Women Mind the Water

Todd Medema, the latest guest on the Wo(men) Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast, is author of How to surf a hurricane, an scifi ecothriller. We talk about many things including technology, scifi, and climate change. He advises us to recharge and connect with nature, join communities with similar values and start taking action. For Todd, writing his new novel was a way to make a difference.

Gabriel Forestieri and Meredith Sallee are partners in life as well as projectLIMB, their dance company that explores the relationship between humans and water. Their dances are performed while freediving, meaning they move underwater relying on the air contained in their lungs. On this edition of the Wo(men) Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast the couple discuss how they came to dance underwater and the work involved in creating these mesmerizing performances.  

Krista Shoe is founder of Mother of Corals, an organization based in Panama involved in coral restoration and education organization. Mother of Corals others to learn and participate in coral restoration and conducts its own coral restoration to combat rising ocean temperatures.

Arielle Moody worked in the beauty industry for more than 15 years, before she started her own company. Mama Sol was a collaboration between three women who wanted to protect themselves, their children, and the planet from the harmful petrochemicals found in many commercially available sunscreens. Mama Sol's tagline is: “For all mamas, Mother Earth included.” In addition to protecting the skin from the harmful rays of the sun, the sunscreens are also less harmful to coral reefs. Important because it has been estimated, that roughly one fifth of the world's coral have died in the past three years.  

Jada Alexander has a deep reverence for the ocean. Her personal journey as a young Black woman left her with emotional scars. She has come to understand that the ocean is more than a place to surf. Jada is the founder of the Daybreak Beach Club. Daybreak teaches participants to enjoy, respect and protect the ocean while discovering that the ocean provides a path to healing and personal growth.

Indira Brook, the latest guest on the Wo(men) Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast, is a manager at Roatán Marine Park. The marine park is a non-profit dedicated to the protection of the Caribbean island located about 40 miles off the northern coast of Honduras. Indira's work for the Roatán Marine Park involves working with people to protect coral reefs, mangroves and other marine species. Roatán's coral reefs are second only in size to Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Indira is currently working with others to institute an island-wide ban of sunscreens containing petrochemicals. Coral bleaching and deformity in the development of fish are attributable to the petrochemicals in sunscreen. ( https://womenmindthewater.com/featured-guests)

Kathryn Pharr is the leader of a global community of women who focus on issues related to water. Kathryn believes that water is a source for female empowerment. She founded the Community of Women in Water as a global network which now counts more than 1000 members. Their focus is empowering women who work professionally in WASH (i.e., water, sanitation and hygiene). The Community of Women in Water want women to be leaders in WASH on the local to global levels.

Lucy Hunt is the founder of Sea Synergy, a Marine Awareness Research and Activity Center situated on the southwest coast of Ireland. Lucy is passionate about the ocean and has been working for more than a decade to make meaningful experiences so that others may discover the rich diversity of the marine environment. Lucy offers a range of workshops and activities for people of all ages to help them get to know the waters that border Ireland. For her tireless work Lucy Hunt has received recognition by His Royal Highness King Charles.

Storyteller and communications specialist Lisa Tossey is communications specialist for Global Fishing Watch, a nonprofit that uses cutting edge technology to transform data into information that encourages fair and sustainable use of ocean resources. Lisa feels very fortunate to be working with a creative and resourceful team. Her job is to provide an interface for the public to be able to assess complex data in a digestible and engaging way in order to look at complicated aspects related to issues related to fishing on the high seas. Lisa is also an artist in her own right. In the Wo(men) Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast we explore her work with Global Fishing Watch and her work as an artist. She does it all in service of the ocean, her happy place.

Joselyn talks about her new novel Pearce Oyster. She discusses the story's setting in Louisiana during the 2010 Deep Water Horizon oil spill disaster, still the worst in history. She also talks about how she came to be in Louisiana in 2010, what sparked her interest in oyster farming, and how she went about writing her novel. She provides an overview of oysters and farming them. We also discuss how she went about writing her novel, from story idea to finding the best approach.  

