Aaron Olivera
Aaron Olivera is the Founder and CEO of Earth 300, a global environmental multidisciplinary initiative incorporating a 300 meter super science vessel for research, exploration, and innovation at sea. Equipped with 22 states of the art labs and frontier technologies such as AI, Robotics, and quantum capabilities, a team of 160 scientists from different fields, will work together on climate science, ecosystem restoration, and planetary stewardship. Marrying science, technology, adventure, exploration, and education, Earth 300’s mission is to ring the climate alarm on a global scale and inspire the greatest and largest climate action effort in history.
Aaron was instrumental in the launching of the world’s first Porsche Design megayacht Catamaran – the famed 41 meter RFF-135, helping secure the financing needed to develop it and launch it with a hospitality package that forms part of a timesharing program aimed at reducing the ecological footprint of the UHNW community.
Aaron lives in Singapore but spends half of his time traveling. He is a member of the invite-only Monaco Private Label presided by Prince Albert II of Monaco, and of The Explorers Club (NYC).
3 words to describe Nature?
Astonishing. Miraculous. Alien.
3 things Nature taught you?
Humility
Fragility
Abundance
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Beach
Ocean
Ancient Forest
When you look at the OCEAN, it makes you feel...?
Wondrous
When you see a FOREST, it makes you feel...?
Foolish
When you see a VOLCANO, it makes you feel...?
Ashamed
When you see a SUNRISE or SUNSET, it makes you feel...?
Loved
When you hear THUNDER, it makes you feel...?
Redeemed
When you hear the WIND HOWLING, it makes you feel...?
Scared
Are you an OCEAN, MOUNTAIN, FOREST, or DESERT person?
Depends on the season
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Going to the beach early with my father and diving into large waves. Feeling fragile and strong at the same time, that sense of lack of control and yet able to bounce back.
Amy Webb
Amy Webb is a quantitative futurist and a bestselling, award-winning author. She is a professor of strategic foresight at the NYU Stern School of Business and the Founder of the Future Today Institute, a leading foresight and strategy firm that helps leaders and their organizations prepare for complex futures. Webb is a Visiting Fellow at Oxford University’s Säid School of Business, a Nonresident Senior Fellow in the Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center, a Fellow in the United States-Japan Leadership Program and a Foresight Fellow in the U.S. Government Accountability Office Center for Strategic Foresight. She was a Visiting Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, where her research received a national Sigma Delta Chi award. She was also a Delegate on the former U.S.-Russia Bilateral Presidential Commission, where she worked on the future of technology, media and international diplomacy. Webb has advised CEOs of some of the world’s largest companies, three-star generals and admirals and executive government leadership on strategy and technology. She is the author of several popular books, including The Big Nine: How the Tech Titans and Their Thinking Machines Could Warp Humanity, which was longlisted for the Financial Times & McKinsey Business Book of the Year award, shortlisted for the Thinkers50 Digital Thinking Award, and won the 2020 Gold Axiom Medal for the best book about business and technology, and The Signals Are Talking: Why Today’s Fringe Is Tomorrow’s Mainstream, which won the Thinkers50 Radar Award, was selected as one of Fast Company’s Best Books of 2016, Amazon’s best books 2016, and was the recipient of the 2017 Gold Axiom Medal for the best book about business and technology. Her bestselling memoir Data, A Love Story is about finding love via algorithms. Her TED talk about Data has been viewed more than 8 million times and is being adapted as a feature film, which is currently in production. Webb was named by Forbes as one of the five women changing the world, listed as the BBC’s 100 Women of 2020, and the Thinkers50 Radar list of the 30 management thinkers most likely to shape the future of how organizations are managed and led.
Amy serves on a script consultant for films and shows about artificial intelligence, technology and the future. Most recently, she worked on The First, a sci-fi drama about the first humans to travel to Mars. She is a member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and has served as a Blue Ribbon Emmy award judge.
3 words to describe Nature?
Essential. Quantifiable. Mysterious.
3 things Nature taught you?
Humility. Humility. Humility. (Seriously!)
3 most treasured Nature spots?
The hiking paths of Mt. Hayachine, which is part of the Kitakami range in northern Japan.
Walking among the giant redwoods of Sequoia National Park.
Hiking the foothills of Stowe, Vermont, especially in fall.
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Concerned. The oceans are a vast ecosystem that we've ignored and polluted.
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
At home. There is a concept in Japan known as "shinrin-yoku," which is loosely defined as taking a forest bath. Connecting with trees and the sounds of a forest, breathing in the air, and taking time for contemplation and reflection are ways to improve mental clarity, emotional health and physical stamina.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Curious.
