Greg Thomsen
Greg Thomsen is one of the most successful and well-respected leaders in the outdoor industry. A close friend to legendary climber and writer John Long, Greg has had almost every job imaginable in the outdoor industry. In 1972, he co-founded Wilderness Experience, the first outdoor company to go public and be traded not he NASDAQ stock exchange. In 1987, Nike hired him as Global Director of Marketing for Apparel, where he created the ACG (All Conditions Gear). In 1990, Greg co-founded the American Sports Group (ASG), where for almost 20 years his company created thousands of products for hundreds of companies. In 2007, after owning several outdoor brands such as Mountainsmith, Youngstown, and Detours, he sold everything and lived a nomadic life, traveling around the world for one year with his family - "It was the best year of my life" he says. For the last decade, Thomsen has served as the Chief Outdoor Officer of adidas Outdoor, growing the brand exponentially in the U.S. In 2019, Greg received the Inspiration Awards Lifetime Achievement.
3 words to describe Nature?
Life. Love. Breathtaking.
3 things Nature taught you?
Overall nature has taught me to be mindful and to live in the moment.
Living in natural environments has taught me both the fragility and the strength of life and to not to take either for granted.
Nature has shown me that “everything” is connected.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
The Sierra
Bhutan
Hawaii
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Small and insignificant but free and limitless.
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
At home and at peace. Comfortable and calm.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Amazed at the power of nature. Flying over a volcano they appear to be alive and on a mission of creation.
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
I love both sunrise and sunsets, they make me feel there is magic in the universe. The ultimate cycle of life.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
I’m am ...thrilled by the natural power I feel when I hear thunder and see lightning. Thunder comforts me and reminds me that the real world is alive.
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
A bit disoriented. I am not in love with howling wind as it makes me anxious of what is coming.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
I am absolutely a Mountain person! I feel most comfortable and alive in big mountain environments. Forest and Deserts calm me and Oceans generally frighten me to my inner core with their enormous power and unpredictability.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
Nature is absolutely a 10 for my well-being. Without Nature what else is there?
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
My father loved the outdoors, hiking, fishing and camping. Our family spent every summer camping in the Mammoth Lakes area in the Sierra. It was what we did as a family since I was 2 years old, so it holds a very special place in my childhood memories. When I was 12 and my brother was 16 we decided we would try to climb to the top of Crystal Crag, a prominent granite spire overlooking the Mammoth Lakes area. We summited after some difficult steep and exposed 5th class solo climbing and descended the face as our parents were having lunch below the crag at a dock side restaurant on lake Mary. At a table next to my parents a man and his wife, watched our precarious descent, and leaned over to asked my father “what kind of parents would let their children do such a dangerous climb”
It was at that moment my parents realized it was my brother and me descending the face. Of course they didn’t tell the outraged couple.
When we arrived back at our family tent we were first scolded for taking such a risk but it then turned to laughter as they told us the story about the horrified onlookers from the next table and not telling them that those unsupervised risk takers were their children! It became a family story that was retold for years to come, over much laughter and love. Both my brother and I went on to more and more serious climbing adventures and exploration experiences around the World that has both defined and enriched our life’s path.
Ken Gart
Ken Gart has been a partner at The Gart Companies since its inception in 1992. Prior to that time he was Co-President and Chief Merchandising Officer at Gart Bros. Sporting Goods, a family-owned and operated corporation, from 1983 to 1992. Ken started Specialty Sports Venture, LLC (SSV) in 1994 and built it to over 140 stores and into the nation’s leading specialty ski and bicycle retailer. SSV included Aspen Sports, Telluride Sports, Boulder Ski Deals, Colorado Ski and Golf and roughly 30 other trade names. The company was sold to Vail Resorts in 2010.
Ken was chairman of the Board of Denver Bike Sharing (DBA B-Cycle) where he was appointed to the position by then Mayor and now Governor John Hickenlooper. Denver B-Cycle was the first major city-wide bike sharing to launch in the US. Ken is currently chair of the Board for RPM Events Group which owns the Colorado Classic and Velorama. The Colorado Classic is a global professional cycling competition and Velorama is a music festival. The goals of the RPM Events Group are around health & wellness & economic development for Colorado. Ken has been called by Governor Hickenlooper his “Bike Czar”. This is a voluntary position to make Colorado the most bicycle friendly state in America.
Ken has held various memberships, directorships and chairmanships with The Nature Conservancy, the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, Telluride Foundation, Colorado Conservation Trust, Denver Area Council Boy Scouts of America, Denver Metro Boys & Girls Clubs and the Denver Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau. Further, he serves on numerous other non-profit boards and committees.
