Dianne Dain
Dianne Dain is the Chief Innovation Officer for the World Humanitarian Forum and a member of the WHO Innovation team. Recognized globally as a thought leader on women's influence and empowerment, sustainable tech, and social innovations, Dain is the co-founder of COPXX and an Honorary Professor at the Wise Center for Economic Justice at Glasgow Caledonia University. Additionally, she is the President of The Singer Foundation. Prior to these roles, Dianne was with the United Nations Secretariat where she lead the UN Reboot Accelerator for youth crowdsourcing and participated in the creation of the global network of UN Technology Innovation Labs (UNTIL). In 2010 she was named National Mother of America
3 words to describe Nature?
Majestic. Creator. Home
3 things Nature taught you?
Perspective
Humility
Gratitude
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Scottish Highlands
Palos Verdes Peninsula beaches
Waipio Valley, Hawaii
When you look at the OCEAN, it makes you feel...?
Eternally grateful for the rhythm and heartbeat of the universe
When you see a FOREST, it makes you feel...?
Grounded and connected to ancient wisdom
When you see a VOLCANO, it makes you feel...?
Humbled by the power and fire living within the earth Is walk upon
When you see a SUNRISE or SUNSET, it makes you feel...?
Thankful I am alive and get to see another day begin or end
When you hear THUNDER, it makes you feel...?
Liberated from humans, worshipful of the power of the universe
When you hear the WIND HOWLING, it makes you feel...?
Exhilarated and energized that the air
Are you an OCEAN, MOUNTAIN, FOREST, or DESERT person?
Forest and Ocean
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
My earliest memories are of being born looking for a connection to my environment. I was conceived during a surf lesson and abandoned as a baby at the Salvation Army. As a child, I would sit on the hillside overlooking the ocean and wonder how I came to be here and why. I spent hours alone on the hills because I intuitively felt most at home with the earth. She was my mother and nurtured me through a lack of strong human connections and identity as a child.
Scott Parazynski
Dr. Scott Parazynski is a highly decorated physician, astronaut, and tech CEO recently inducted into the US Astronaut Hall of Fame. He is a widely sought-after keynote speaker on innovation, risk management, mentorship, and leadership under extreme adversity.
In 1992 he was selected to join NASA’s Astronaut Corps and eventually flew 5 Space Shuttle Missions and conducted 7 spacewalks. Mission highlights include a global ozone mapping flight; leading the first joint US-Russian spacewalk while docked to the Russian space station Mir; serving as Senator John Glenn’s crewmate and “personal physician”; and assembly of the Canadian-built space station robotic arm.
In October 2007, Scott led the spacewalking team on STS-120, during which he performed 4 EVAs. The final EVA is regarded by many as one of the most challenging and dangerous ever performed. The tremendous coordinated effort in orbit and on the ground by Mission Control has been likened to the Space Shuttle and Space Station era’s “Apollo 13 moment.”
On May 20, 2009, he became the first astronaut to stand on top of the world, the summit of Mount Everest. As a life-long explorer, he and a colleague recently set the first bootprints adjacent to the world’s youngest lava lake, inside the crater of Massaya Volcano in Nicaragua.
He is the Founder and CEO of Fluidity Technologies, focused on the development of revolutionary input devices powered by machine learning to intuitively move through physical and virtual space, and the author of Memoir: The Sky Below.
3 words to describe Nature?
Wonder. Fragility. Enormity
3 things Nature taught you?
Humility - the forces of nature far exceed our control and scale, and warrants our fullest respect
Appreciation - life is an unexplained gift that shouldn't ever be taken for granted
Preparation - going into the true wilds requires forethought, rigorous training, and teamwork
3 most treasured Nature spots?
One atmosphere down with a scuba tank on, face to face with a coral reef and all its residents
Outside on a spacewalk, flying through the Aurora Australis, eyes wide open
On the summit of Mount Everest at sunrise, seeing the world drop off in all directions around me, with a sunrise to beat all sunrises...
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
At peace - the calming views of our oceans from space, often with beautiful cloud cover and sunglint, helped me prepare to go to bed when I was up in space.
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Connected to our living, breathing planet...
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Awed and frightened - reminding me of our first descent adjacent to the lava lake of Masaya volcano in Nicaragua a few years ago.
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Joyful, and reminiscent of my views of orbital sunrises and sunsets up in space...
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Sorrow - I'm reminded of our late, great dog Mare, who would always jump on the bed in the midst of thunderstorms. Weighing in at 100 pounds, his unexpected visits were more alarming than the lightning storms outside!
