Aki Soudunsaari

Aki Soudunsaari is the co-founder & strategy director of Naava, a company based in Finland that creates air filtering indoor green walls. The company won the the Contract Best of NeoCon Silver Award in 2019, the Fennia Prize in 2017, and was an Honoree for the Interior Design Best of the Year in 2017.

After working as a teacher of physical education and health sciences, Aki worked on his PhD in the Jyväskylä University School of Business and Economics and was a visiting scholar in Silicon Valley Center for Entrepreneurship at San Jose State University. He ran Global Venture Labs' growth venturing programs for a few years, where multidisciplinary students solved companies problems and learned entrepreneurial thinking and processes.

Aki was nominated for EY's Entrepreneur of the Year in 2017, PWC’s Most Valuable Entrepreneur in 2015, Young Academic Entrepreneur in 2014 and was invited by the President of Finland to join the Finland's 100-year ceremonies in 2017.

3 words to describe Nature?

Life. Flow. Responsibility

3 things Nature taught you?

Respect for others and the environment

Healthy humility

The impact our surroundings have on us, biological creatures

3 most treasured Nature spots?

Korouoma. 30 minutes away from my childhood home in Posio, Lapland, Finland, is a natural-born canyon which in the winter times, ices into one of the biggest iced waterfalls, perfect for ice-climbing and enjoying the fresh spring ray of lights. (NOTE: eg https://beyondarctic.com/adventure-collection/korouoma-ice-climbing-adventure)

Hietaranta beach in Helsinki. This beautiful small beach at the seashore is where I beach volleyball multiple times per week in the short Finnish summer - sports, friends, fresh air, nature, sea, and sand.

Lauttasaari. We live in a beautiful small island right outside the Helsinki city center in the archipelago. Surrounded by the Baltic Sea, beautiful parks and forests, this kind of a small village is a perfect place to combine the city living with the calm of nature. 

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

Calm like a rock that the ocean caresses with every wave. 

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

Mindful - it makes my senses sharpen up. I’m safe and where I belong.

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

Small. Imaging the force of time that has shaped the Earth brings my own life to a perspective, making my troubles seem less significant. 

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

Aware of that particular moment and my breathing. 

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

Powerful, one with the thunder.

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

It gives air presence, which is normally a bit difficult. Air is always invisible.

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

Forest for sure, so human-friendly and species-specific environment. By the way, have you ever thought that while nature surrounds us, we lock it out? We lock it out with us spending 22-23 hours indoors in the built environment. We are the indoor generation, and I know our biology and bodies have not yet evolved enough for us to be healthy and happy constantly being alienated from nature.

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

10. Nature is powerful, it surrounds us, astounds us, cleanses us, makes me who I am - the reason why we exist. We are not separate from nature, we are a part of it. Nature is everything. 

Share with us a childhood nature memory?

I grew up in the Arctic Circle, Lapland, Finland, just next to where Santa Claus lives. It is a very rural area, the density is about one person per square kilometer. I spent all my childhood outdoors, in the middle of untouched forests and crystal clear lakes, under the Northern Lights, breathing the cleanest air in the world. I had a privilege that I didn’t appreciate it at the time. It was a luxury I didn’t understand before traveling all around the globe in megacities, not being able to choose the air I breathe or jump out to nature whenever I felt like it. I appreciate and cherish the human-friendly childhood environment more and more every day.


Rachel Payne

Rachel Payne is the CEO and co-founder of FEM Inc., a holding company focused on research and development at the intersection of media, technology and gender. In 2015, FEM Inc. launched Prizma, an Artificial Intelligence tech startup for major media, telecom and tech companies. Prizma was acquired by Nielsen / Gracenote in June 2018.

She has built an exceptional career as a technology executive and entrepreneur, while actively involved in philanthropic activities. A recognized thought leader in the advancement of technology to reshape our world, she champions policies that make a meaningful place for everyone in the new economy. 

After graduation, Rachel worked for International Data Group and the publisher PC World to help build their digital network, which is where she discovered the power of technology and joined the first wave of Internet companies in Silicon Valley, including eBay, Hotwire and Razorfish.

Rachel returned to school at Stanford Graduate School of Business, studying public management and international development, working in Mexico City and Kampala for microfinance organizations that provide financial services and access to technology for low-income individuals in Latin America and Africa. After earning her MBA, Rachel joined the founding team of Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, which focused on Poverty Alleviation and Climate Change in their grants, projects and investments. Rachel and the early Google.org executives created the first blueprint for this type of organization – a hybrid corporate philanthropy and investment vehicle.

While at Google, Rachel led International Business Operations in Emerging Markets, spending several years living and working in sub-Saharan Africa. Rachel served as Country Manager, Africa Leadership Team, with the goal of building the foundation for an Internet Economy. She focused on infrastructure, localization, strategic partnerships, and public policy to ensure broad-based participation in the opportunities created by mobile phones and emerging technologies. Her team’s work was recognized in 2010, where she accepted Google’s first award at Mobile World Congress for “Best Mobile Apps for Economic and Social Development” for building and scaling critical mobile services in agriculture, trade and health that serve people in poor, rural areas. She also worked with heads of state on policy relating to Internet access and job creation. She moved back to Southern California to lead the Technology vertical for Google, managing cross-platform media sales teams. She later became Principal, Global Strategic Alliances, and managed Google’s most important strategic partnerships in Media & Entertainment 

Rachel served on the Board of Directors for BRAC USA, ranked the #1 NGO in the world. She is a Guest Lecturer on Business Applications of Artificial Intelligence at Loyola Marymount University.

3 words to describe Nature?

Profound. Awe-inspiring. Harmony

3 things Nature taught you?