Ken Attended Claremont Men’s College and graduated from Middlebury College and Stanford Graduate School of Business. He and his wife Rebecca have three children. Ken is an athlete, having climbed over 30 of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks, and is an enthusiast in the sports of skiing and cycling.
3 words to describe Nature?
Passion. Relief. Opportunity.
3 things Nature taught you?
Stop Breathe Relax Listen as you say so well
Instant change of perspective. It forces to think differently.
Self awareness and all the possibilities
3 most treasured Nature spots?
On any mountain with any of my 3 children. The time with my children in nature is priceless. The bond it creates is profound and so rewarding.
Any aerobic outdoor location. I love how exercising in the outdoors makes me feel. It is more than simply getting a shot of endorphins, it is more a full experience of feeling alive.
On a Colorado mountain, in winter, during a powder day, the rush is priceless
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel…?
Inspired. Small. and refreshed. It brings me back to this balcony in Italy, 20 years ago, overlooking the sea. My wife and I had just gotten engaged. We were looking at the water and started to cry, thinking about both of our parents who had passed away. There is something about self reflection and the ocean.
When you see a forest, it makes you feel…?
Fresh and full of air. Climbing up a mountain, you pass a point where you loose the trees. It is too high for them to grow, not enough oxygen and moisture. So when you come down the mountain and reach the tree line, smelling the pine cones and all the different aromas, it is comforting and refreshing. It is like coming home after a hard day’s work.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel…?
Reminds me of the smallness of the human species. How little we matter. How our impact on the world (in the big sense) is borderline insignificant.
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel…?
It is a moment of reflection. It puts me in touch with the day that is ahead and the day that has passed. It reminds me of the cycle of life, the beginnings and the ends, the past and the future, what was, is and will be.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel…?
I really like the thunder. It is a cool way to experience nature. Feeling the energy around you, this incredible force of nature that is so powerful. It is inspiring.
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel…?
On the other end, the wind howling makes me ominous. When I am hiking, biking, climbing, and its starts to blow, I get the feeling of being threatened.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Mountain through and through
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
9
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Camping. Our family wasn’t too big on camping, but I remember the few moments we did, with my father and brothers. What I remember the most is the campfire. Being in the outdoors, around the campfire, hearing the fire crackle, smelling the wood burning, it is a powerful experiences that touches so many senses. It is extremely comforting yet threatening. As a child, it is life changing.
Dave Brownlie
Born and raised in British Columbia, DAVE BROWNLIE is a graduate of the University of British Columbia Bachelor of Commerce (1985), an FCPA, and Whistler Community member since 1989. Dave began his career in the ski industry with Blackcomb Mountain rising to the position of President & CEO of Whistler Blackcomb Holdings Inc. and then working as COO for Vail Resorts through the ownership transition. Accomplishments include the integration of Whistler and Blackcomb mountains, the implementation of the Peak2Peak gondola, leading the very successful run of Whistler Blackcomb as a public company and securing new 60 Year Master Development Agreements for both Whistler and Blackcomb mountains with the province of British Columbia and the Squamish and Lil’wat Nations.
A passionate skier, hockey player, biker and golfer; Dave enjoys everything the Sea to Sky corridor has to offer with his wife and three kids.
3 words to describe Nature?
Beautiful. Inspirational. Powerful
3 things Nature taught you?
Life’s true pleasures are not based on material things
There is so much to learn
How something so powerful can also be so extremely vulnerable.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Top of Blackcomb or Whistler Mountain
The sandy beaches of the West Coast (e.g. Tofino)
The British Virgin Islands.
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Adventurous
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Strong
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Vulnerable
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Peaceful, calm, relaxed
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Alert
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Alive
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
It is so hard to pick one! If I had to ……. Mountain.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
It is the foundation …… 10.
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Living in Whitehorse, Yukon at the age of 11, me and my buddy back packed into a small lake and camped for the night! Two 11 year old’s experiencing life and nature on our own ………… very cool.
Jennine Cohen
JENNINE COHEN is a the Managing Director of the Americas for GeoEx. A trusted adventure, luxury and travel expert, Jennine also supports travel conservation efforts. She is a member of the Board of Directors for the International Galápagos Tour Operators Association (IGTOA) and has been featured in Travel & Leisure, Afar, Conde Nast Traveler, Vogue, YahooTravel, Fortune, Forbes, ABC, CBS, Travel Weekly, TravelAge West, Recommend Magazine, SmartMeetings, Travel Alliance Media and beyond. Besides sending people traveling around the world, Cohen advises, coaches and helps small businesses, women entrepreneurs, healers, and business leaders to uncover their everyday magic.
