Jeff Corwin
For over two decades, Jeff Corwin has been telling stories of wildlife and nature to global audiences through his many celebrated television series on ABC, NBC, Travel Channel, Food Network, Disney Channel, and Animal Planet. Currently, Jeff is an Executive Producer and host of ABC's Ocean Treks. In April 2020, Jeff created and executively produced the critically acclaimed TV series Alaska Animal Rescue for Nat Geo Wild, which has just been green-lit for a second season! His critically acclaimed NBC documentary and book, 100 Heartbeats, engaged both the readers and broadcast audience on the 21st Century plight of endangered species. Jeff is a leader in conservation, recognized through his work as an Emmy winning television host, producer, journalist, author, explorer and wildlife biologist. His lifelong experience, academic training, and partnerships with top conservationists allow Jeff exclusive access to the compelling stories from the battle to save our natural world. Jeff's quest for adventure has brought him to the frontlines of conservation in over 130 countries. Armed with a spirited wit, Jeff is tenacious, raw, and real, risking it all to share his passion with the world. The fuel that drives Jeff’s life-long career is a love for adventure and discovery, as he is working to change the world one species at a time and leave a vital legacy for future generations. Jeff is also passionate about local sustainability when not in the field, he is likely harvesting honey, eggs, and veggies from his island farm in New England with his wife and two daughters.
3 words to describe Nature?
Dynamic. Diverse. Interconnection
3 things Nature taught you?
Resiliency
Discipline
Humility
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Sitka Alaska
Tasmania Australia
Masai Mara Kenya
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Small but peaceful
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Excited to explore
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Insignificant
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Hopeful
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Trepidation
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Somnolent
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
I am an ocean person; I live on a small island off of New England. When I am home, I fish and dive just about every day.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10 being most important
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Finding my first serpent, a garter snake in my grandparents' backyard at age 6, my heart nearly exploded with excitement. I knew then that I would spend the rest of my life working with wildlife and nature.
Jay Faires
Jay Faires is an entrepreneur and founder of The Wellness Agency, the first agency dedicated to companies and founders in the $4.2 trillion wellness industry. TWA combines his personal passion for wellness with a proven ability to spot talent, both in entrepreneurs and creatives, at early stages in their career. Jay is recognized as a leading force in the burgeoning wellness industry and advises, drives growth, and connects the dots for the world's leading talent, founders and CEOs, and wellness brands as they together change the future of wellbeing.
Prior to his focus on health and wellness, Jay had a successful career in music as the founder of Mammoth Records, Head of A&R at Atlantic Records, and President of Music at Lionsgate. Jay grew up in Tennessee, holds an MBA from Duke's Fuqua School of Business, and currently spends most of his time between Los Angeles and Asia.
3 words to describe Nature?
Awe inspiring. Powerful. Beautiful. Oh and I must add, unforgiving when she needs to be.
3 things Nature taught you?
The impermanence of things
We are a piece of a much larger whole
The deep interwoven nature of humanity to Mother Earth and subsequent consequences when we ignore this
Can I add one more? That we are here only briefly
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Topanga Canyon, Los Angeles
Powder Mountain, Utah
North Shore of Maui
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel…?
I breathe deeper. It calms me to look at the broad horizon. And that I want to get back on the waves.
When you see a forest, it makes you feel…?
How can I go deeper into it.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel…?
Have only been in the crater on top of Maui, looks like the moon. Love the silver plants that only exist up there.
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel…?
Like I want to see a lot more of them. LOL
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel…?
I rarely get to hear thunder anymore like I did growing up in the Midwest and south.
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel…?
Try and sort what she is trying to tell me.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
I want to say each. But ocean the most.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Camping with my dad in Brown County Indiana at probably around age 7. Pouring rain. We set up our tent and the floor got soaked, an inch of water. It didn’t matter. Earlier that evening before it was raining turning over a rock 10 feet away and seeing a rattle snake, didn’t matter we set up camp there. A lifetime later on my fathers death bed we shared that story naturally finishing each others sentences. We had each remembered it.
Justin Willman
Justin Willman is a magician/Comedian, recent Critics’ Choice nominee and one of today’s most prolific entertainers.
In 2018, Willman premiered his six-episode magic series on Netflix entitled “Magic For Humans” where the show instantly became one of the most streamed shows on Netflix with clips from the show garnering over 150 million views to date across social media, even sparking a viral meme. Indiewire called Willman the “perfect magician/hybrid prototype with incredible comedic timing,” and Rotten Tomatoes currently has the show listed at an 88% audience approval. Soon after the premiere, Magic for Humans was picked up for a second season which premiered December 4, 2019. Season 3 is streaming now.
In 2018, Willman had a residency aptly called “The Magic Show” at the historic and swanky Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles where all shows sold out almost immediately and attracted many of Hollywood’s most well-known names.
The L.A. Times said of Willman to be a "A new breed of magician who's making magic cool again for grown-ups." Playboy Magazine dubbed him "The freshest and funniest magician working today," and Time Out hailed that his show "Has to be seen to be disbelieved.”
Justin has appeared on The Tonight Show, Ellen, Conan, Kelly Clarkson, The Today show, The Late Late Show and has performed live at the White House for the Obama Family.
Willman is also a consultant & writer for film/television productions like America's Got Talent, The Goldbergs and Disney's feature film Magic Camp.
He was born in St. Louis, lives in Los Angeles, and does not own a rabbit.