Self discovery

Infinite possibility

Humility

3 most treasured Nature spots?

Patagonia, Argentina

Amazon, Peru

Pacific Ocean (anywhere!!!)

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

Free, joyful, in alignment

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

Protected, safe, joy

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

Power, feminine, creation

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

Sublime, tranquility, peace

When you hear thunder, it makes you feel…?

Exuberant, curious, alive

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

Curious, respect, humble

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

All of the above, don’t make me pick one.

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

10

Share with us a childhood nature memory?

As a child, we want camping a lot in National Parks like Bryce Canyon and Zion. Our parents taught us  about living on the land in harmony with nature, appreciating the bounty and beauty, reminding us we were only visitors and needed to show respect and care. These golden memories are filled with joy and awe.


Cherae Robinson

Cheraé Robinson is an entrepreneur, global development expert, DJ, and modern Pan-Africanist who is the founder and CEO of Tastemakers Africa, an experiences marketplace connecting curious travelers to local insiders in African cities. For nearly a decade, Cheraé sat at the nexus between science and partnerships raising visibility and support for large international nonprofit organizations. Her expertise centers on agriculture and public health with an emphasis on women-centered community programs. In this capacity she has spent time at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, and CARE. Cherae was a part of the team that created the Borlaug Institute for South Asia, a $100 Million USD Agricultural research institution in Delhi, India and the Carlos Slim Biotechnology Center, a $80 Million research facility in Texcoco, Mexico. She has traveled and worked in nearly 40 countries.

The winner of the inaugural “She Leads Africa” startup competition, Ms. Robinson has been named one of 10 Emerging Women Entrepreneurs in Africa by Forbes.com, one of 20 to watch by leading Silicon Valley trends group Culture Shift Labs, and a Woman to Watch by the United Nations Foundation and Innov8tive Magazine. Most recently she was named one of "50 People Changing The Way We Travel" by Conde Naste Traveller Magazine.

Cherae is a member Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. and earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Morgan State University. She splits her time between Brooklyn, NY and city-hopping the African continent. When not tackling the demands of running a fast-moving startup she spends her time learning every meme she can from her 10 year old son “Trace”

3 words to describe Nature?

Peace. Open. Possibility.

3 things Nature taught you?

Life has a rhythm

The world is much bigger than me

There is a realm to be understood beyond the noise we create

3 most treasured Nature spots?

The Hudson River

Lion's Head in Cape Town

Wli Falls in Ghana

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

At peace

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

Curious

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

In awe

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

Alive

When you hear thunder, it makes you feel…?

Nervous

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

On edge

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

An Ocean person

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

9

Share with us a childhood nature memory?

I fell in love with both reading and nature on a summer vacation where I was visiting a friend of the family on Lake Ontario. Each morning I would wake up, read Anne of Green Gables and look out the window at the lake. By sunset I was skipping rocks across the lake after my daily swim. It was a beautiful moment to have as a child


Anique Coffee

ANIQUE COFFEE grew up in the US where she studied Marketing + Entrepreneurial Ventures. After a four-year stint working with Creative Services at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Anique started her own agency, providing a range of services to companies, with a focus on corporate identity and branding. After selling the agency, Anique moved to California and joined the Silicon Valley life in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she helped launch and grow various startups. Anique is driven by relationships and results, and loves connecting with others through shared ideas and celebration of unique differences. Stemming from a love for travel and new cultures, Anique recently relocated to Barcelona, Spain and runs The Collective remotely, embracing the digital nomad lifestyle, enabling her to connect with people and brands all over the globe.

3 words to describe Nature?

Vast. Organic. Expansive.

3 things Nature taught you?

To breathe. To wander. To be open to the things nature shows you when you wander.

3 most treasured Nature spots?

The Chuckawalla trail inside Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, near St George Utah

Dipsea Steep Ravine Loop Trail near Stinson Beach, just over the Golden Gate Bridge, north of San Francisco

Monterosso al Mare along the Cinque Terre trail in Italy

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

Calm. I had my energy read a few times and every single reader immediately said that water was my element - the natural element that I use when I'm seeking calming. It's true.

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

Grateful. Trees are so amazing. They are living, breathing network of organisms that provide oxygen for us to breathe and work WITH each other to survive. I highly recommend this radio lab podcast to understand how amazing forests and trees really are: http://www.radiolab.org/story/from-tree-to-shining-tree/

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

Cautiously optimistic.

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

Renewed.

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

Homesick. I grew up in Central Florida where thunder and lightning storms are almost a daily occurrence. I used to love sitting on the front porch watching the storms, and when a hurricane was on the way, it would be fun to watch some of the natural debris like Spanish moss whipping around in the huge oak trees in our yard.

When you hear the wind howling, it makes you Feel?

Nostalgic for Florida. I have many memories of stormy days and hurricanes there.

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

Can I be all of them? I love the ocean, but frequently crave the quiet mountain life. I love the lush bright green varieties you can find in the forest. I also lived in the desert in St George Utah for a bit and while I won't live there again, I really miss the red rocks and gorgeous succulents.

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

11. Given our current tech-obsessed culture (which I am often guilty of as a business owner), I find myself craving a hike or a quiet sit on beach weekly. I try to give in to these cravings as much as possible to hit the reset button on myself.

Share with us a childhood nature memory?

Camping as a family was a big part of my childhood. We'd often pack up the car and caravan with some other friends to a campsite. I specifically remember one evening at dusk - my favorite time of the day - where I found myself in a field, surrounded by fireflies. I had seen and caught them before, but this time was different. Its one of those moments in my life that's frozen in my memory and was also some kind of out-of-body experience. I can almost see myself swirling around the field, delicately touching the fireflies one by one. Magical bugs. I love them!