3 words to describe Nature?
Peace, Pachamama, Purity
3 things Nature taught you?
Like nature, I am a force;
Hitting the reset button in nature = clarity;
No regrets for going bigger
3 most treasured Nature spots?
The South Yuba River, Nevada City,
Wrangell Saint Elias National Park – Alaska,
Dead Horse State Park - Utah
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
I want to be out there, in the waves instead of sitting on the shore
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Like everything is right in the world
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Mother Earth is amazing
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Like the days are precious – and we should appreciate and have gratitude for each uniquely beautiful day.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
At home
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Intrigued
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Mountain – but love them all deeply
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
I didn’t have much exposure to the wilderness as a child, and my first real introduction was in college through UCLA’s Outdoor Leadership Program. My first backpacking trip with UCLA was through Sequoia National Forest – it was how I fell in love with the West.
I was surrounded on that trip by much more experienced peers who had spent their childhoods enjoying frequent family camping trips. I on the other hand, didn’t even know how to set up a tent – let alone use topo maps and a compass. Despite this, as we hiked through the mountains and under some of the largest trees on the planet, I felt a deep sense of satisfaction, calm, sense of purpose. Though I was an absolute beginner, but my unbounded excitement for my new found passion over time led to my competence in and eventual addiction to the outdoors. My life was forever changed after that trip, and my career in the adventure travel industry born.
Coincidentally, that same trip happened to fall over 9/11. We had been in the wilderness and seemed to be the last ones on the planet to find out about the terrorist attacks to the World Trade Center – emerging from the woods a full week after the tragic event. Not being surrounded by news all week likely shielded us from the high levels of stress and anxiety that the rest of the country was suffering from.
It is a good reminder about the importance of disconnecting from the noise of today’s anxiety inciting media – in order to intuitively return to the abundance of calm and clarity.
Rick Roberts
RICK ROBERTS is the Director, Hospitality Operations for Summit Powder Mountain in beautiful Eden, Utah. Summit Powder Mountain is a year-round destination for an ongoing program of events and activities - a home to the emergent culture of creativity and collaboration exemplified by the Summit community. Summit Powder Mountain is the largest skiable resort in North America and is preserving its magical skiing experience for generations to come and to save it from overdevelopment. Summit is now focused on building a new urban village at 8600 feet, showing that by developing a portion of the mountain responsibility, the entirety can be saved from overdevelopment.
Prior to joining the Summit family, Rick served 21 years in the Air Force as a dedicated and experienced thought leader and innovator with a history of delivering measurable results while leading teams of 500 in dynamic, combat and non-combat environments. He is a highly decorated veteran that possess a comprehensive background of managing large scale hospitality operations, fitness and recreation programs, human resources, and capital planning.
Additionally, he volunteers for Healthy Body Healthy Life, a non-profit educating individuals, changing families and growing communities. He is extremely passionate about outdoor recreation and the therapeutic effects it can have for veterans challenged with post-traumatic stress.
3 words to describe Nature?
Inspiring, calming, pure
3 things Nature taught you?
Humility, courage, determination
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Havasu Falls, Interlocken, Switzerland, Cliffs of Moher
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Vulnerable...it's another world
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Curious
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Powerful
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Thankful
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Anxious
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Attentive
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?
I was always fond of being out on a lake fishing with my Dad. After serving in WWII, Korea and Vietnam, fishing brought him peace and joy. I appreciate those special moments with him.
Maita Barrenechea
MAITA BARRENECHEA is a pioneering and leading luxury and experiential Travel Specialist, based in Argentina. She is the founder of MAI 10, one of the world's most prestigious Luxury and Experiential Travel companies. Travel+Leisure has awarded her, for several years now, as one of the World's Top Ten Power-Brokers, Most Informed, Well-connected and Influential persons in the travel industry. Town & Country magazine named her "The Travel Goddess". She is a Case Study at Wharton University as the most successful women entrepreneurs in South America and is featured as one of the main characters in the book "Women Entrepreneurs - Inspiring Stories". The leading luxury travel association Virtuoso, which gathers the top travel and hospitality companies in the world, awarded her with the Best of the Best Travel Award, Best Event Planner, & Best Voyager Club Event. Her clients include U2, Jimmy Buffett, Caroline Kennedy, Jane Fonda, Mick Jagger, Michael Keaton, and many others.
3 words to describe Nature?
