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"Education"

Ali is the Community Outreach Coordinator for Maldives Underwater Initiative by Six Senses Laamu. His passion for nature and the ocean has led him to work on several conservation research projects throughout Laamu but In his current role, he is trying to focus on ways to strengthen waste management in Laamu atoll, and raise awareness of different issues. He works closely with his team and collaborates with them to work towards creating more inclusive, aware, and resilient island communities.

ANA is an Energy and International Lawyer and a Law Lecturer at the University of Dundee.

She advises governments, financial institutions and companies around the world on EU law, International law and Energy law. Having worked for a decade for the large US and UK law firms she set up her own law firm in London eight years ago.

Unlike traditional law firms Ana puts teams of lawyers and other experts together to create tailor-made teams for each specific project. Her practice spans the EU, Eastern Europe and CIS countries. She has worked in Africa in the past as well.

Ana has been passionate about Gaia ever since she studied tree dieback in Central Europe and the effects of the raise in sea temperature on marine plankton in the Gulf of Trieste at the United World College of the Adriatic.

She loves sailing scuba diving and hiking in the mountains. She is a trustee of Resurgence/Ecologist magazine.

Ana has been fascinated by the Amazon since she was a little girl watching David Bellamy’ s nature programmes. She wanted to grow up being just like him. She was reading Jay Griffiths book “”Wild”” when she learned about the eXXpedition. She immediately applied and could not believe her luck when she was selected.

Having spent all her summers in the last decade on a remote island off the Dalmatian coast of Croatia which was littered in plastic and other rubbish she has become acutely aware of how polluted the world’s waters are. The trip to the Amazon will give Ana an opportunity to study the issue of water pollution first hand. Ana hopes to use this first-hand knowledge to help draft international treaties and domestic legislation to better regulate the production, disposal and reuse of plastic.

Azhoora is a passionate environmentalist and ocean lover, born and raised in the Maldives. Growing up surrounded by the beauty of the ocean, she developed a strong connection and love for the environment from a young age.

Currently she is working as the Inspire Manager with Soneva Namoona, an NGO aiming to create empowered Zero Waste Communities across the Maldives. There focus is to reduce single-use plastics, create sustainable waste management systems and increasing environmental stewardship within communities. As a key member of the organisation, she plays a crucial role in their mission to tackle the urgent issue of single-use plastics, which pose a significant threat to the pristine marine ecosystems of the Maldives.

Vice Principal of an International School

Catherine is currently a Design and Art teacher at an International School in Japan as well as a Vice Principal and mother of two. During her time teaching, she has become increasingly aware of the issues that her students and children will face as they embrace an unknown future. Catherine hopes to find and create opportunities for herself and those around her to make this world both healthy and beautiful.

Yoga Teacher

Erika was born and raised in Southern California and grew up playing on the beach. In late 2017, she retired from a 30-year career in software and has been traveling ever since. On these travels, Erika recognized the severity of the plastics issues in our oceans and all of nature’s waters. She was honored to become part of the 2020 eXXpedition crew when COVID-19 hit and her leg was cancelled. She currently resides in Arkansas, the “Natural State” where she spends her time sharing the healing practices of yoga, sound and meditation; she spends most of her time in nature paddle boarding, hiking and volunteering with surf and equine therapy organizations. Erika believes many people are intimidated by the size of the plastics issue and they don’t believe they can have an impact. She aims to help raise awareness that together we can have an impact on an issue that affects us all and what we each can do to reduce the use of plastic in our day-to-day lives. She’s excited she can still be part of this team of inspiring women that want to spread the word about plastic pollution to a global audience.

Educator

Helen Hill, is also known by her business name UnlikelyGenius Ltd. She is a self-employed Digital Learning and Content Designer with 13 years’ experience in a range of educational settings, educating students from 4 years old to adult.

Helen works as a contractor for businesses and eLearning agencies in the UK, Canada and Europe. She is currently refocusing the business onto projects where her passions lie – in health, the environment, sustainability, emerging markets and wellbeing.

