Erik Nissen Johansen
Erik Nissen Johansen is the founder and creative director of global award-winning hospitality design studio Stylt in Gothenburg, Sweden. For more than 25 years, Stylt has combined concept development, interior architecture, design, and branding to create unique hospitality experiences for clients all over the world, including more than 400 restaurants and 250 hotels: the Pater Noster Lighthouse and the Niehku Mountain Villa in Sweden, the ANDAZ by Hyatt in Dubai, the 25h hotels in Düsseldorf, Copenhagen and Melbourne, the Downtown Camper by Scandic in Stockholm, the Smoki Moto JW Marriott in Dubai, the LEGO House in Billund, the Huus hotel in Gstaad, the Lydmar in Stockholm, the Spedition hotel in Switzerland, the Klaus K hotel in Helsinki, the Well Spa in Oslo, Le Rouge in Stockholm, Le Pain Français in Gothenburg, Creekside Villa in Canmore Canada, and the Stenungsbaden Yacht Club in Gothenburg.
Under Erik’s leadership, Stylt has won several awards: Global UNESCO Prix Versailles for Best Hotel Interior (twice), National Geographic Traveller Big Sleep Awards (twice), several AHEAD awards, Best New Boutique Hotel in the World, IH&P Award for Worlds Best SPA design and many more.
3 words to describe Nature?
Calm. Enchanting. Enriching
3 things Nature taught you?
Be humble
Be respectful
Feel alive
3 most treasured Nature spots?
The Solomon Sea
West Sweden Archipelago
The Norwegian Fjords
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Creative
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Alive
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Rejuvenating
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Stunning
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Majestic
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Captivating
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?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
The first time I tried snorkel gear, I was 4, a new world opened up in the Oslo fjord.
Amanda Slavin
During her career as an educator, Amanda realized that any platform can be a classroom with the right perspective. She learned to listen deeply to the young minds around her, and applied her teacher’s appetite for active, informative engagement to develop the award-winning brand consulting firm CatalystCreativ. As Founder & CEO of CatalystCreativ, Amanda has counseled global, national, and local organizations in planning for and achieving their branding goals. Through projects with Coca Cola, The Raiders, Google, WeWork, NPR, The Nature Conservancy, and the New York City Ballet, Amanda was featured as a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree in Advertising and Marketing.
Amanda guides brands to do good for the world without having to sacrifice their bottom line. To do this, she utilizes her well-tested proprietary method for quantifying and scaling engagement for employees and customers. Known as the Seventh Level Engagement Framework, this technique springs from Amanda’s expertise marketing to Millennials, Gen Z and what she has coined "the Millennial Minded." She’s spoken at SXSW, TED, Summit Series, and INBOUND about how The Seventh Level Engagement Framework is the future of meaningful, personal connections. Amanda’s groundbreaking thought leadership has been covered by Inc Magazine, Forbes, Fast Company, Wall Street Journal, and Time Magazine.
3 words to describe Nature?
Majestic. Important. Emotional
3 things Nature taught you?
How to give myself permission to let my imagination lead me
How to remember how small I am in comparison to the tallest of trees and the highest of mountains
To appreciate quiet
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Sedona, Arizona
Hana, Hawaii
Makhtesh, Israel
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
At peace from the sound, in awe of the power
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Completely at home
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Lack of control, the importance to surrender
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Like a kid again, to remember the little moments in life to be thankful for
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Scared but also kind of excited
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
If i'm inside a warm home, it makes me thankful to be in warmth
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Forest
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
9
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
My 95 year old grandma recalls no matter how many toys I was given, I would always go outside and prefer to play with "my tree." There was a big tree outside my window that I thought was my tree, and I remember pretending to be a witch and stirring the wood chips around the tree as a part of my witch couldron, (I definitely had a big imagination!)
Sharad Kharé
Sharad is the co-founder of media company Kharé Communications. Beside creating content for companies such as Indochino, Innovative Fitness, Microsoft, Goldcorp, UN Women, Emily Carr University, Oncosec, Draper University, TEDx, Rick Hansen Foundation, Arkay Packaging and many others, he has been producing legacy documentaries and interviewing some of the world’s most interesting individuals. His infectious positive energy and communicative talents has allowed to sit down with people such as His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Meryl Streep, Helen Mirren, Jack & Suzy Welch, Chip Wilson, May Musk, Dr. Ron Burnett, Tim Draper, Bing Thom, and many more.
Sharad has a Masters in Communications and coaches storytelling & branding to leaders in private industries and public companies.
He is the co-founder of “The Indigenous Collective” and has been a prolific collaborator with the Indigenous community, directing and producing video projects that capture First Nations stories and culture. His past projects include the documentary Breaking Down Walls, Building Bridges (BCIT), Diversity Circles project video series, James Hart: The Dance Screen (Vancouver Art Gallery, and an Indigenous-women awareness video featuring Ellena Neel (BWSS).
Sharad is currently the President of TIE Vancouver, a global entrepreneur group that mentors and advises some of the most active entrepreneurs in the world.
3 words to describe Nature?
GREEN, BLUE, GOLDEN
3 things Nature taught you?
EVERYTHING HAS LIFE
WE MUST FEED THE EARTH AS WE FEED OUR OWN BODIES
THE SUN IS LIKE A GOD TO ME
3 most treasured Nature spots?
SANTA MONICA PIER
THE BEACHES OF GOA
DEER LAKE WHERE I GOT MARRIED
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
CALM AND RELAXED
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
LIKE EXPLORING
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
LIKE I AM SO SMALL IN COMPARISON
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
LIKE I AM CLOSE TO GOD
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
ANXIOUS FOR THE NEXT ONE TO COME
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
LIKE THE AIR HAS LIFE
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?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
WHEN I WAS YOUNGER WE HAD A FOREST CLOSE TO OUR HOME. MY BROTHER, MY NEIGHBOURS, AND I WOULD EXPLORE IN THEIR WITH OUR BIKES AND PRETEND WE WERE CHARACTERS OF THE HOBBIT. WE WOULD ALSO SEARCH FOR ANIMALS THAT LIVED THERE BUT WE NEVER FOUND ANY.