Marvel
Life
Glory
... oh and Creation
3 things Nature taught you
Humbleness
Wonder
Gratitude
(but then also Respect, Care, Patience, Appreciation, Imagination, Silence)
3 most treasured Nature spots
A mountain stream
A glacial lake
A coral reef
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Freedom, Rapture, Musical, Harmony, Melancholy, Respect
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Secluded, Happy , Solace , Accompanied, Moody
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Awe, Restlessness, Uncertainty
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Love, Romance, Emotion
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Respect
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Courageous, Desolate
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Mountain with forests (or the green valley between mountains)
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
The memories of camping and listening to the silence of the night and the sounds of nature are very dear to me. I remember the breeze at the top of the trees, the calling of birds when they start to serenade the day, the break of dawn and the glory of the morning, all of it brings magical memories to me.
The first time I looked underwater a coral reef, I was marvelled by the magic of life found under the sea.
I fly-fish and feel there is a profound connection with nature. When I am at the river, I can sit by the bank for hours, listening to rushing water and the breeze in the trees. I love to peruse at rocks and driftwood, and walk downstream watching the bird life around and the insect hatches.
I enjoy the theory that surrounds the art of fly-fishing, learning to read the river to guess where the trouts are lying, understanding the cycle of nature, the food sources we try to imitate, more so if you tie your own flies. You learn to look out for surface activity which will become the target of your fly presentation so as to draw the attention of the fish, you search the ripples to anticipate the direction of their moves, you sight birds collecting insects in the air or off the water, and watch the rolling rise of a trout. The purpose of fishing may be to outsmart a fish, but soon you learn how selective they can be.
There is also the innate beauty in a fly cast. The rhythm and graceful curves of the line in the air and the constant aim of the perfect loop. Fly casting has a poetic nature of its own. But what I enjoy the most about fishing is being immersed in nature, feeling the sounds and the silence, the murmur of the river, and discovering the surrounding wilderness. I've learnt to bird-watch and am infinitely intrigued by the behaviour of birds, I enjoy studying the wildflowers and identifying animal tracks.
When you fish you interact with nature. You feel the water, the wind, the strength of the current. I can still feel the thrill of a trout taking the fly and relentlessly fighting to get away. It is quite magical to cast a dry-fly and let it drift along the surface, and alas, see the actual bite and feel the adrenaline that follows. But there is so much peace when you are enveloped by nature that I many times find myself wishing a fish will not bite, so as not to disturb its life nor the tranquility of the spectacle.
Carine Clark
CARINE CLARK serves on the Executive Board of Silicon Slopes. She has decades of experience building successful software companies and most recently was the CEO of MaritCX, Allegiance Software and CMO of Symantec.
She has been recognized with numerous awards, including being inducted into the Utah Technology Council Hall of Fame, named 2016 EY Entrepreneur of the Year Utah Region, and 2015 CEO of the Year by Utah Business magazine. She was ranked by ExecRank as #47 of all CMO’s worldwide in 2012. Clark received her bachelor’s degree in organizational communications as well as a master’s degree in business administration.
In 2012 Carine was diagnosed with a rare form of Ovarian Cancer. She did 18 months of treatment and is nearly 5 years clear from her toughest chemo. She works as an advocate for cancer research, works with newly diagnosed patients and mentors many young people in her spare time. This summer she will be riding on the Hunstman Cancer’s Survivor team at the Little Red Bike race. She’s hopelessly devoted to the men in her life: her husband of 34 years and her two amazing sons. She’ll tell you she’s the most blessed human on the planet.
3 words to describe Nature?
Captivating, Breathtaking, Peace
3 things Nature taught you?
1. That the planet is glorious.
2. That nature has a soul and a personality.
3. That she can delight in the smallest and biggest ways.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
1. Napali Coast in Kauai, Hawaii
2. Zions Canyon in Southern Utah
3. The Pennine Alps which includes Monte Rosa and the Matterhorn.
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Anxious - the power scares me and yet I'm drawn to it.
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Protected.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Awestruck that the planet is creating new parts of the planet.
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Happy to still be on the planet. I try to watch the sunrise everyday over Mt. Timpanogos in Utah.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Alive. I can watch it for hours.
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Like it's trying to tell me a story with highs and lows.
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?
Can I say 20? I get super cranky when I can't get outside every day.
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
When I was 10 my parents would alternate summer weekends between Virginia Beach and the Blue Ridge Mountains. I remember sleeping in a tent in the Blue Ridge Mountains in the pouring rain and staying up all night listening to the rhythm of the rain not wanting to fall a sleep and not wanting it to stop. I was warm, safe and dry but I felt like I was inside the rain clouds listening to the rain in the forrest.
Charlene Winfred
CHARLENE WINDFRED is a Fujifilm X-Photographer who captures exquisitely the byproduct of a life in perpetual transit. She was born and raised in Singapore. She lived for 15 years in Australia. In 2013, she sold everything and began the life of a nomad.
