Join us for our June show in DC and dive into five true, personal stories inspired by the ocean. From a hostage situation interrupting field work to being called by a family connection to the water, hear how the ocean has flowed through the lives of our storytellers.
Doors open at 7:30 pm. Hosted by Shane M Hanlon and Maryam Zaringhalam.
Stories by:
Teresa Carey is a US Coast Guard licensed captain. In 2008 she moved aboard a small sailboat and began solo voyaging with only her adorable cat for company. A few years later, she was asked to co-produce an indie film called One Simple QUESTion, an eco-adventure about a journey in a small sailboat to find a record-breaking iceberg. The film premiered as a finalist at the Blue Ocean Film Festival. After two decades as a professional mariner, she returned to graduate school at University of California Santa Cruz for a degree in science communication. Now, firmly rooted on terra firma, she works at PBS NewsHour, writing online stories, producing web videos, and broadcast segments. She hopes to continue using multi-media to educate and inspire people to create change.
Ximena Escovar-Fadul has dedicated her career to the preservation of the oceans. She currently leads conservation efforts for The Nature Conservancy in Cuba. Navigating U.S. – Cuba policy, from Havana to Washington D.C., she works in conservation efforts in the waters both countries share. She has a B.S. from Universidad de los Andes - Bogotá, Colombia and a Masters in Environmental Policy from University of Pennsylvania. She is committed to linking science and policy to ensure the sustainable use of natural resources. Ximena is based in Washington DC, but you might find her diving in Caribbean waters, as she is a PADI OW diving instructor and AAUS Scientific diver.
Kahlil Kettering is the Urban Conservation Director at The Nature Conservancy, developing new conservation strategies in DC centered on implementing projects that elevate the intersection of protecting nature in urban areas and the benefits nature provides to people in cities. Kahlil is also working on strategic tree canopy expansion, and engaging and training young people as environmental advocates for the future. Before moving back to his hometown of Washington, DC and joining the Conservancy in 2015, Kahlil worked as an environmental analyst in Miami, Florida advocating for the protection and restoration of Everglades and Biscayne National Parks. He has a master’s degree in Global Environmental Policy from American University and a master’s degree in Public Management from the University of Maryland.
Dr. Nancy Knowlton has been a scientist with the Smithsonian since 1984, first in Panama and now at the National Museum of Natural History in DC. She’s also been a professor at Yale and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where she founded the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation. Her work on coral reefs has taken her literally around the world, and she has spent so much time underwater that she long ago lost count of the hours. She’s a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the author of Citizens of the Sea, and the Editor-in-Chief of the Ocean Portal website. Despite the glut of bad news these days, you can find her @seacitizens talking about #OceanOptimism and #EarthOptimism.
Emi Okikawa grew up surrounded by the beauty of the Hawaiian Islands. Her childhood spent exploring tidepools, snorkeling over the reef, and hiking in the mountains led her to fall in love with the natural world as a young child. She is also a child of the Asian-American diaspora, and has spent much of her time peering into the chasm between her hyphenated existence. Most of her work draws inspiration from the sacrifices, struggles and triumphs of her family’s intergenerational search for “home.” Currently, she’s a RAY Fellow at Ocean Conservancy working at the intersection of environmental justice and social justice. There, she writes stories focusing on communities of color leading the environmental justice movement. You can follow her on Twitter @EmiOkikawa.