She has been fascinated with the sea from a young age – flooding her bedroom with posters, book and cuddly toys of sea creatures, and spending hours drawing them. This has continued into adulthood, where you can frequently find her immersed in books about the oceans, watching documentaries, and dreaming of her next chance to scuba dive.

She is an eternal student, constantly learning about new topics and developing her skills and knowledge. For some time she has been teaching herself more about what we can do to help the oceans and reduce our impact on the environment, so that she can pass this onto others through her online and educational activities. She has built up a strong online presence, through which she feels she can start to help spread educational content and the knowledge she is learning.

She also has an exciting side project in development with a partner in which they are looking to educate children on sustainability and environmental issues. They are in the early stages, but have many ideas of how to develop a unique approach to this, and how to reach homes and schools in the UK and Australia (where they are based) and hopefully one day, further afield. Helen hopes to incorporate the findings from eXXpedition into this project.

Helen lives in semi-rural West Yorkshire in the UK, with her long-suffering partner Graham, and two extremely fluffy and diva-like lionhead rabbits Tiffin and Strudel.

Sustainability Manager

Helena is enthusiastic about almost everything to do with environment and education, and somehow most of her professional and personal steps have been related to the same journey. She has 15 years experience working as a sustainability educator and facilitator, in schools and kindergartens, at the Univeristy and at the municipality level, and in various businesses and organizations. Currently, Helena works as an environment and quality specialist at the Icelandic Medicines Agency – talking about increasing environmental awareness in a broad field.

Helena holds a Masters degree in Environmental management and is a board member of the Icelandic Nature Society. She doesn’t have much sailing experience but is an experienced outdoor person that thrives in challenging situations.

Historian

JESSICA is a Senior Lecturer in North American History at Leeds Beckett University where she specialises in the history of environmental contamination and health. In her academic career, Jessica has published a number of pieces on the history of the Canadian asbestos industry and has a keen interest on the linkages between the environment and human health. Jess uses the past to inform present environmental issues.

Jessica has experience on the water, from speedboats to canoes and kayaks and is now excited about extending this into yacht sailing. Jessica is excited to be part of the all-female crew on board RV Sea Dragon and is looking forward to integrating her academic expertise into the eXXpedition project on plastics, contamination and endocrine disruptors and to use this experience and the data collected in her own research.

Teacher and Educator

KARINE is a mother of four, sailor, stand-up paddler and yoga instructor. Passionate about environmental sciences, water protection and having fun in water, she is a strong believer in healthy lifestyles and following our bliss. Having lived along the St-Laurence River and the Great Lakes, Karine is an avid advocate of sustainable agriculture. After her masters degree in agro-environmental engineering deepened her interests around water protection, she advised established farmers on soil management best practices and the future generation by teaching in college.

Education of science (learning and teaching) has always been, for Karine, the best way to bring awareness to people to change their actions. She’s passionate about scientific research, environment protection (mainly water), health, education (teaching and learning) and sailing. Karine is particularly motivated by the post voyage: educating people around the plastic issues in water, the link to our health and the impacts of our actions. She is planning to start by talking directly to children in schools.

Food Security Manager and Sustainability Teacher

Katlin was born and raised in Toowoomba, Australia. She studied at the University of Queensland and gained a dual degree in Economics and Geography.

She currently lives and works in the Bahamas at a not-for-profit called The Island School. This school offers high school students a semester abroad where they learn outside of the normal classroom. They join research projects, study marine ecology while scuba diving and explore nature through camping expeditions. Her role within this organization is to lead a research class and she is also the Food Security Manager. She oversees the operations of the aquaponics system, permaculture farm and runs the local farmers project. Their goal is to help reinvigorate agriculture within the Bahamas to help support the local economy, reduce our carbon footprint and allow fresh local produce to be more affordable.

She is also currently working towards obtaining her dive master certification and love anything in the ocean such as freediving, kayaking and boating. The ocean is her happy place and something she is very passionate about protecting.