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Spirited. Some of my fondest memories are of canoeing and camping in Big Bend National Park in Texas and waking up with the sunrise. Even in the summer, the air is fresh and cool, and there's both a calmness and a sense of anticipation for a new day.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Like I'm at work. When I'm researching, reading and writing, I listen to brown noise, which has lower, thicker tones than white noise. Some of the brown noise tracks I listen to include a continuous stream of rumbling thunder.
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Cold. Even if it's not actually cold.
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?
There was a small lake near our house, and it was fully alive: snakes, butterflies, fish, frogs, weeds, flowers, trees, and all sorts of bugs. My dad used to take me there just to walk around, look at tadpoles, and observe nature. One afternoon we found a beehive beneath a pile of boulders. We climbed on top and spent hours watching the bees do their work.
Sheri Salata
Sheri Salata is the author of The Beautiful No: And Other Tales of Trial, Transcendence and Transformation. Named an Amazon best-selling new release and an Apple Must Listen audio book, the memoir has touched thousands of readers and inspired them to reimagine their lives.
Sheri is the cohost of The Sheri + Nancy Show, a popular podcast about living the life of your dreams, and the cofounder of the aspirational lifestyle brand, The Pillar Life, a guidance system focused on 8 foundational areas of living. Health + Wellness. Spirituality + Happiness. Romance + Sex. Family + Friends. Creativity + Innovation. Adventure + Discovery. Sanctuary + Beauty. Money + Abundance.
Sheri has been featured on The Dr. Oz Show, Today, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Huffington Post, Thrive Global, Happier with Gretchen Rubin, Happier in Hollywood, The Good Life Project, Marie Forleo, and Almost 30.
Sheri’s new venture in media is the evolution from her life-altering 20-year career with Oprah Winfrey. Sheri’s day-to-day hits and misses as the final Executive Producer of The Oprah Winfrey Show were featured in the docu-series Season 25: Oprah Behind the Scenes. Sheri served as President of Harpo Studios and OWN.
Sheri has been named one of Fast Company’s 100 Most Creative People in Business and The Hollywood Reporter’s Women in Entertainment Power 100.
3 words to describe Nature?
Awe-full. Humbling. Holy.
3 things Nature taught you?
Beauty is in everything.
Everything is alive.
There are a gazillion shades of green.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Hawai'ian Islands
Lake of the Woods, Canada
Napa Valley
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
The ocean makes me feel on the edge of a great big mystery. How gigantic creatures can live submerged but still sing their songs for me. How the waves come in and out in rhythmic perfection without missing a beat. I feel wild and messy and sacred and beautiful as I take it all in.
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
When I see a forest, it makes me feel like I am in the cathedral of all cathedrals.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Like Mama Earth is sending a message.
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Like the Universe is blessing me.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Safe and secure in my humanness
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Like crying
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
I am an ocean mountain forest person with a little desert on the side.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
9
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
I am a tiny thing dipping my toes in the pacific ocean for the first time and it feels like my home.
Mary Poffenroth
Whether through making original content for TEDed and Wiley & Sons, writing for Science & Forbes, or speaking to live audiences at TEDx & SXSW, Mary Poffenroth’s goals are the same: Make Science Accessible for All. A Salzburg Global Fellow and first generation college student, she holds two masters degrees, one in biology and the other in science communication from Imperial College London. She is the author of Write Present Create: Science Communication for Undergraduates and has taught nearly 20,000 students both in person and online since 2007. Her work has been featured in legacy media outlets such as Time magazine and National Geographic as well as garnering views in the millions with YouTube’s Mahalo. Mary began her research career in astrophysiology at NASA Ames Research Center Moffet Field in 1999 and now focuses her research on the intersection of fear science, communication, and personal/social change as STEM faculty for San Jose State University. Listen to a recent interview with Allie Ward about Fear here Part 1 & Part 2
3 words to describe Nature?
Cleansing. Terrifying. Balancing
3 things Nature taught you?
To be self reliant
To duck under a bush when being shot at
To not pee on your pants while being a lady peeing in the woods
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Muir woods
Big Sur
Any beach on the planet
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Like I’m Home
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Like adventure is afoot
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Exhilarated
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Sunrise = refreshed
Sunset = most likely a bit tipsy if I have taken the time to watch, I am most likely with friends drinking wine on a beach
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Ooohh when is the lightning gonna come
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Ready to jump into (faux) furry blankets with my puppy and a good audio book
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Ocean first, Mountain and forest are the same for me as an equal second, desert is a stark last place
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10… obvi
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
I was the outcast for loving nature in my family. My mother abhorred it unless it was tamed by a planter box. But i would find ways, big and small, to sneak into and onto the wild in an attempt to connect to something I did not have words for at the time.
