Wallace J Nichols

Dr. Wallace "J" Nichols - called a “Keeper of the Sea" by GQ Magazine, “a visionary" by Outside Magazine, a "water warrior" by AQUATICS International and a "friend of the sea" by Experience Life Magazine - is an innovative, silo-busting, entrepreneurial scientist, movement maker, renown marine biologist, voracious Earth and idea explorer, wild water advocate, bestselling author, sought after lecturer, and fun-loving Dad. He also likes turtles (a lot).

In 2010 Nichols delivered the commencement address at DePauw University where he also received an honorary doctorate in science. In 2011 he was inducted as a Fellow National member of the Explorers Club. In 2014 he received the University of Arizona's Global Achievement Award. And in 2017, he was presented by Fijian Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama the Champion of Change Award at the World Oceans Festival on Governor’s Island, New York.

Nichols has authored more than 200 scientific papers, technical reports, book chapters, and popular publications; lectured in more than 30 countries and nearly all 50 states; and appeared in hundreds of print, film, radio, and television media outlets including NPR, BBC, PBS, CNN, MSNBC, National Geographic, Animal Planet, Time, Newsweek, GQ, Outside Magazine, USA Today, Elle, Vogue, Fast Company, Surfer Magazine, Scientific American, and New Scientist, among many others.

His book Blue Mind, published in summer 2014 by Little, Brown & Company, quickly became a national bestseller and has been translated to numerous languages and inspired a wave of media and practical application.

J. is currently Chief Evangelist for Water (CEH2O) at Bouy Labs, a Senior Fellow at the Middlebury Institute for International Studies' Center for the Blue Economy, a Research Associate at California Academy of Sciences and co-founder of Ocean Revolution, an international network of young ocean advocates, SEE the WILD, a conservation travel network, Grupo Tortuguero, an international sea turtle conservation network, and Blue Mind a global "movement of movements" sharing the new story of water.

He co-mentors a motivated group of international graduate students and serves as an advisor to numerous non-profit boards and committees as part of his commitment to building a more creative, stronger, more progressive, and connected environmental community.

J. lives with his partner Dana, two daughters and some cats, dogs, and chickens on California's Slow Coast, a rural stretch of coastal mountains overlooking the Monterey Bay where organic strawberries rule, mountain lions roam and their motto is "In Slow We Trust". The Nichols chose to settle down in this area after trekking the entire 1,800 kilometer coast from Oregon to Mexico.

3 words to describe Nature?

Primal. Creative. Home

3 things Nature taught you?

Humility

Solitude

Confidence 

3 most treasured Nature spots?

50 miles offshore and 50 feet deep from Bahia Magdalena, BCS Mexico

The source of Mill Creek in the Santa Cruz Mountains

Greyhound Rock

When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?

Optimistic

When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?

Connected

When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?

Awe

When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?

Hopeful

When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?

Warm

When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?

Nostalgic

Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?

Yes on all!

On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being? 

11

Share with us a childhood nature memory.

Backpacking to Deep Lake, in Wyoming, when I was 11 and feeling like I wanted to feel that way a lot more throughout my life. The origins of “blue mind” research, practice, philosophy and the growing global movement.

 

 


Spencer Bailey

SPENCER BAILEY is the former editorial director of Surface Media and editor-in-chief of Surface magazine. He has contributed to The New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, and Bloomberg Businessweek, and worked at The Daily Beast, Vanity Fair, and Esquire. Bailey wrote and edited the book Tham ma da: The Adventurous Interiors of Paola Navone, which was published by Pointed Leaf Press in 2016.

At Surface, Bailey has interviewed hundreds of leading architects, artists, designers, and others, including David Adjaye, Tadao Ando, Thom Browne, Zaha Hadid, Frank Gehry, Ian Schrager, Philippe Starck, and Kanye West. Bailey was integral to the launches of the Design Dialogues live conversation series, of which he is a frequent moderator, and the Surface Studios brand marketing unit. As editorial director of Surface Media, he oversees the company’s content across a range of digital and print platforms. During three years of reporting for The New York Times Magazine, from 2011 to 2014, he interviewed authors, celebrities, politicians, and cultural figures such as Al Sharpton, Tony Hawk, Rodney King, and Cyndi Lauper for a “How To ...” column.

Bailey is a trustee of the Noguchi Museum in Queens, New York. He also serves on the New York honorary committee of the L’Ecole jewelry-making school, which is supported by Van Cleef & Arpels. He was on the juries of the 2016 James Beard Restaurant Design Awards, the 2016 Rado Star Prize, and the 2017 Swarovski Designers of the Future Award. Born and raised in Denver, Colorado, he is a graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

3 words to describe Nature?

Reflective. Relaxing. Restorative

3 things Nature taught you?

To appreciate it more.

To slow down.

The importance of quiet.

3 most treasured Nature spots?

Francie’s Cabin, in Breckenridge, Colorado.

Katsura Imperial Villa, in Kyoto, Japan.

The Noguchi Museum, in Queens, New York.

When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?

Meditative

When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?

Curious

When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?

Anxious

When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?

Like I should probably take a photo of it with my iPhone.

When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?

Excited

When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?

Depends on the context.

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?

One night, when I was probably around age 8, my brothers and I decided to “camp out” in our family’s yard in suburban Denver. We read some scary stories that night. I remember hearing thunder in the distance. Shortly after falling asleep, we were awakened by a hail storm. A lightning bolt cracked above, and almost immediately we noticed that my twin brother’s hair was standing straight on end. The lightning had struck the tree next to us. We decided to wimp out and rush indoors. That was probably a wise decision.