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Small relative to the power of nature, like when I camped just below the jet stream, screaming across the summit of Everest
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
All of the above.
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 dropped beneath the sea surface with tanks on my back - at age 11 - was an epiphany, being able to gracefully explore in three dimensions a world that I'd only seen in Jacques Cousteau's films. The overwhelming beauty of that dive and the unknown, possibly lurking danger still brings back wonderful memories to this day.
Nigel Bennett
Nigel Bennett is an award-winning entrepreneur, author, founder of Aqua-Guard Spill Response, and co-host of the podcast "Impact". His company, a global leader in oil spill control, protects water, the world’s most precious resource.
Both Nigel and Aqua-Guard have received multiple awards for their innovation, business excellence, and entrepreneurialism.
Nigel received the British Columbia Institute of Technology’s 2018 Distinguished Alumni of the year Award.
Nigel has devoted his life to environmental and social responsibility and boldly advocates for “risking it all for what really matters” among the entrepreneurial tribes to which he belongs. Nigel speaks and consults with entrepreneurs and young people worldwide about bringing their talents to solving some of our planet’s most pressing challenges.
In 2012, Nigel set up his business to run without him, See what he did with his newfound freedom and see how he (with the help of his coach) has been able to create a life that most people dream of.
An active philanthropist, Nigel donates all profit from his book sales (Take that Leap – Risking it all for what really matters) and speaking engagements to organizations that support poverty alleviation, human rights, social services, and the environment.
3 words to describe Nature?
Calm. Great reverence. Beauty
3 things Nature taught you?
To have great respect for all things.
Made me very humble
Taught me how to heal
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Solo in the wild, on top of mountains, so:
Whistler area,
North Vancouver Seymour River valley,
Mt. Magilvery area (Whitecap backcountry hut)
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Calm and inspired
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Calm and in awe
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
In awe
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Beauty and respect for silence
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
The power of nature
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Cleansing
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Mostly Ocean, Mountain 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 16 I used to climb solo up to the top of Black Mountain in the snow up a gully to the summit and sit and meditate looking out at the Lion Mountains and then return.
James Wallman
James Wallman is an international bestselling author, entrepreneur, futurist, and experience strategist/designer. He runs the strategy, innovation, and futures consultancy The Future is Here. Clients include KPMG, HSBC, KFC, IDEO, and Facebook. He has written two best-selling books: Time And How To Spend It (Penguin, April 2019) and Stuffocation (self-published 2013; Penguin, 2015; now in 7 languages). Wallman has advised companies from Absolut to Zurich Financial and has given talks from Amsterdam to Las Vegas; at venues including the Googleplex and 10 Downing Street. He advises the British government and is a 'Sector Specialist, Experience Economy' for the Department for International Trade. His opinions have appeared in the New York Times, the Financial Times, the Economist, and Wired and has appeared on TV and radio from Australia to Brazil and the US. James lives in London with his wife and two children.
3 words to describe Nature?
Green. Furry. Nice
3 things Nature taught you?
Just the one: nature is us and everything in us and around us. It's what we call the crazy random experiment our planet is in the middle of. Everyone and everything here is reaching up for energy from the sun, rising from seed to flower, then falling back again. It's a funny, beautiful journey.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Only 3?? I can’t
First, anywhere with my kids.
Then the view from any mountain in the Alps; the Mediterranean sea; Big Sur; Rhossili Bay; the jungle around the Tambopata River and Platja Mitjorn.
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Like I want to jump in and float on, surf on, sails on, get thrown about on the waves.
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Like I want to walk through it, climb its trees, hear its silence, its sounds, and just listen.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Like I wish it would explode, but without killing me. Stromboli is good for this :-)
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Grateful that I had that day or that I'm about to have a day. Aware that time is passing.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Yay! The gods are laughing.
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Alive
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Ocean, Mountain & Forest. (But Deserts can be fun too)
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
Ha! Trick question. It's essential for all our wellbeing. So much science proves it. Hence 3rd rule of the STORIES checklist - the simple way to remember what you should do to be happy & successful - is Outside & Offline.
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
In the late 70s, it used to snow, and way more than it does now. My brother and I got dragged around the garden by our dad on a sled. And then at some nearby hill. Sledding is way too much fun. I miss it.
Also, I remember swimming off Corfu with my mum and my brother in the early 80s. No one was around so we were all swam naked... we were all confident swimmers so we went for a long swim, way out of our depth... the water was so pure and clear, glistening in the sun on the surface but you could see 20-30 feet to the sandy bottom. I get to the Mediterranean most summers... and every time I swim I feel refreshed, young, silly, alive.
