Pauline Brown
Pauline Brown is a longtime leader in luxury goods and former Chairman of LVMH North America, renowned for acquiring, building, and leading some of the world’s most influential brands.
In her groundbreaking new book, Aesthetic Intelligence, she shows businesspeople how to harness the power of their own senses to create products and services that delight their customers and build businesses that last. Her book is based on a course that she designed and taught at Harvard Business School.
Pauline began her career as a Consultant at Bain and subsequently held senior executive roles at Estee Lauder, Avon and The Carlyle Group.
She currently is an Executive-in-Residence at Columbia Business School, a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute, and the host of two radio shows on SiriusXM, “Trendsetters” & Tastemakers”.
3 words to describe Nature?
Invincible. Boundless. Magnificent
3 things Nature taught you?
To trust my instincts (they're far more prescient than my thoughts)
To embrace the untamed aesthetic (it's far more vibrant than anything man-made
To accept mortality (it's not the end of a life cycle, but the beginning of a new one)
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Table Mountain, Cape Town
Maroon Lake, Aspen
The Geysers of Iceland
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Transported
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Enveloped
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Roused
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Wonderstruck
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Vivified
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Restive
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?
9
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
I grew up on the North Shore of Long Island. I still can smell the air, taste the fishy water, and feel the sand under my wet swimsuit.
Tina Wells
Tina Wells is the CEO and founder of Buzz Marketing Group, a marketing agency that creates strategies for clients within the beauty, entertainment, fashion, financial, and lifestyle sectors. For more than two decades, Tina has connected thousands of influencers and consumers to brand clients. Since founding her company, she’s developed and managed 30,000 “buzzSpotters” and 7,000 “momSpotters” –influencer and research networks for her clients that include Dell, The Oprah Winfrey Network, and American Eagle Outfitters.
Tina sits on the board of the Young Entrepreneurs Council, the United Nations Foundation’s Global Entrepreneurs Council (emeritus), and the Council of Emeritus Directors of the Philadelphia Orchestra Association. She currently chairs the Programs, Marketing, and Business Development committee of The Franklin Institute where she also serves on the Board of Directors and Executive Committee.
She is a member of the 2017 Class of Henry Crown Fellows within the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute and the Academic Director (Practicum) of Wharton’s Leadership in the Business World program at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2018, Wells also joined the board of THINX. Her list of honors includes The Girl Scouts’ Woman of Distinction, Cosmopolitan’s Fun Fearless Phenom Award, Essence’s 40 Under 40, Billboard’s 30 Under 30, Inc’s 30 Under 30, and Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business.
Wells is the author of the best-selling tween fiction series Mackenzie Blue and the marketing handbook Chasing Youth Culture And Getting It Right. Wells’ writing has appeared in the Huffington Post,he Journal of the American College of Radiology, Inc, Black Enterprise, Media Post, and Retail Merchandiser Magazine.
3 words to describe Nature?
Peaceful. Vibrant. Majestic.
3 things Nature taught you?
That there is something much bigger than me and any problem I think I might have. Also, there’s a rhythm to the world and things continue to move in their cycles and serve their purpose.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Lancaster, PA - where I’m from. Gorgeous pastures, rolling hills, absolutely stunning.
Maasai Mara, Kenya - my first safari and trip to Africa, the most beautiful place I’ve ever been
Tuscany, Italy - my brother has lived here for almost 10 years with his wife. I visit often and fall in love all over again each time.
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Calm. Just hearing the ocean calms me.
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Safe and secure. I also feel in awe at the enormity of it all.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Awestruck...but a little helpless and scared too.
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Happy. A sunrise or sunset is an instant mood booster for me.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Curious.
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Scared by the power of it.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Mountain, for sure!
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
9. When I purchased my home 11 years ago I planted some trees that are now enormous. Just seeing them every single day, in every season makes me feel so happy.
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
I’m the eldest of six children, and growing up my dad would take all of the kids in the neighborhood on nature hikes and trips to the park. I grew up in the part of southern New Jersey that is known for its farms. I still live there and see deer almost every night. Those park trips with all of my siblings and our friends were the best.
Lillie Hodges
Lillie Hodges graduated from Middlebury College with a focus in Geography and Global Health and is currently working as a Community Manager at RightPet, building community and content to help people find the right products and techniques to keep their animals happy and healthy. While in Vermont, Lillie worked at 1% for the Planet in its community development team. During her time there, she particularly enjoyed working on partner acquisition and engaging their global network of environmental non-profit organizations.
Lillie’s commitment to experience worlds beyond her own and to foster meaningful connections with people and organizations led her to work for the Aspen Institute in Colorado on their 2016 Aspen Ideas Festival team.
Additionally, she serves as a Vanguard Board Member for the Aspen Institute’s Society of Fellows and a Junior Council Advisor of the American Museum of Natural History. In 2018, she began working on a long-dreamed of personal project - Aspiring Roots. Aspiring Roots is my way of pairing my passion for food and creativity with the insights and lessons I’ve learned about nourishing recipes, self-love practices, and healing techniques.
3 words to describe Nature?
Centering. Alluring. Awe-inducing
3 things Nature taught you?
Perspective
Resilience
Peace
3 most treasured Nature spots?
More Mesa cliff trail, Santa Barbara CA
Roman Road in Grovely Wood, Wiltshire England
Jardin Publique, Bordeaux France
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel…?
As if the waves can absorb any turbulence within me, challenged by the endless stretching horizon of possibilities, and ultimately relaxed and at peace with the moment.
When you see a forest, it makes you feel…?
Very small and young, and in awe of the resilience and energy within the vast organism of a forest.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel…?
Humbled by the earth's ability to both destroy and heal, and by my youth and smallness in that moment.
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel…?
A sense of opportunity to “reset” myself while feeling in sync with the natural world.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel…?
Fascinated, thrilled by the suggested risk and power, and reverent for the scale and depth of nature.
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel…?
As if it proves nature’s whims can overpower any of New York City’s hum.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Ocean - The ocean is not only where I seek joy and solace, but also where I’ve learned some important lessons about myself. Overcoming the fear of being past the chaos of the breaking waves, I would spend hours there swimming, floating and jumping with those I love. There is a spot just past the waves where your toes can still barely touch the sand, and where each passing swell challenges the notion that I’m able to control my own destiny, or alone in my journey. In its vastness, it can hold your experience and all the others all at once - often leaving me and anyone I’m with with no idea of the passing time other than being carried down the beach in the current and tides.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10 - Growing up surrounded by it in Santa Barbara, nature was core to how I could reflect on my wellbeing and find purpose and peace. Now that I'm living in Brooklyn, I've brought the green to me - surrounding myself not only with plants at home and spending many hours in New York’s parks but also with my newest nature-loving family member - Simba, an adopted kitten.
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
As an only child growing upon a horse ranch surrounded by an avocado orchard, I often had wondrous adventures climbing the tree trunks and suspended in the canopies - a source of indepence, satisfaction, and calm. Once, around age 10, I convinced my friend to help me build a ropes course by borrowing my mom’s riding reins and lead ropes. We learned some key lessons about planning and physics that day; and the tree swing, our most stubbornly knotted rope, remained until that part of the orchard was cut down after dying in the CA droughts.