3 words to describe Nature?
Meditative. Humbling. Itchy.
3 things Nature taught you?
Be humble. We’re small and insignificant in the big picture. Take that as a relief.
Be prepared. Nature is no joke. Don’t underestimate her.
Leave things better than you found them. This applies to everything.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
The Mississippi River banks near Grafton, Illinois. As a kid I spent my summers fishing in the muddy waters. It’s still my happy place.
The Path of the Gods hike in Italy. I proposed to my wife mid-hike on the roof of an abandon hut overlooking Positano. I’ll never top that one.
Napali Coast in Kauai. No reason needed, just go.
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Home
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Adventurous
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Vulnerable
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Present
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Quieted
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Grounded
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Ocean, 100%. If there’s sand in my car’s floor mats I know I did something right that day.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10. I need more nature in my life though. The mere act of answering these questions is making me want to get the hell out of dodge.
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
When I was 10 I camped out in the woods behind my house for the first time. I made a campfire all by myself and everything. The next morning I remember the smell of the fire still lingering on my clothes and fingertips. To this day, every time I smell a campfire it takes me back to that moment and makes me feel like a kid again.
Liza Gershman
Best-Selling Author and Winner of the Gourmand Cookbook Award (2018), Liza Gershman has nearly two decades of industry experience working in all facets of Commercial and Editorial photography and writing, including 12 published books and hundreds of newspaper and magazine stories. She specializes in Lifestyle, Food, and Travel. Her passion for people, culture and cuisine, has taken her to more than 51 countries and 47 U.S. States during her career.
Her 12th book, Cuban Flavor, has garnered many accolades, and has been featured on CBS, in National Geographic, Travel & Leisure, Budget Travel, NPR and many additional local and national publications and radio shows. Liza was honored to speak for Talks At Google, and on the prestigious campuses of Twitter, Oracle, and Disney to name a few.
As a photographer and Art Director, she regularly teaches, writes and presents for celebrated companies: Creative Live and Canon USA. She was honored to nationally launch the 6D for Canon, and the T6. Prior to that she worked as the in-house Senior Digital Photographer for Williams-Sonoma and continues to freelance for clients such as Goldman Sachs, Hyatt Hotels, Restoration Hardware, Safeway, Party City, Getty Images, AirBnB, Visa. In 2010, Liza was Governor Jerry Brown's campaign photographer, and in 2014 was a photographer for the RedBull Youth America's Cup.
She has been a regular contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle Travel Section, writing tips on top destinations for a monthly column called “5 Places”, and continues to write about travel, food and culture in articles and book form.
Many of Liza’s notable clients include celebrity chefs, restaurants, wineries, beverage brands, fashion brands, spas and hotels.
3 words to describe Nature?
Beauty. Peace. Serenity
3 things Nature taught you?
How to go into my inner self
How to be still
How to observe
3 most treasured Nature spots?
The Russian River in Sonoma County
The beaches of Nantucket
The open skies of Wyoming
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Introspective
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Grounded and most like myself
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
In awe
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Lucky to be part of the world, inside of a painting
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Excited! I love a great storm as long as everyone is safe
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Like getting under covers
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Forest and lakes first, then ocean, then desert, but I love all of it!!!
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
11
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Canoeing down the river. That's my happiest activity. Smelling the ferns and mint and redwood trees all around.
Michael Murphy
Michael Murphy is an American artist, sculptor and pioneer of the Perceptual Art movement. Murphy became widely known during the 2008 U.S. presidential election, after creating the first portrait of candidate Barack Obama in 2007 that influenced thousands of artists to contribute to the “Art for Obama” movement, documented in Shepard Fairey's book Art for Obama: Designing Manifest Hope and the Campaign for Change.
His approach is to challenge the viewer’s boundaries using multidimensional techniques in order to create three-dimensional renderings of flat images. His inventions of "Expanded Graphics", the "3D Halftone" and "Suspended Narrative Mobiles" have established an entirely new formula for rendering images.
His work has been featured in numerous publications including TIME Magazine and New York Magazine and can be seen in numerous permanent installations around the world. His client list includes some of the largest brands in the world including Google, Nike, The Jordan Brand, LG, Lexus, Subaru, The Big Ten Network, ESPN, Disney, and the Atlanta Hawks to name a few. One of his pieces, COME TOGETHER, is currently touring with an art instalation show known as "Point of View" hosted by Wonderspaces.
3 words to describe Nature?
Inspiring. Rejuvenating. Essential.
3 things Nature taught you?
The beauty of light.
The rewards associated with being present and observant.
How important it is to be a good steward of the earth.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
The woods in the backyard where I grew up in Ohio. I built this great treehouse and spent countless hours up in the tree looking over the trees. It was especially magnificent in the fall.
Mill Creek Park in Ohio where I spent much of my childhood hiking and exploring.
Central Park.
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Invigorated
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Calm
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Fragile
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Like I’ve been up too late. No really it makes me appreciate the beauty of the earth and its relationship to the sun
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Excited. I love thunder and lightning. As a child my family and I would always gather on our porch to watch thunder storms. It’s one of my most fond childhood memories.
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
I get a rush of excited from strong winds.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Oceans, mountains, and forest.
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 a child I used to lie on my back in the grass and watch the clouds roll by searching for naturally occurring images. This is the inspiration for much of my work. To date I’ve spent hundreds of hours filming and photographing clouds.