Dana Cowin
Dana Cowin is an evangelist of good food and good people, coach for creatives, former longtime Editor in Chief of Food & Wine Magazine, host of podcast Speaking Broadly, and creator of Giving Broadly, a website to highlight products (aka good food) by women entrepreneurs (aka good people) that make our lives more delicious.
3 words to describe Nature?
Spirit. Respite. Beauty
3 things Nature taught you?
Nature's design is more creative than human design.
Nature teaches resilience. It just never gives up.
Nature teaches that death is a transformation.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
The brambles in Central Park, NYC.
The ocean beside my childhood house in Florida
The sanctuary trails in upstate NY
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Awe. The relentless water breathing its way to the sand and receding is extraordinary.
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Spritely. I love looking at the light, rocks, movement.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Never seen a volcano!
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
At peace with beginnings and endings that are grounded in time passing and color changing.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Like burrowing, getting cozy, being still, listening to the future or past that the sound represents
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Cold, even if I'm not experiencing the wind. I shudder at the thought.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Meadows and fields
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
I was caught outside a riptide in the ocean in Florida and a bystander rescued me. I'm forever in awe of the power of the ocean to nurture and destroy...and the kindness of strangers to change lives with simple acts of generosity.
Nancy Hala
Nancy Hala is a brand builder, author and plant-powered cook. She’s the co-creator of The Pillar Life, a life-guidance system designed to ignite the eight pillars of a happy life, and co-host of The Sheri + Nancy Show podcast, where she and her lifelong friend, Sheri Salata, have conversations with experts, teachers and uplifters about making all the rest of their dreams come true.
Nancy is also the creator of BrandStory, her signature approach to brand strategy, storytelling and audience building that helps small business owners and entrepreneurs articulate who they are, what they do, and why it matters.
3 words to describe Nature?
Centering. Lush. Romantic.
3 things Nature taught you?
It is so joyful to be part of something bigger and grander and more permanent than myself.
We are meant to be restored and replenished by the natural world, and it is available to us for that purpose, at all times.
True beauty is often jagged (like a mountain range seen from a distance) or falling down (like a forest crisscrossed with old trees on their journey back to the earth), or full of blank spaces (like the sky on a particularly clear day).
3 most treasured Nature spots?
The forest behind my house, which is full of tall pines and moss-covered branches and (in my imagination) goes on for miles and miles.
The wide, sparkly lake at the center of the town where I live, which makes me feel Queenly whenever I drive around it…the majesty rubs off on me.
The ocean shore at Manzanita beach, especially when the fog rolls in and the dogs are chasing tennis balls into the foamy surf.
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Completely awakened, and the Chi of it runs through me like a current of energy.
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Like I wish I could fly, so that I could land on each of the branches of the tallest trees.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Brave, to be standing in front of a volcano.
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Like every single moment in life – every blink, every breath, every quiet space – is more precious than we can ever comprehend.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Like laughing
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Like burrowing into blankets, or better yet UNDER blankets, with a flashlight and a book.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
I am each one. If I think of my body: The Ocean is my head, because it makes me dream wider and further than anything else. The mountain is my limbs, because I feel rooted and carried by the very fact that a mountain exists. The desert is my belly, because every time I see a desert I think it looks like the center of the world. And the forest is my lungs, because it’s my favorite thing to breathe in.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
Well beyond 10. Ten times 10.
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
I climbed trees as a child, almost every day. I named all the trees in my backyard and I loved them, very much. There was an oak tree named Charlie and I often took a book, a pillow, and apples or peaches or plums to the sturdiest branch I could reach, and read all afternoon. One day I climbed a soaringly tall pine tree (named Bruce) on the side of my house. I ended up at the absolute top of it, so high I could see all the streets and houses of my neighborhood. I was scared for a few minutes, because it was too high and precarious for me at that age (even I knew that) and for years later I marveled that I was able to scale so high and get down safely. And no one ever knew I climbed that tree, not my mother or father or any adult in charge, and the secrecy of my daring act still feels delicious, all these years later.
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.
Chef Niki Nakayama
For Niki Nakayama, the art of cooking all comes down to feeling. Always one to follow her intuition, Nakayama’s instincts guide her path as a chef, and it continues to be the driving force behind every dish she creates. At n/naka, her highly acclaimed restaurant in West Los Angeles, Nakayama secures her place among the foremost chefs in the world of modern kaiseki—a traditional Japanese dining discipline based in gratitude and appreciation that balances taste, texture, and presentation through a progression of dishes served in a meticulous, thoughtfully curated order. For Nakayama, the kaiseki philosophy allows her to show a deep appreciation for the beauty of nature, with the purpose of, “highlighting natural flavors, presenting them in their purest way without over-complication, and serving them how they were meant to be in their peak season.”
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Nakayama began her career at the popular Takao restaurant in Brentwood, following her graduation from culinary school in nearby Pasadena. After embarking on a three-year working tour of Japan immersing herself in the deeply nuanced methods and flavors of both traditional and contemporary Japanese cuisine, including the art of traditional kaiseki, Nakayama returned to her hometown to open Azami Sushi Café on Melrose Avenue.
After eight years—during which she became known for her omakase menu—the chef branched out to host elaborate chef’s table dinners that resulted in Nakayama’s modernized kaiseki dining experience, which has become the signature cuisine of n/naka. As Nakayama describes, “I was ready to put my name on something, ready to take that leap and challenge myself—and ready to take the traditional kaiseki philosophy and make it my own.”
