Jeff Corwin
For over two decades, Jeff Corwin has been telling stories of wildlife and nature to global audiences through his many celebrated television series on ABC, NBC, Travel Channel, Food Network, Disney Channel, and Animal Planet. Currently, Jeff is an Executive Producer and host of ABC's Ocean Treks. In April 2020, Jeff created and executively produced the critically acclaimed TV series Alaska Animal Rescue for Nat Geo Wild, which has just been green-lit for a second season! His critically acclaimed NBC documentary and book, 100 Heartbeats, engaged both the readers and broadcast audience on the 21st Century plight of endangered species. Jeff is a leader in conservation, recognized through his work as an Emmy winning television host, producer, journalist, author, explorer and wildlife biologist. His lifelong experience, academic training, and partnerships with top conservationists allow Jeff exclusive access to the compelling stories from the battle to save our natural world. Jeff's quest for adventure has brought him to the frontlines of conservation in over 130 countries. Armed with a spirited wit, Jeff is tenacious, raw, and real, risking it all to share his passion with the world. The fuel that drives Jeff’s life-long career is a love for adventure and discovery, as he is working to change the world one species at a time and leave a vital legacy for future generations. Jeff is also passionate about local sustainability when not in the field, he is likely harvesting honey, eggs, and veggies from his island farm in New England with his wife and two daughters.
3 words to describe Nature?
Dynamic. Diverse. Interconnection
3 things Nature taught you?
Resiliency
Discipline
Humility
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Sitka Alaska
Tasmania Australia
Masai Mara Kenya
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Small but peaceful
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Excited to explore
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Insignificant
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Hopeful
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Trepidation
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Somnolent
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
I am an ocean person; I live on a small island off of New England. When I am home, I fish and dive just about every day.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10 being most important
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Finding my first serpent, a garter snake in my grandparents' backyard at age 6, my heart nearly exploded with excitement. I knew then that I would spend the rest of my life working with wildlife and nature.
Ami Vitale
Nikon Ambassador and National Geographic magazine photographer Ami Vitale has traveled to more than 100 countries, bearing witness not only to violence and conflict, but also to surreal beauty and the enduring power of the human spirit. Throughout the years, Ami has lived in mud huts and war zones, contracted malaria, and donned a panda suit— keeping true to her belief in the importance of “living the story.” In 2009, after shooting a powerful story on the transport and release of one the world’s last white rhinos, Ami shifted her focus to today’s most compelling wildlife and environmental stories.
Her photographs have been commissioned by nearly every international publication and exhibited around the world in museums and galleries. She is a founding member of Ripple Effect Images, an organization of renowned female scientists, writers, photographers and filmmakers working together to create powerful and persuasive stories that shed light on the hardships women in developing countries face and the programs that can help them. She is also on the Photojournalism Advisory Council for the Alexia Foundation.
Currently based in Montana, Ami Vitale is a contract photographer with National Geographic magazine and frequently gives workshops throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia.
3 words to describe Nature?
Healing. Connecting. Inspiring
3 things Nature taught you?
To slow down
To observe
To marvel
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Montana
Kenya
Planet Earth
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Humbled
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Like we are in an intricate web and deeply connected to one another
When you see any volcano, it makes you feel...?
I have never seen one up close. But I imagine in awe
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Ephemeral
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Respectful
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Like snuggling up with a good book
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
All the above
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being? It's off the charts important.
10 is not enough
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Sneaking out at night to sleep on my dad's boat. I always loved being on the water from as early as I can remember.
Jacques Andre Dupont
Considered by many to be an authority in marketing, sponsorship and the development of large-scale cultural projects, JACQUES-ANDRE DUPONT is the President of L’Équipe Spectra and 3 of the biggest Festivals in Montreal - the International Jazz Festival, the FrancoFolies, & Montréal en Lumière.
Dupont supports the musical development of the next generation of Québécois artists thanks, among other endeavours, to the creation of the Blues Camp for teens during the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, and staging a series of concerts presenting high school, cegep and university students. In 2017, following the publication of a report by the Conseil des Montréalaises (Montréal Women’s Council), he launched the Hirondelles, an all-female safety team dedicated to maintaining the security and well-being of festival fans and vulnerable people. He is also responsible for many projects addressing the sustainable development of the group, including making the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal carbon neutral, an international first at the time.
He is also a passionate photographer whose work focuses on wildlife and nature. His images have been featured in several major medias like Canadian Geographic, National Geographic, Africa Geographic, Wildlife Photographic, Outdoor Photography, Paris Match, the London Telegraph, China News, La Pravda, etc. His pictures have been selected/or won several photo competitions internationally and have been been exhibited in several countries around the world. With is photography he only wants to achieve one simple goal: bring the beauty of nature into light.
3 words to describe Nature?
Grand. Fragile. Us
3 things Nature taught you?
The more I connect with it, the happier I am.
Even the ugliest animals are beautiful.
It is the best smelling thing ever.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
My three favourite nature spots so far (because I want to see them all!) are
The Serengeti plains of Tanzania because it was love at first sight for me;
Yellowstone National Park, because this where I knew right away I would become a nature and wildlife photographer;
And my own backyard forest in Bolton West, Quebec, because I am the luckiest man in the world to have this in my own backyard every day.
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Peaceful. Probably the infinity of it, with the suiting sound of the waves
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Curious! I want to explore it… Find an owl nest or a fox hole. And walk along a trustful moose (which happened to me this spring)
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
Small and scared. Will my number come up today?
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
A sunrise? Alive, energized, happy to be up early in the day, and looking forward to what’s next. A sunset? happy, relaxed and looking forward to a glass of wine to celebrate the day that just ended so well.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Hoping for a spectacle: the drums, the light show… It’s better than Cirque du Soleil!
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Wanting to snuggle with my wife, as usually it is winter and -20 celsius outside, at our home that we named Domaine des Vents (Field of Winds), for it is really the windiest place.
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
I think I am an African plains person. That is why I love also so much the Serengeti AND Yellowstone (as it is called the Serengeti of America…).
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10, and then some! For the last 20 years I have been suffering from anxiety attacks on a regular basis… I guess that stress is my Achilles' heel… But since the last few years, nature photography has been the most amazing medicine for me…
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
It's the blue hour, just after the sunset. My dad took me fishing, north of Quebec city. And suddenly, for the first time ever, I hear the call of the loon. Wow! It sounds like a wolf. I am mesmerized by it. Since then, every time I hear a loon calling I go right back to that day, where I was so well, with my dad.