KIM has a background in Marine Biology and Coastal Zone Management with extensive graduate education and field experience in marine ecology and environmental education. She has taught marine biology and ecology to high school and university students for many years. Kim is currently working for the Thames Estuary Partnership (TEP) as their Marine Litter Coordinator.  TEP is part of the Coastal Partnerships Network (CPN) and the Marine CoLABoration working to help people reconnect to and value the ocean. Kim’s role involves liaising with a wide range of academic, regulatory and charitable organisations in the monitoring of plastic litter in the Thames. One of her key priorities is delivery of TEP’s role in the Marine CoLABoration’s #OneLess campaign’ to stop the flow of plastics pollution to the ocean by making London less reliant on single-use plastic water bottles and spreading the refill revolution in London.

Kim is passionate about motivating the next generation of women to become scientists and in order to encourage this is coordinating an education and outreach project for her time on eXXpedition. This includes live streaming and video blogs so that student groups can experience a virtual scientific cruise. Student groups following the cruise online will also be able to join the ship in port to participate in beach cleans and experience science first hand in the field.

Architect and Educator

An architect, designer and educator, Lara has been teaching sustainability to artists and designers for over 10 years. Partnering with organizations such as Surfrider Foundation and 5 Gyres, her longstanding Rise Above Plastics class at Otis College of Design in Los Angeles has produced a multitude of creative projects, events and installations to raise awareness and influence behavior around the issue of single-use plastic pollution.

The Rise Above Plastics class is also a travel program where Otis students visit school children on the pacific coast of Nicaragua to educate them through interactive art and design activities about how plastic pollution discarded on their beaches is harming the sea life that they love so much and rely on as their primary food source.

Geography Teacher

Leah Fouchong is from the small island of Trinidad and Tobago. She has been a Geography teacher for the past twelve years and protecting and preserving the Earth and our environment has always been a priority.

Leah is passionate and actively seeks to address environmental issues in her country and help members of her society develop and promote a more eco conscious lifestyle that is geared towards the preservation of our environment and its resources.

Leah was a scholarship recipient of the Caribbean Pacific Island Mobility Scheme where she completed a Masters in Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Development in the Caribbean with a focus on the marine environment. This has led her to develop her passion and advocacy for ocean literacy and environmental conservation.

This advocacy has allowed her to create a community group by the name of Changemakers for the Environment which seeks to empower the public to learn, advocate and actively volunteer in environmental initiatives such as tree planting exercises and beach cleanups.

She also actively volunteers and partners with like minded organisations in her country such as Eco divers TT, Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists and Caribbean Youth Environmental Network. This helps to fulfil her mission of promoting environmental awareness, education and creating advocates for our environment.

Accessibility Program Manager (Android), & Early Childhood Educator (STEAM)

Outdoor and Environmental Educator

In the last few years Louise has become acutely aware of the rubbish and pollution in the local environment, as well as the scale of the global problem. During local beach cleans she is always shocked at the amount of micro plastics and old plastic items that they find. Louise feels strongly that we have a responsibility to find solutions to this problem for the next generations and believe that one person can be the catalyst for change.

Louise started her own outdoor play and education business in 2016 with the aim of nurturing a love of the outdoors and a connection with the environment for local children and families. Louise is passionate about the environment and helping children to understand how to live alongside, and look after, our world. She got involved with the local Plastic Free Communities campaign to promote this message and help people (including herself) to make small changes. As a teenager she sailed on a tall ship across the channel and loved the experience. This gave her an interest in sailing and the ocean and is passionate about being an advocate for protecting it.

Primary School Teacher

Louise is a primary school teacher from Cornwall. She has always had a passion for the ocean and loves to be in, on or beside the water.

Before training to be a teacher, she worked as an outdoor activity instructor, delivering sessions to children of all ages. In her spare time, she instructed stand up paddleboarding to both adults and children.

LYNNE’S career so far has been in Higher Education administration, mostly in assuring academic quality and standards, and in her current role she works to develop academic partnerships. Lynne has expertise in writing formal documents, such as reports, regulations and codes of practice, and less formal communications such as newsletters, guidance and training material. Lynne also has experience of delivering staff development to a range of audiences, including senior managers, staff, students and partners.

Lynne is joining Round Britain 2017 for the adventure! But she also wants it to be a meaningful adventure, not just a journey to the centre of herself. Lynne wants to provide something that connects various local initiatives, such as University research projects and activity at the Deep, telling a story that can be used to inform and inspire others to change their attitudes to the use of plastics.