J has always been emotionally attached to water. He can go way back to his childhood where he remembers always being the first one in the water. He says life on land was fine, but it was complicated and being in the water made him feel at home. He grew up wanting to be a problem solver, someone who wanted to roll up his sleeves and get the work done. In college J went about assembling a problem solver toolkit. And what he learned is that the emotional piece, the human dimension,s so important. He gives examples and says we need to do a much better job working with young people, the people who we're relying on to solve the problems the tools to stay emotionally, mentally, socially, spiritually strong, to help them succeed. J has found that nature has helped him be connected, to feel awe and wonder and joy and peace and freedom. J believes we need to provide opportunity for young leaders to get in the water, to give them space to restore themselves and be energized to come back and do the work

Artist Oriana Poindexter free dives off the California to collect seaweed and uses a mix of traditional and alternative photographic processes (photography and photograms) and printmaking to reflect their beauty. She finds inspiration in nature and believes that every person can find beauty by interacting with the natural world.

Musical artist Seth Glier is the latest guest on the Wo(men) Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast. Seth gets inspiration from the natural world and says the ocean brings him comfort and often provides a narrative for his music. His music reminds us that we have the ability to positively influence the world. Seth has worked as a producer, music director, and studio musician. He has collaborated with such renown musical artists as Tom Rush, Nick Carter, and Cyndi Lauper. Seth has been nominated for a Grammy and is a five-time Independent Music Award winner. He characterizes music as an empathy machine and feels incredibly lucky to be part of it.

Manuela Zoninsein began as a journalist in China. While there, she witnessed a shift from reusable to single-use water bottles. The Brazilian-American's love for beaches in Rio de Janeiro and her studies at MIT-Sloan Executive MBA program, led her to start Kadeya, a company that aims to replace single-use plastic bottles with an innovative vending machine that reduces plastic consumption.

Sophie Guarasci worked in the world of fashion and finance before becoming a licensed veterinary tech. She works at the Marine Mammal Center, the nation's foremost marine mammal hospital located just north of San Francisco. Sophie oversees the clinical and surgical treatment and husbandry of seals, sea lions, and sea otters. It's her dream job, even though there are times she has to make difficult decisions about the treatment of severely ill animals. Sophie believes that people wherever they live should care about these marine animals as they tell us much about what is going on out there in their home the ocean, which is tied to human health. And for her, every time the Center is able to release an animal back into the ocean, Sophie feels hope that she is making a difference.

Angela grew up in Wyoming and originally went college to be study journalism but pivoted to law when she heard about Napster and the potential it had for dispossessing musical artists from their artistic property. Angela believes that when a system is broken and you have an idea of how to fix it or change it or make it better, it's worth it to step in and make it happen. After she was introduced to sailing and she saw the massive super yachts with their huge sails, her creative mind took hold. She learned that some of the material is extraordinary and yet it had a limited life span. She wanted to make a positive difference with the decommissioned sails that otherwise ended up as landfill. Angela has invested her own human capital and worked with architects and others to find ways to use the sails for humanitarian purposes. One of the first projects for Sail to Shelter is installing sails in Maui to answer a number of different issues. Maui suffered a devastating fire in August 2023,

Suzette Bousema is an emerging Netherlands-based visual artist. Suzette collaborates with environmental scientists to explore present day ecological crises and engages audiences by using a variety of techniques including photography and glass blowing to help understand abstract concepts. On the podcast we discuss her efforts to photograph ancient polar ice cores , to create her own climate archive with glass bubbles, and how to personally cope with big ecological issues.

Merle Liivand is an aquapreneur, plastic pollution reduction advocate, Guinness World Record holder and mermaid. The Estonian-born swimmer holds several Guinness World Records her latest was achieved on April 15, 2023, in a little over 14 hours. Merle swam 50 kilometers using a monofin, a record setting swim for the longest distance swum using a monofin. It's a feat because she swam the distance without using her arms by undulating her lower body up and down mermaid-style.

Katie Horning is a water steward based in Michigan. She serves as Chair of the River Days Festival in Midland and is a leader of the online platform Rivers are Life. She works to build awareness of and connection with rivers and inspire action to protect, preserve, and explore them by promoting the stories of River Heroes. Katie believes highlighting their projects is an impactful way to showcase the value of rivers.

Sarah received the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship for her nine-part series 36.5/A Durational Performance with the Sea. This work has been performed on six continents in places as far flung as New Zealand, Kenya, and New York City. Sarah's intention is to connect humans with water and the impact of climate change. During each site specific performance she stands in the water for a full tidal (12.5+ hours). The rise and fall of the tide on her body is reflective of what has occurred in nature in the ancient past and will continue to do so unrelentingly into the future.