Dana Romanoff
Dana Romanoff is an internationally acclaimed photojournalist and filmmaker dedicated to making a difference in the world. Whether she is sleeping on animal skins in Ethiopia, hunting with tribes in the jungles of West Papua, driving around with gang bangers in the U.S. or summiting 19,000 foot peaks with adaptive climbers, her work is intimate, layered and soulful and creates relationships and reveals inner lives. Her award-winning imagery, films and commercials foster understanding and create change.
She has received prestigious awards and recognition for tackling significant social issues including her recent film “Noah" which was featured on Upworthy, The Guardian, The Atlantic, RYOT and National Geographic Digital Showcase and won awards at the 2017 W3 Awards, Telly Awards and Communicator Awards and the 2017 Spirit of Activism Special Jury Award at the Crested Butte Film Festival. As co-Director and Director of Photography of National Park Experience, an independent film series celebrating diversity and youth in the National Parks, her documentaries have been broadcasted on PBS and Smithsonian Channel. “Confluence” a feature length doc released in 2018 is currently winning awards touring festivals and universities. Another short film, “Canyon Song” won the 2017 Director’s Choice Award at Flagstaff Mountain Festival, 2017 Award of Merit in the Best Shorts Competition and the 2017 Social Awareness Award at Wasatch Mountain Film Festival. Dana's work is syndicated with Getty Reportage and she is a Getty Global Assignments Photographer, Blue Earth Awarded Photographer and a Director working with Stept Studios and Blue Chalk Media. Her clients include National Geographic Magazine, New York Times, Esquire, Forbes, GQ, Men's Journal, National Geographic Traveler, The Sunday Times, USA Today, UNICEF, and many others.
In 2019, she directed a short film for Budweiser, “For The Fathers Who Stepped Up”, which has been viewed 3.3M times on the Budweiser YouTube channel only.
3 words to describe Nature?
Connected. Necessary. Healing
3 things Nature taught you?
Nature is one of the greatest teachers.
I’ve learned that nature doesn’t need us, but we need nature.
That all living things are connected.
That we should cooperate, not compete with nature.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
My family home on a tiny lake in the Adirondack Mountains of New York.
An incredible waterfall pouring from the jungles of West Papua, Indonesia into the Indian ocean.
A blooming field of wildflowers surrounded by the Rocky Mountain FlatIrons along the Mesa Trail in my backyard in Boulder, Colorado.
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel…?
Humbled and inconsequential
When you see a forest, it makes you feel…?
A sense of security
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel…?
I haven’t seen that many volcanos!
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel…?
Reflective and grateful
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel…?
Energized and on alert
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel…?
Uneasy. Howling wind makes any situation more epic whether it be dodging shopping carts while walking through a parking lot or precariously balanced on a 14,000 ft ridge.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
I would probably say Forrest. A person’s true nature emerges in the deep woods.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
A 10. On a high level, without a healthy earth and nature we are in big trouble. As an individual, my mental and physical health is very closely linked to my time spent in nature.
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
I remember my first backcountry camping experience near a lake in the Adirondack Mountains. I had heard the warnings about bears and was very aware of the food I was carrying in my backpack and needed to suspend in a bear bag from the towering pine trees. That night in my tent I was on high alert. Every branch that snapped I was sure was a bear. Feeding my anxiety was a deep growl that repeated for many hours. When I could not take the fear any longer I screamed out and awoke my friends, more experienced backpackers, in the next tent over. They listened cautiously until they deducted that it was most definitely a bullfrog.
Miki Agrawal
Miki Agrawal was named 2018 Fast Company’s “Most Creative People”, 2017 “Young Global Leader” by World Economic Forum, “Social Entrepreneur of the Year” by the World Technology Summit, “Top 20 millennials on a mission” by Forbes, and was one of INC Magazine’s “Most Impressive Women Entrepreneurs of 2016.” That year, she made the cover of both Entrepreneur Magazine and Crain’s Magazine. She is the recipient of the Tribeca Innovation Award and was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Brooklyn Culture in 2017 by the Brooklyn Magazine.
