Cecilia Vanman
Cecilia Vanman worked as a footwear designer in the fashion business, when she took up scuba diving and freediving as hobbies. These interests and her love for the sea grew into such major fascination, that she decided to study marine biology, eventually graduating with a MSc Distinction in Marine Mammal Science in 2005.
Today as an Expedition Leader and Marine Mammal Biologist, Cecilia Vanman has planned, led and participated in expeditions and scientific projects in the Arctic and Antarctic, the Indian Ocean, the Black Sea, Scandinavian waters, the Mediterranean and the Caribbean. She has circumnavigated the British Isles, Spitzbergen and Iceland and has led three expeditions through the Northwest Passage.
Cecilia has also created the logistical frame work for film productions as an expedition leader for the likes of Disney Nature, Leonardo di Caprio and National Geographic Society. One of her greatest passions is science communication and bringing stories home from her expeditions in remote places to wider audiences through public talks. Cecilia is also a freelance photojournalist and her coverage includes reportage work with the Danish Navy Seals, the Danish Helicopter Rescue Service, the Danish elite unit Sirius Sledge Patrol in NE Greenland as well as articles on sustainable living, freediving, scuba-diving and natural history filmmaking.
Cecilia was invited to join Women Adventurers Club, Denmark in 2011 and 2015, she became the first Danish woman to be appointed Fellow of The Explorers Club
3 words to describe Nature?
Powerful. Healing. In trouble
3 things Nature taught you?
Curiousness
Patience
Interconnection
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Island of Langeland in Denmark
Disko Island in Greenland
South Georgia in the Southern Ocean
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Free and humble
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Calm
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
If a busy volcano: like I should enjoy its’ beauty, but have a plan for a quick exit
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Grateful
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Electrified and alive. But depending on the situation in the field, perhaps quite vulnerable.
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Thrilled in the beginning and I love the power of it all. After days of howling winds during field work, however, I can become almost overcome with a sense of restlessness. It can also add to cabin fever, which is good for no one in a remote camp. At sea, howling winds mean stormy conditions, which are never desirable.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
I am an ‘Ocean-person’ through and through and while I enjoy being there and traveling through them, I could never live in a landlocked country. The Ocean represents freedom and independence to me. More than any nature scape it puts me in my place as a human.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10 and beyond.
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Taking the family rowing boat, piling it high with cushions, blankets, my favorite book at the time and an anchor to go to a spot to read; there to be gently rocked by the sea and watching the soaring birds above in between. This escape to nature meant the world to me at a time when things could be difficult at school. Looking back it also set me on a path…
H.E. Maguy Maccario Doyle
Her Excellency Maguy Maccario Doyle is Monaco’s Ambassador to the United States and Canada. She was appointed by His Serene Highness Prince Albert II on November 12, 2013 and presented her letters of credence to President Obama at The White House on December 3, 2013.
She also serves as the Principality’s Ambassador to Canada having presented her credentials to Canada’s Governor General, H.E. David Johnston, in December 2014, and as the Principality’s Permanent Observer to the Organization of American States (OAS).
Ambassador Maccario Doyle is the vice president of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation (for the environment) and the president of the US chapter of the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation (launched in May 2016 in California). She was Monaco’s long-serving consul general in New York as well as the director of the Monaco Government Tourist Office for North America. In June 2017, Ambassador Maccario Doyle was appointed to the board of Grace-Penn Medicine: a new strategic alliance between Penn Medicine and Monaco's Princess Grace Hospital.
A committed advocate for children and women’s issues and a tireless worker on behalf of charitable and philanthropic endeavors, she is a long-standing member of both the Professional Advisory Board and the International Professional Advisory Board of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
In recognition for her services to the Principality of Monaco and the Princely Family, she was presented by His Serene Highness Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1996, with the prestigious “Chevalier de l’Ordre de Saint-Charles” distinction.
3 words to describe Nature?
Nurturing. Rejuvenating. All-powerful.
3 things Nature taught you?
Never take things for granted.
Seasons come and go.
Be prepared for (good and not-so-good) surprises.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
New Mexico’s wilderness
Half Moon Bay’s (CA) majestic coastline
Monaco’s Mediterranean magnificence
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
At home
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Like going for a walk.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
I never saw a volcano eruption in person, except in films : The power of a mountain coming to life – I saw dormant and extinct volcanoes and it felt like a lunar landscape.
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Serene and happy to have made it through another night/day!
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Like seeking out an umbrella.
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Music to my ears… and of course like making sure the windows are properly closed!
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?
When one really thinks about how all-encompassing Nature is in our daily lives, it is pretty much a 10.
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
My parents would never buy me a pet. So I decided as a small girl to collect snails from around my garden near Monaco. But to my great disappointment found out they are asexual. No mama. No papa! See what I mean about Nature’s surprises!