Bonnie Montelone is a researcher, environmental science-educator, film maker, artist, and co-founder of the Plastic Ocean Project, a non-profit seeking science-based solutions to the global plastic pollution crisis. Bonnie has collected marine plastic on a global scale. She is affiliated with the Environmental Studies Department at the University of North Carolina Wilmington where she works as an Adjunct Instructor of Plastic Marine Debris Field Studies. She also serves as an advisor for students conducting research on marine plastic. Additionally, Bonnie is an artist who uses the plastic she's collects to create visual stories about her research.

Tracy Metz is a journalist, author and podcast maker. She also is the director of the John Adams Institute, an independent foundation in the Netherlands, that brings the best and the brightest of American thinking to the Netherlands. Tracy is passionate about the interplay between urban issues, architecture, and the natural environment, particularly water. Her book Sweet&Salt: Water and the Dutch, investigates the change in the country's approach to water management in times of climate change. Her podcast Water Talks addresses global issues with water – too much, too little, too dirty and too unequal. Water Talks grew out of the United Nations conference on water held in NYC in March 2023.

Holly Rankin is the latest guest on the Women Mind the Water Artivist podcast series on WomenMind theWater.com. Holly is an Australian singer/songwriter/festival promoter, and an activist in the areas of environmental and social justice. Also known as Jack River, her music often deals with difficult topics, like personal tragedy, climate change, and social justice. Holly believes transforming such messages into music has the power to inspire action.

Kara Dodge is a research scientist at the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Research, the research arm of the New England Aquarium in Boston. Her specialty is the ecology of marine animals, more specifically sea turtles. Kara uses cutting-edge technology like satellite tagging and drones to enrich our knowledge of sea turtles and the impacts of humans on them.

Hannah St. Luce-Martinez, well-versed in Belize's natural and cultural resources, is the latest guest on Women Mind the Water Artivist Series. She describes Belize, its natural resources, conservation and biodiversity, and the importance of promoting inclusivity and empowering youth and women.

Hoku Cody, a Native Hawaiian, seabird biologist, and life-long ocean lover, protector, and advocate advocates for community stewardship in actions, that revitalize traditional rights within Hawaiʻi's natural and cultural resource management industries. Hoku works with the National Ocean Protection Coalition to create and support marine protected areas and have the Pacific Remote Islands designated a National Marine Sanctuary.

Vicki Nichols Goldstein is the latest guest on the Women Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast. Vicki is founder of the Inland Ocean Coalition. Her impressive credentials include a master's degree in marine policy from Yale University and working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to co-write documents for the designation of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Vicki served as the Executive Director of the California-based Save Our Shores. When she moved to Colorado, she founded the Colorado Ocean Coalition and in 2017 Vicki rebranded it as the Inland Ocean Coalition. Inland Ocean Coalition empowers citizens wherever they live to be leaders and make positive contributions to ocean protection.

Rebecca Rutstein, an accomplished artist who has received many awards and been involved in numerous public exhibitions, is the latest guest on Women Mind the Water Artivist Series Podcast (womenmindthewater.com/featured-guests). Rebecca's career has taken her to remarkable places including the high seas and the ocean floor. In all, her artwork strives to build connections with nature, inspire wonder, and foster environmental stewardship.

Lisa Scali considers herself a foodie and a lover of the ocean. She is more than a co-owner of Ocean's Balance and a chef, she is a proponent of eating more sustainably by consuming seaweed. Lisa who has lived in Paris and New York, two of the world's best-known cities for foodies, now lives in Portland, Maine where she leads a culinary trend to encourage Americans to eat more seaweed, a plant that is farmed and harvested from the ocean.