She co-founded THINX, a high-tech, period-proof underwear brand and led the company as CEO to a valuation of over $150 Million and to Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2017, all while helping tens of millions of women period better.
She also founded TUSHY, a company that is revolutionizing the American toilet category with a modern, affordable, designer bidet attachment that both upgrades human health & hygiene as well as the environment from wasteful toilet paper consumption. She and her team are also helping fight the global sanitation crisis by bringing clean latrines to underserved communities in India through their partnership with Samagra. SNL covered TUSHY after its subway campaign was banned. Watch the clip here.
She is the founder of the acclaimed farm-to-table, alternative pizza concept called WILD with 3 locations in New York City, one in Guatemala and more on the way.
Additionally, Harper Collins published her first book entitled "DO COOL SH*T" on entrepreneurship and lifestyle design. Hay House published her second book “Disrupt-Her”.
3 words to describe Nature?
Alive. Present. Symbiotic
3 things Nature taught you?
That we are tiny specs of dust that are here for a short amount of time, so we must add more to nature than take away from it.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
The Catskills
My backyard garden
Redwood forest in California
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel…?
Ever-present
When you see a forest, it makes you feel…?
Meditative
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel…?
Powerful
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel…?
Rejuvenated
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel…?
Energetic
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel…?
Alive
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?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Going camping in Stowe with my family and climbing Mt Orford at 3 years old and feeling very accomplished :-)
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!)
Kody & Kyler McCormick
Brotherly duo, Kody and Kyler McCormick, founder of The Outbound Life, have never been interested in following the crowd. At young ages they set out to live out their dreams of travel, filmmaking, and entrepreneurship. This non-traditional path lead them to learn from some of their biggest heroes on the planet, receive recognition and sponsorship by some of the top brands in their industries, produce content for Fortune 500 brands, and speak on stages all across the country inspiring youth to chase their passions. The brothers have been seen and heard on platforms ranging from TEDx to Forbes, and LinkedIn’s Official Blog.
3 words to describe Nature?
Adventure. Peace. Recalibration
3 things Nature taught you?
To relax
To push my body physically
To live with less
3 most treasured Nature spots?
BC Canada
Northern California
Colorado Rocky Mountains
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel…?
Small and humbled
When you see a forest, it makes you feel…?
As alive as ever.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel…?
Curious of the science behind it
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel…?
Eager to explore
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel…?
God is in control
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel…?
Determined to push on.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Mountain/forest
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
I’ll never forget taking ski trips with my family as a kid to Colorado. Beyond the hours spent carving fresh powder, my favorite part has always been to ski to an area where I was alone on the mountain where I could sit down and take in the view. The sounds of the world seem to drown away in the surrounding snow and the crisp air has a way of recalibrating the soul. This has been one of my favorite past times and I make it a point to be alone for awhile on every ski trip.
Marshall Birnbaum
Marshall Birnbaum is an artist, curator and photographer living in the mountains of Utah. He is the founder and director of the Summit Institute AIR (Artist in Residence) program based in Eden, Utah. He has previously curated the Art Programs for numerous Summit flagship events. He serves as an advisor to the SXSW Art Program and sits on the board for cultural development at Weber State University. Marshall is a Co-Founder at Escape Collective where he learned to build geodesic domes. Marshall is also a Co-Founder of The Hideout Riders Club dirt bike gang where he learned to pop wheelies on a dirt bike. His favorite color is Blue. His favorite flower is Cosmos Atrosanguineus. He enjoys distance running and touring far-away places on his bicycle. The longest Marshall has ever gone without blinking is about 53 seconds. Marshall can hold his breath for around a minute and a half.
Marshall has had photos published in The Atlantic, Surface Magazine, Forbes, Vogue, Outside Magazine, Arch Newspaper, Cultured Magazine, Complex, Alpine Modern, CLAD Magazine & Cool Hunting and has had writings published in Stay Wild Magazine.
3 words to describe Nature?
Organic. Evolving . Complex
3 things Nature taught you?
Life is strange
Time is relative
Keep asking questions
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Airports
Great Basin Bristlecone Pine Forest in the White Mountains of California
The East River, NYC
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Like drifting
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Like running
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Oddly happy
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Awake or tired
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Hungry
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Wild
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Mountain Person!
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
11
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
When I was younger, I was told with great assurance and confidence by my school teachers that giant squids were pure fantasy. I was prohibited from selecting the animal for a science presentation which caused me great anxiety and sadness. When the Giant Squid was discovered in 2012 I felt an overwhelming sense of justice and validation in the universe.