslands and shady ravines, to the hot dry summers during the apricot harvest. These days so many kids don’t have nature to explore nearby and if they do, they’re surely not allowed to venture far from home. How did we let such a basic right of childhood disappear?
Jacques Andre Dupont
Considered by many to be an authority in marketing, sponsorship and the development of large-scale cultural projects, JACQUES-ANDRE DUPONT is the President of L’Équipe Spectra and 3 of the biggest Festivals in Montreal - the International Jazz Festival, the FrancoFolies, & Montréal en Lumière.
Dupont supports the musical development of the next generation of Québécois artists thanks, among other endeavours, to the creation of the Blues Camp for teens during the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, and staging a series of concerts presenting high school, cegep and university students. In 2017, following the publication of a report by the Conseil des Montréalaises (Montréal Women’s Council), he launched the Hirondelles, an all-female safety team dedicated to maintaining the security and well-being of festival fans and vulnerable people. He is also responsible for many projects addressing the sustainable development of the group, including making the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal carbon neutral, an international first at the time.
He is also a passionate photographer whose work focuses on wildlife and nature. His images have been featured in several major medias like Canadian Geographic, National Geographic, Africa Geographic, Wildlife Photographic, Outdoor Photography, Paris Match, the London Telegraph, China News, La Pravda, etc. His pictures have been selected/or won several photo competitions internationally and have been been exhibited in several countries around the world. With is photography he only wants to achieve one simple goal: bring the beauty of nature into light.
3 words to describe Nature?
Grand. Fragile. Us
3 things Nature taught you?
The more I connect with it, the happier I am.
Even the ugliest animals are beautiful.
It is the best smelling thing ever.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
My three favourite nature spots so far (because I want to see them all!) are
The Serengeti plains of Tanzania because it was love at first sight for me;
Yellowstone National Park, because this where I knew right away I would become a nature and wildlife photographer;
And my own backyard forest in Bolton West, Quebec, because I am the luckiest man in the world to have this in my own backyard every day.
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Peaceful. Probably the infinity of it, with the suiting sound of the waves
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Curious! I want to explore it… Find an owl nest or a fox hole. And walk along a trustful moose (which happened to me this spring)
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Small and scared. Will my number come up today?
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
A sunrise? Alive, energized, happy to be up early in the day, and looking forward to what’s next. A sunset? happy, relaxed and looking forward to a glass of wine to celebrate the day that just ended so well.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Hoping for a spectacle: the drums, the light show… It’s better than Cirque du Soleil!
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Wanting to snuggle with my wife, as usually it is winter and -20 celsius outside, at our home that we named Domaine des Vents (Field of Winds), for it is really the windiest place.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
I think I am an African plains person. That is why I love also so much the Serengeti AND Yellowstone (as it is called the Serengeti of America…).
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10, and then some! For the last 20 years I have been suffering from anxiety attacks on a regular basis… I guess that stress is my Achilles' heel… But since the last few years, nature photography has been the most amazing medicine for me…
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
It's the blue hour, just after the sunset. My dad took me fishing, north of Quebec city. And suddenly, for the first time ever, I hear the call of the loon. Wow! It sounds like a wolf. I am mesmerized by it. Since then, every time I hear a loon calling I go right back to that day, where I was so well, with my dad.
John Wood
JOHN WOOD is the founder of Room to Read, an organization that believes World Change Starts with Educated Children. Room to Read envisions a world in which all children can pursue a quality education that enables them to reach their full potential and contribute to their communities and the world.
At age 35, John left his position as Director of Business Development for Microsoft’s Greater China region to found Room to Read.
John’s award-winning memoir, Leaving Microsoft to Change the World: An Entrepreneur’s Odyssey to Educate the World’s Children tells how he raised millions from a “standing start” to develop one of the fastest-growing nonprofits in history. The book was described by Publishers’ Weekly in a starred review as “an infectiously inspiring read.” Translated into 20 languages, it is popular with entrepreneurs, philanthropists, and educators alike, and was selected by Amazon.com as one of the Top Ten Business Narratives of 2006 and voted a Top Ten Nonfiction title of 2006 by Hudson Booksellers. The book was also featured during John’s appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show and the resulting “Oprah’s Book Drive” with Room to Read raised over $3 million from viewers.
John’s follow up book, Creating Room to Read: A Story of Hope in the Battle for Global Literacy, tells the story of how the organization successfully tackled the next steps of scaling beyond his wildest dreams while maintaining integrity and raising money in a collapsing economy.
John has been named by Goldman Sachs as one of the world’s 100 Most Intriguing Entrepreneurs, has been a three-time speaker at the Clinton Global Initiative and is a five-time winner of Fast Company Magazine’s Social Capitalist Award. He has been honored by Time Magazine’s “Asian Heroes” Award, selected as a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum, is a Lifetime Achievement Honoree of the Tribeca Film Festival’s Disruptive Innovation Awards, and is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute. He was selected by Barron’s as one of the “25 Best Givers” in 2009 and 2010, ranking 11th and 9th on the list, respectively. In 2014, John won the World’s Children’s Honorary Award Laureate through the World’s Children’s Prize, the annual educational program for the rights of the child and democracy—often called the Children’s Nobel Prize. In recognition of his passion to open libraries for the most under-served populations, he was described by the San Francisco Chronicle as “the Andrew Carnegie of the developing world.”
John also serves on the advisory board of the Clinton Global Initiative and New Story.
Since 2000, Room to Read has impacted the lives of ten million children across Asia and Africa through its programs in Literacy and Girls’ Education. It aims to reach 15 million children by 2020.
3 words to describe Nature?
Best. Thing. Ever.
3 things Nature taught you?
Take time from work to enjoy it.
Breathe deep
Stay in shape, stay young.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Annapurna Circuit of Nepal, because a hike there inspired the formation of Room to Read
Any hiking trail in my adopted home city of Hong Kong
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Grateful to live near it.
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Like I need to put on my hiking or running shoes, grab my wife Amy, and get out there!
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Assuming it’s dormant, like climbing to the top. If active, then reminds me that I need to update my will ☺
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
I’m hugely nocturnal, so sunrises not happening for me. Sunset makes me do a reality check on whether I’ve accomplished all the work goals I’ve had that day, and if not, to get on it.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Like I need to grab a good book, lie on the sofa, and enjoy the warmth and security
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Like I should be out hiking
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
The latter 3, impossible to decide
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10. I globe-trot constantly for Room to Read, and in every city I always try to find Nature, and of course build my holidays in places like the Dolomites and Namibia and Nepal so that I can over-dose on it.
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
The first time I skied in Colorado I knew that I needed to abandon dreams of university on the east coast, and so I ended up having four very happy years at the University of Colorado in Boulder.