Tosha Grantham is the latest guest on Women Mind the Water Artivist series on WomenMindtheWater.com. Tosha holds an advanced degree from Howard University in art history, with a focus on contemporary art and specializations in American and African diaspora arts. She lives in Florida, where she learned about the work of Diving with a Purpose, an international nonprofit that for trains Black scuba divers to assist in the documentation of underwater culturally and environmentally important sites. The podcast highlights her experiences with Diving with a Purpose and the important work they are doing. DWP focuses on both archaeological work on shipwrecks and ecological study of the health of coral beds. The archaeological "work creates a richer and more voluminous understanding of African and African American people in very many layers. We are working on reconciling deep and painful experiences through locating and doing the actual research to know what the experiences of those people lost at sea were and to include that in stories we have of survival and being.”Tosha with coral for DWP is another way for her to contribute. She knows that the ocean is important in many ways and that it is important to keep it healthy for now and future generations. The work also helps her as an artist to see more of the world and expand her perspective. She says we must find ways not to use so much energy and find alternatives that make us better stewards. Tosha sees this connection as making the task of maintaining and restoring the ocean a little less daunting.

Latest guest on Women Mind the Water Artivist Series (womenmindthewater.com) is Abigail Carroll, once an oyster farmer, she now advises/invests in high-growth start-ups focused on solving sustainability issues. We talk about women's involvement in oyster farming in Maine, what it takes to be a successful innovator and what we can individuals do to foster a sustainable planet.

Julia C R Gray is the latest guest on the Women Mind the Water Artivist series podcast. The California-based artist has a connection to nature through her sculptures. Julia uses slip-casting and hand-building methods to mold female forms that represent the strength and vulnerability of women. A dichotomy that Julia believes women's bodies share with the ocean. Julia's love of nature, her walks on the beach at sunrise and contemplation of the perfect spiral of a seashell are evident in her sculptures.

Kimberly Kenna grew up along the shore of Long Island Sound. She writes children's books focused on strong girls and their powerful drive to protect the natural world. Kimberly says that only 26% of protagonists in middle grade books are female. Before becoming an author worked with youngsters as a counselor and a teacher of ecology and language arts. Her stories aim to get readers involved, have them think about themselves, their relationships with others and with nature. Her commitment to wetlands is further evidenced by the fact that part of the proceeds of her first book will go to Save the Sound, a New Haven, Connecticut-based nonprofit that promotes ecological restoration in the Long Island Sound area.

Nicole Baker with her Net Your Problem company has created a system that offers a solution to the disposal of used fishing gear. Net Your Problem collects used ropes and nets from fishers in Alaska, Maine, Massachusetts, and California and passes it on to recyclers and artists. Since it began in 2017, Net Your Problem has recycled more than 1.2 Million pounds of fishing gear.

Dimitra Skandali grew up on Paros, a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. She says the island has shaped the way she sees the world. Dimitra combines traditional fiber arts like crochet, embroidery, and weaving with sea grasses and beach trash as a way to focus attention on the ocean and the environmental issues that impact its health and sustainability. While her work is rooted in her relationship with the Aegean Sea, Dimitra also has ties to the Pacific Ocean, having spent almost a decade in California. By using beach trash and natural materials she explores sustainability and other environmental issues like ocean pollution. Her installations, which have been curated in more than 90 solo and group exhibitions worldwide, allude to increasing environmental risks alongside human migrations and struggles with identity.

Lisa Kozel Mangione is a mixed media artist who is the definition of artivist. Lisa raises money for nonprofits by either donating her paintings directly to organizations or selling her work and then donating the proceeds. Lisa is currently using her art in service of a rural community in Harford County, Maryland. The land known as Mitchell Farm is under consideration for development as a freight distribution district. The possibility of the land being transformed from rural to industrial has spurred Lisa to action. She is concerned about the harm the development will cause on an area that used to be wetland. She is concerned that further industrialization of the area adds to the impacts on local waterways and ultimately Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States. She wants people to know that even an average person can make a difference.

Blue de Gersigny is a plastic artist and designer. Blue lives in South Africa, a country quite literally at the southern tip of the African Continent. It is a country with nearly 3000 km or 1800 miles of coastline, bordering the Indian, South Atlantic and Antarctic oceans. From the beaches near her home, Blue collects colorful plastic and transforms it into eye-catching wearable art. Her intention is to make people aware of plastic debris and pick it up rather than walking by it. Blue worked for many years as a textile designer until she realized she wanted to be an artist working with found objects. Originally Blue collected natural objects like bone, driftwood, and stone. Eventually, she was attracted to the colorful plastic that litters the beaches. Today her work is created almost entirely of plastic. The relentless of plastic waste rolling in on the tides inspires Blue to start her Plastics Are Forever website. Blue creates eye grabbing wearable art which she artfully displays on Instagram. After seeing one of her posts on Instagram, I knew I had to have her on this podcast.