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.
Joel Sercel
Dr. Joel Sercel is the CTO and CEO of Trans Astronautica Corporation. TransAstra is a NewSpace company dedicated to accelerating the process of human exploration and industrialization of cislunar space and near Earth asteroids. Funded by a combination of private sector investment plus NASA grants and contracts, TransAstra is building the technology to provide in-space transportation and related services with a fleet of reusable space tugs supplied by propellant derived from asteroid and lunar resources.
Dr. Sercel has over 30 years of NASA, industrial, other government agency, and academic experience and education all of which is directly related to space technology development and innovation. Sercel’s professional experience includes a 14 year career at JPL; 12 years teaching, researching, and advising graduate students at Caltech in the area of space systems engineering; two years as a senior government official serving as the Chief Systems engineer of a $22B Air Force communications satellite network (TSAT) leading a team of 122 systems engineers and several years as a private technology and management consultant
Joel conceived and initiated the NSTAR project (the first deep space solar electric propulsion system) and served as the first Principal Technologist of the NSTAR project. He presently has patents pending in the area of space resources technology and is known as the inventor of Optical Mining™, a practical method for extracting the ingredients in rocket propellant from asteroids.
Dr. Sercel is a five time NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Fellowship awardee.
3 words to describe Nature?
Nature. Includes. Everything
3 things Nature taught you?
While we will never understand everything about nature, we have learned enough to know that nature follows laws that are understandable to the mind of Man.
When you discover a truth about the universe, it unlocks other truths and they all fit together.
When scientists think they have a mature theory that they understand, they are in for a big surprise.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
A kelp forest in the Channel islands
Looking across the Sierras at night at a thunderstorm on the next mountain
The night sky in the Arizona desert on a clear day
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel…?
Peace
When you see a forest, it makes you feel…?
Connected
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel…?
Wonder
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel…?
The flow of time
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel…?
Lucky
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel…?
Small
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
One part each, no preference. Love them all
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
As I am part of nature, that would be a 10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
The Milky Way galaxy spread across the night sky and the realization of the immensity of it all and the potential for an infinite future for humanity and our progeny coupled with a sense of awe that we exist.
http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLijoedlE2A
John Coyle
John K. Coyle, #TheTimeGuy, is a world leading expert in innovation and Design Thinking, and best-selling author of Design For Strengths: Applying Design Thinking to Individual and Team Strengths (2018) and The Art of Really Living Manifesto (2016). A graduate of Stanford University’s Product Design Program, John is an NBC sports analyst, two-time TEDx presenter, and sought-after keynote speaker. He earned an Olympic silver medal for speedskating.
John is a thought leader in the field of chronoception—the study of how humans process time. He lectures and teaches innovation courses at Marquette University, Northwestern University and CEDIM University Graduate School in Mexico. His mission is to innovate the human experience.
3 words to describe Nature?
Wind. Sand. Water.
3 things Nature taught you?
The oxymoron that I am tiny in the grand scheme if things… yet I matter.
Color and light are a core source of joy.
I am never alone in nature - only in cities with people.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Sonoran sunsets
Yucatan cenotes
Utah snowfields
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel…?
Home. I was raised on a lake and on boats: the scent, reflections and ripples of wind and water return me to my youth and possibility.
When you see a forest, it makes you feel…?
An adventure brewing. What is behind that copse? If I climb the ridge will I see the world?
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel…?
Like climbing to the caldera and looking into the mouth of the world…
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel…?
That despite hedonic adaptation to almost everything (particularly money or success) a sunset NEVER gets old.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel…?
Fearless. As kids we used to run outside in lightening storms, pelted by the big drops waiting for that first big rush of wind and leaning into it with smiles.
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel…?
That I need to move. The wind is the devil: it hounds you, never lets you go, slows you, makes you hot, makes you cold, makes it impossible to relax and read. I need to get the hell out of Chicago… it is always windy.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
I am an Ocean/Desert person hence I am moving to the Baja peninsula in August!
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10. I am an “outdoor person”. As my parents used to say, “in or out!” I was always out. Pretty sure I never wore shoes or a shirt until I was 10 or 11 in summer.
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
I’ve now seen it a couple of times. Late summer / early fall, last hot day with warm rain in the evening spurs a “frog crossing”. Thousands of frogs and toads use the cover of darkness, the wetness and warmth to migrate (to where? a new home?) and like worms after a downpour, they are everywhere. One evening when I was maybe 8, there were 3 white owls swiveling their necks in my driveway eating frogs like they were in a french buffet…