Today, n/naka serves as a global destination for modern kaiseki with a California twist, at which Nakayama serves world-class, artfully curated, and exquisite dishes in a progression designed to reflect the mood of season, time, and place. One of the toughest reservations to get in L.A., n/naka’s books typically fill up three months out, a testament to Nakayama’s resonance in the international culinary world. Critics also take note—the restaurant has appeared on Jonathan Gold’s “101 Best Restaurants” every year since opening in 2013, and continues to catch the attention of media including T Magazine (The New York Times), Eater, Vogue.com, and many more.
Nakayama’s devotion to sustainability also plays out at n/naka, with currently 70% of its ingredients sourced locally—a rarity in Japanese fine dining. At 2017’s Food on Edge symposium in Galway, Ireland, she explained how the pillars of kaiseki, to integrate your surroundings into the cuisine, find harmony with these sustainability initiatives.
Outside of the restaurant, the chef can be found at her Los Angeles home spending time with her wife and their three dogs—a golden retriever, a Chihuahua, and a terrier mix. One of her favorite pastimes, playing guitar, “allows for decompression,” she says, when she steps away from the kitchen.
3 words to describe Nature?
GIVING. VAST. BEAUTIFUL
3 things Nature taught you?
APPRECIATION
GRATITUDE
HUMILITY
3 most treasured Nature spots?
ALL OCEANS, MOUNTAINS, FORESTS
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel…?
ALIVE AND SMALL
When you see a forest, it makes you feel…?
PEACE
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel…?
WONDER
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel…?
LOVE
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel…?
SCARED
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel…?
WONDER
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 EVER PLAYED IN THE SNOW AT BIG BEAR, I THOUGHT I’D FOUND MAGIC POWDER. EVERY TIME I SEE SNOW, IT REMINDS ME OF HAPPINESS AND HOLIDAYS.
Jacqueline Raposo
Jacqueline Raposo has written over three-hundred interview-focused features articles for major food publications. Her stories center around the culture of food – how eating connects and disconnects us – as well as the challenges facing those in the hospitality industry today. She also pens essays on functioning in a busy world as an adult with lifelong chronic illness. Her first book – The Me, Without: A Year Exploring Habit, Healing, and Happiness – publishes in January.
Jacqueline finds humans fascinating, and believes everyone has a story to share. She walked barefoot in the New England woods often as a child of the early nineties, got Lyme disease, and lives with complications to this day. Jacqueline still goes camping, identifies trees and birds, and takes her dog (who’s had Lyme, too) out in the grass any chance she gets. She can’t go far, but she goes deep.
3 words to describe Nature?
Detoxifying. Fortifying. Unanswerable.
3 things Nature taught you?
Talk less, listen more.
Pay attention – a hawk can kill a junco in two seconds flat – don’t miss the moment.
Nothing I create will ever be as beautiful as a walk with my dog during a snowstorm.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Overlooking the Atlantic from Sao Miguel in the Azores, where my father is from.
The honey locust, tree of heaven, and plants deskside on my windowsill in New York.
Any forest in New England I can go into with my best friend, Lyndsey.
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Small and powerless and insignificant and humble. In the best possible way.
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Ready for a very slow walk to make up stories, identify things, and whisper quietly so to not wake sleeping trolls.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Like an upward adventure is about to happen.
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Like I can almost see the ghosts of all those who have stood in that same spot before me, equally in awe.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Like I should stop what I’m doing and observe the sky, so I’ll know how it’s changed later.
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel…?
Like it’s time to get out a notebook and fountain pen.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Forest. I’m never more at home then when with the trees, nestled alongside water. If I can be in water surrounded by trees, even better. Hot springs? Never leaving.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10. I live in a city, yet surround myself with Nature. I find it everywhere. I cannot live without it.
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
My favorite books in childhood were those about running away to live in the woods: The Boxcar Children, My Side of the Mountain, etc. I succeeded only in decorating an empty shed with plates made from broken floor tiles, building a fire pit in the woods behind our property and, eventually, trying to heal my dad’s poison ivy with a soak made from ferns. It was something.
Chef Nyesha J. Arrington
A former apprentice of legendary French Chef Joel Robuchon, Nyesha is celebrated for her advocacy of using farm fresh, locally, and responsibly sourced ingredients.
In 2012, she was recognized by Zagat.com as one of the 30 Under 30 - LA's Hottest Up-And-Comers as well as Where LA's top talent under30. She was also profiled in LA Weekly's People issue as one of the most 69 interesting people to watch in 2012. In 2013 she won the cooking competition show Knife Fight on Esquire Network and later returned to Knight Fight in 2014 as a Guest Chef Judge. In 2015, Nyesha crafted the creative cooking vision behind Progressive California Cuisine at LEONA, in the heart of Venice, CA. During her tenure with LEONA, GQ Magazine named Arrington’s Hibiscus-Cured Yellowtail dish “ Most Sexy of 2016 ”, and Nyesha was also awarded the title of " Chef of the Year " - EATER LA. In 2016 Chef Arrington was awarded “Top 10 Dish of Los Angeles 2016” - Jonathan Gold .
Currently, Nyesha continues to innovate by drawing inspiration from her diverse cultural background and French-technique while maintaining her mission to spread the message of love through food using every plate as a new canvas of creation.
3 words to describe Nature?
Life, Inspiration, Seasonal
3 things Nature taught you?
Respect, Culture, Lifecycle
3 most treasured Nature spots?
1 Vasquez rocks
2 Poppy fields antelope valley
3 Monkey canyon ( hidden waterfall)
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Zen
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Rooted
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Respect
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
At peace
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Vulnerable
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Like a pilar
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Ocean for sure!
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Fishing with my Dad is one my my favorite childhood memories. I remember going out to lakes and catching my first fish made me feel powerful. I'll never forget the respect for life I learned those days.