Margaret Wertheim is an Australian-born science writer and artist who with her twin sister founded the Institute for Figuring. The Los-Angeles-based nonprofit explores the interrelationship of art, science, mathematics, and women's handiwork. The Crochet Coral Reef is one of their projects and what we will focus our discussion on today. Margaret Wertheim holds degrees in mathematics and physics. Based on the mathematical discoveries of another mathematically-minded woman, Margaret and her twin sister Christine originated the Crochet Coral Reef project as a response to climate change. The Wertheims' crocheted representations of coral has become a global collaboration with tens of thousands of people contributing their own pieces to citizen-generated art-installations.

Manaarak of Grey is a visual artist and storyteller who lives in the Netherlands. Maanarak grew up on the Caribbean Island of Bonaire. She believes the ocean and water are a vital part of life for humans and the ecosystem. Maanarak likes to use her platform to talk about current issues and offer solutions from the perspective of someone who has studied international development management. On the Women Mind the Water Artivist Series she shares her thoughts about the ocean, plastic pollution, collaboration and art.

Danielle Burnside grew up in Michigan on a lake. At the time she was scared of anything that lived in the water. After she moved to Hawaii, she didn't venture into the ocean for two years. It was divine intervention that a friend of hers who had been working on a manta ray tour point was leaving the job and offered her place to Danielle. Danielle had always wanted to see mantas but was scared of the dark water and got sea sick. She took Dramimine and went on an introductory tour. She fell in love with the experience and took the job. Her life changed when she went underwater.

Lisa's work demonstrates a woman deeply connected to water. She creates functional art that improves both the environment and people's lives. Lisa is cofounder of the Scottish-based company Biomatrix Water. Their work involves the creation of floating islands or habitats that restore water quality, ecological habitat, and human connection to nature. Biomatrix Water does this with an interdisciplinary approach combining art, nature, and technology. Lisa explains how art and technology can work along with nature to heal urban eyesores and restore fresh water, estuarine, and even marine environment.

Colleen Flanigan describes herself as a socio-ecological artist. Her work is both functional and artistic. Colleen works at the intersection of art, science, technology, and the environment. Colleen has created metalwork in many forms including jewelry and puppets for motion pictures such as the stop-motion animation Coraline, a 2009 film directed by Henry Selick.. Colleen designed and built a sculptural frame for coral. This work promotes a healthy marine community, one that thrives in the presence of the coral growing on the frame. Her Living Sea Sculpture is on display in an underwater museum in Cozumel, Mexico. The video version of the podcast includes underwater footage of Colleen and her Living Sea Sculpture.

Kim Bernard is a full-time artist based in Maine who creates installations using upcycled trash. She works with communities to share the joy of making things using recycled materials. Kim has over 30 years of experience as a professional artist. She creates works with a range of materials from debris that washes ashore, bicycle inner tubes, plastic bags, even bowling balls. Kim has built a mobile recycling device. She uses her PopUpCycler to encourage communities to collect plastic trash. Together they shred the plastic and transform it into pieces that are assembled into a unique and meaningful installation for everyone to enjoy.

Martina Wing, a manta ray and marine life advocate, educator, author, and underwater photographer is the latest guest on the Women Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast. Martina fell in love with the ocean in 1998 after scuba diving with manta rays for the first time. Martina now devotes her life to educating and inspiring others to honor, protect, and support our oceans. She co-owns Manta Ray Advocates on the Big Island of Hawaii, and with her husband James co-founded Hawaii Ocean Watch, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Erin Smith is the CEO of Ocean Sole, a social enterprise that upcycles flip-flops found along the beaches and waterways of Kenya. Started a decade ago, Ocean Sole has created a unique space to talk about flip flop debris and a successful model for cleaning up ocean trash, and transforming the trash into colorful sculptures, high fashion clothes, and mattresses. Ocean Sole also provides the local community with sustainable employment, and educational opportunities.

Jayshree imagined that a book from the perspective of a drop of water could transport children on their own journey and along the way they might learn how precious a resource water is. The overarching message from the book is to go out in nature and explore and remember that where there is water there is life. If you are connected with water, you are connected with our whole world.