3 words to describe Nature?
Overwhelming, longing, life
3 things Nature taught you?
That life persists. That death comes for us all. That to be able to walk, to test my body against the earth, is one of the finest abilities I am lucky enough to take for granted (at the moment, anyway)
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Arches National Park. The open ocean. Any inner city park, being the closest I normally get to Nature... sad but true!
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Overwhelmed and calmed at the same time
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Like I want to go for a very long walk and look at everything. This very rarely happens, however.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
I've never actually seen one, so I'll get back to you when I do!
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Sunrise - it's been a while since I've seen one of those. Next! Sunset - whenever I'm in a position to see an entire sunset vista, it honestly makes me feel like having a glass of wine.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Glad to be inside!
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Like I want to be outside, running around like a crazy person.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Of the 4, the Ocean has been the only one I can say I've been to enough to be familiar with its many moods. I like to think I'd be a mountain person, because I find rocks strangely comforting to be around (and climbing is one of the things I've wished I could afford to do since I was a kid), but that could be me romanticizing both mountains and my affinity for them! Again, will get back to you if/when that actually happens.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10, because it's everything. We can't live without nature can we?
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
There are no maritime background, or lineage of proud/rogue sailors in my family’s runaway past. My father was a mad keen fisherman though, and that’s probably where my draw to the ocean started. Dad would disappear for days on these extended fishing trips in the South China sea when I was little, bringing back ice chests full of all sorts of fish and a bunch of awesome stories each time (he was a sensational story teller). I begged to go for years and kept being told it would happen as soon as I was old enough.
So that was my 8th birthday present. My parents worried for their small, sickly child out at sea during the onset of the monsoon season, but as Dad would recall about 20 years later, I’d positively flourished in those 5 days. That was the beginning of yearly trips in Malaysian waters.
The things I remember about being at sea: Stormy days – large approaching masses of angry water waiting to eat the boat, securing anything that would fly when being tossed around. Listening to the boat creak and moan woefully in the thrash. Afterwards, small fish roiling on the water as the clouds moved away, far as the eye could see in every direction; a lone marlin worrying a frantic ball of its prey in the water, the glorious still-frame of a sailfish in flight, a line of sunlight gleaming off its saltwater lacquered dorsal fin, down curved flank and flashing off its sickle of tail. The curious, heady mix of brine and diesel fumes (and in this case, old fish) that to me, will always mean “port.”
But what I retain most about those days is staring up at clouds puffing into existence, wavering shards of sunlight converging conical to a point in the water, or at a horizon that was never really still, the way it is on land. I never took to fishing, but it allowed me to spend days dreaming in any available spot on the boat, with or without a rod in hand.
Ayelet Baron
AYELET BARON is the visionary author behind Our Journey to Corporate Sanity: Transformational Stories from the Frontiers of 21st Century. Prior to being a speaker, coach, workshop facilitator, and committed to making a transformational impact on business, Baron was an Innovator-in-Residence in Roche/Genentech's Strategic Innovation Product Development organization, and a Chief Strategy Officer for Cisco Canada.
3 words to describe Nature?
Humans. Grounding. Reality. We are nature; nature is grounding; nature ground us in reality.
3 things Nature taught you?
To appreciate beauty as is. To recognize the life force in animals, plants and humans. To remember to follow nature in business - a time to plant, a time to water, a time to nurture and a time to harvest.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Diving in Fiji - the most spectacular underwater park; white sands of Turks and Caicos, and the deep blue Mediterranean Sea.
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
At peace. The whole experience of the beauty and infinity of the ocean from looking to listening to breathing it in is exhilarating.
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
In awe imagining what the trees have witnessed while we simply pass by in a flash. The conversations they must be having must be incredible as they show us what a connected network truly is.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
The fire within each of us that can tip over at any moment and that emotions are natural if we allow them to be expressed
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
The cycle of life and death, with the depth of colors and opportunities
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
The power of nature to make a statement and bring clarity
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Alive and attune with reality
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Ocean first but I love them all ... what could be better than an ocean with a mountain, forest and/or desert? I have had the pleasure of experiencing many breathtaking combinations
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
I will always remember the first time I walked through an orange orchard in Israel when I was 6 years old and got to pick oranges from the tree. That smell of the orange buds has stayed with me forever. Then, my grandfather retired and bought an almond orchard and as a kid, I spent hours peeling the two cases of almonds and organizing them in neat piles. It helped me appreciate the source of our nutrients and also sparked a love of creation with cooking naturally. I always need to know where the food we consume comes from in nature.