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.
April Vokey
Photo by Jeremy Koreski
April Vokey began fishing as a toddler. By the sixth grade she was saving her allowance for weekend visits to the local tackle shop where she eventually stocked her ‘hand-me-down’ Plano box with every lure and bait she could afford.
After discovering a passion for fly fishing in her late teens, April soon dedicated her entire life to the pursuit. She began her guiding career on the Fraser and Harrison rivers for sturgeon and salmon, but left after several season to found her own guiding operation, Fly Gal Ventures, in 2007 at age 24. The company was built on the basis of the promotion of education and encouragement to those who looked to chase their dreams. She has since established herself as a respected authority in the sport and has traveled the globe in pursuit of gamefish on a fly rod.
Her writing has appeared in numerous industry leading publications including Fly Fisherman, Fly Rod & Reel, and Fly Fusion magazines. In July 2012, April became the first fly angler to be featured in Outside magazine for their “XX-Factor” segment.
Also a popular TV personality, April has been featured on the Outdoor Channel’s Buccaneers and Bones series, 60 Minutes Sports, The Steve Harvey show, Discovery Channel’s Refined, Discovery’s/OLN’s Close Up Kings, and WFN’s Fly Nation TV.
Most recently, Vokey proudly wrote and hosted her own exclusive series, ShoreLines with April Vokey, as shown on the World Fishing Network. The series focuses on fly-fishing’s rich history and the people it consists of. Feeling limited by airtime, she has since branched out with her podcast, Anchored with April Vokey, an uncensored series dedicated to archiving the stories and personalities from some of fly-fishing’s most influential people. The show is one of the only fishing podcasts solely recorded in a face to face environment where April ensures to ask questions apart from the norm.
She now resides in Canada for six months of the year, and in Australia for the other six. Her dog, Colby, travels with her between countries, keeping her safe from grizzlies and kangaroos alike.
She is a FFF certified casting instructor, a fly-tying instructor, an active conservationist, traveling speaker and an eternal student of life and love.
3 words to describe Nature?
Beauty. Balance. Brutality.
3 things Nature taught you?
How small I really am.
That every day on this planet is a gift.
That predatory animals are more ruthless than an ethical human hunter/angler could ever be.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
BC’s north-west
Australia’s north-west coast
New Zealand’s South Island west-coast
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel…?
Humbled
When you see a forest, it makes you feel…?
Complete
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel…?
Intimidated
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel…?
Thankful
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel…?
Invigorated
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel…?
Eager to bunker down
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?
When I was around seven years old my parents took me to a nearby river. A large, chrome chinook salmon lay dead and washed up on the rocks. It hadn’t spawned yet, but had died from a head injury during its migration. My parents explained salmon and their lifecycles. It was an invaluable lesson. In that moment, I learned: how complex BC’s eco-systems are, how the inevitable death of the salmon had a bigger reward in the end, and that I could catch these enormous creatures if I just waited for them to enter the river. From there I became an angler.
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.
Kelly Lund
Kelly is an avid outdoorsman, photographer, and owner of Loki. A few years ago, he started an Instagram account for Loki, his adventure dog, playfully logging their everyday life.
A photo of the two sleeping in a hammock together landed on the front page of Reddit, shortly thereafter it was picked up by Bored Panda and BuzzFeed.
Loki shot to Instagram fame and hasn’t showed signs of slowing down.
Kelly shares photos of the two traveling across North America, often taking their favorite brands with them along the way. Kelly and Loki can be found backcountry snowboarding in Colorado, on a mountaintop in Canada, or roaming the deserts of Utah. They want to push the limits in the great outdoors of what a human-dog relationship can be, all while capturing photos to share with the world.
3 words to describe Nature?
Home. Beauty. Life
3 things Nature taught you?
That we are just one small thing in this world, it gives me perspective.
To slow down and appreciate the sun when it’s out and the rain, and all the senses that come with them both.
It has taught me to have a hunger for what is out there, a hunger to keep exploring to see everything we can.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Crescent city, CA
Brooks Range, AK
Cedar mesa, UT
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel…?
Calm and peaceful.
When you see a forest, it makes you feel…?
Like I’m wrapped up in something - enveloped by the trees.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel…?
Like i have an expiration date.
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel…?
Like a something is starting or ending - it’s the next thing coming.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel…?
Mischievous
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel…?
Surrounded by nature
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Ocean - it’s in my blood
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
100
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Building forts in the Redwoods outside of my hometown, Crescent City.