Captain, Eco Tour Guide

A houseboat dwelling captain crazy about all things salty at the end of Hwy 1 on the quirky island of Key West. When I’m not passionately persuading my peers about switching from single use plastics to reusable alternatives you will find me in the dusty boatyard trying to build a catamaran. It’s entertaining to say the least!

Educator

I am a Learning Manager at Earthwatch Europe, I work to connect educators with scientific research, empowering and inspiring the next generation to take action for the planet.

MEGAN was born and raised in Wales, UK and was on the water from a young age. The marine and coastal environment has played a huge part in her life learning to sail at age 7 she took that onto compete internationally representing Wales and Great Britain. Megan is a qualified sailing instructor having worked at home and in the UAE and spends most free time surfing, wake boarding and windsurfing. Recently graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Geography and Environmental Management from the University of the West of England Megan is now keen to take this onto a career in marine research and conservation to help protect the environment she is most passionate about to ensure irreversible damage is not done.

Middle School Educator

Natalie holds a passion for the training and development for the youths as well as with the environmental issues. She started with Outward Bound Singapore in 2001, as an instructor, followed by being the Module Chair overseeing the environmental education module in the Diploma in Outdoor Education (DOAL) in a learning institute in Singapore. She is very supportive of experiential learning pedagogy and always seeks the outdoors. Natalie builds her life on teachable moments.

She loves to spend her time on beaches and in the great wilderness, reading a book or sipping a cup of freshly brewed coffee. Whale is her favourite animal and hopes that the future generations can continue to protect and care for the environment.

Coastal Outreach Specialist

RHIANNON is a Coastal Outreach Specialist for the Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation in Ontario, Canada.  There, she is responsible for education and outreach and teaches visitors about coastal conservation.  She has coordinated a number of projects on marine debris, shoreline clean-ups and plastic pollution.

Rhiannon is a keen adventurer and has led a number of extended wilderness canoe trips, and is also a keen artist in her spare time and uses this passion to raise environmental awareness. She hopes to learn new sailing skills through eXXpedition and expand her knowledge around microplastics and toxins in the marine environment and use this experience to inform others and hopefully protect our coastal and marine environment for future generations. She also hopes to squeeze in a painting or two whilst on board RV Sea Dragon!

SALLY is a keen environmentalist, adventurer and ocean advocate. When living in Bali, she saw first-hand the devastating impact and upstream issues around plastic pollution in a developing country. This propelled her to take action, working closely with the local community to educate and raise awareness to bring about change in local waste management systems and behaviours. In 2018, Sally sailed through the Great Pacific Garbage Patch on eXXpedition North Pacific gaining first-hand experience of the extent of plastic in our oceans and contributing to ‘science at sea’.

Prior to joining the eXXpedition team, Sally had a 12-year career as a Geography teacher, Head of Department and whole-school Teaching and Learning Coordinator. Sally values the importance and power of education as a key contributor to the sustainable management of global issues. As a teacher, Sally has always been student-focused; nurturing a creative learning environment allowing students to flourish and succeed. Under her charge students have achieved impressive levels of academic progress but most importantly to Sally, they have developed a passion for the planet they call home and a confidence to take action to protect it.

Swapping her classroom for S.V.TravelEdge and the school environment for the planet, Sally is excited about the opportunity to learn and raise awareness amongst crew and in the communities we will visit.

Filmmaker and Teacher

Museum Educator

Susan is a museum educator and environmental activist based in Valparaiso, Indiana. She has been passionate about environmental conservation since she could remember, having grown up on a lake and spending significant amounts of time in and around the water. Susan’s first experience with the problem of plastic pollution was witnessing discarded fishing line harm local wildlife. She is especially excited about taking her experiences from the virtual voyage and using them to help solve the plastic pollution problem in her local area. She also hosts a local radio show and would like to find a way to use the radio platform to further educate her community on the problems of plastics and the solutions people are working on across a variety of fields. She is excited to meet women from around the world who are equally passionate about protecting our planet.