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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.

BARBARA graduated in Biological Science, has a Masters in Bio-Medicine, a PhD in Microbial Ecology and I she is currently a research fellow at the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment (HIE).

HIE’s diverse portfolio of research is renowned to bring excellence to decision-making in natural and managed ecosystems centring on ecosystem functioning in Australia and internationally. In a changing world, Barbara aims to understand the effects of rapid change in altered ecosystems and on the communities of living organisms ranging from the smallest microbes to the tallest forest trees.

On the Sea Dragon research vessel, she will use an automated microbial sampling and communication device (OSMO) developed by Indigo V Expeditions. The Indigo V Expeditions is a multi-national scientific and sailing initiative based that aims to gauge the health of the worlds’ oceans by taking water samples and looking at the relative health of the microbial communities in that sample.

Since 2013, Indigo V Expedition is effectively crowd-sourcing the collection of oceanographic data by harnessing the existing fleet of private sailing yachts. Their work has been awarded by the UNESCO, NBC news, Australian Research Council and presented in the most prestigious venues around the world. The data collected by Barbara in the Amazon eXXpedition will be coupled with the ones collected by Indigo V Expeditions across the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean and the Amazonian terrestrial ecosystems.

Marketeer & Communicator

Britt grew up in Berlin and found a second home in Sydney, where she lived 12 years in Bondi Beach and fell in love with the ocean. She is a marketing and communications professional with 20+ years experience in international marketing and business – her skill set honed in international ad agencies and at one of the world’s top management consulting firms.

After the corporate career she didn’t do Eat, Pray, Love – rather Live, Discover, Recycle. Britt co-ran a non-profit domestic recycling collection service in Tulum, Mexico for three years, CleanCycle (aka TulumRecycles) to help reduce the trash (especially plastic) that ends up in the overflowing landfill and educate the community on waste management and recycling. She studied Business Sustainability Management at Cambridge University Institute for Sustainability Leadership and Festival Assessment with A Greener Festival / Falmouth University and now consults businesses in ‘sustainability amplification’ – helping companies operate more sustainably with less impact on the planet and creating stories and campaigns to amplify positive change.

Britt was supposed to join leg 17 of the actual eXXpedition sailing voyage, and since the cancellation due to Covid-19 is thrilled to be part of this Virtual Voyage with inspiring women to learn more about microplastics and help carry the message and necessary change to her community and beyond.

Policy Communicator

Before Heidi could walk she was immersed in the marine environment. Being Australian the ocean and surrounding aquatic environments are extremely important to her and it is a passion passed on to Heidi by her parents and grandparents. Currently living in the United Kingdom where she has been able to use her formal training in fisheries, climate change, coral reefs and mangrove to further the ambition of Commonwealth countries through the Commonwealth Blue Charter. When Heidi is not working she seeks out the calming effects of the beach, rivers and inlets. Where possible Heidi also scuba dives and explores the beauty under the ocean surface.

Entrepreneur, Ethical Investor & Chartered Accountant

Jenny lives in the Redlands, Brisbane in Queensland Australia. She studied Commerce at the University of Queensland, undertook post-graduate studies at QUT & is a Chartered Accountant. This training and discipline has equipped her with an ethical analytical mind and keen problem-solving skills. Jenny utilises her corporate networks to create awareness in her community of eXXpeditions’ mission, and to inspire and influence others to #BeTheChange and #SaveOurBeesTreesSeas.

Together with her husband Neil, she invests in companies that can make a difference for our planet. In her current role as an Investor in Our Eco Clean, she has joined the #IQuitChemicals movement and is applying her skills to the company’s circular economy journey and global expansion. Working both upstream and downstream in Our Eco Cleans supply chain, she enjoys finding ways to make a difference for customers, suppliers, communities and our planet. She also sits on the Fast Moving Consumer Goods committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia.

A keen sailor, scuba-diver and kayaker, the ocean has driven Jens key decisions and has shaped her life journey. Her Great Grandmother sailed to Australia alone as a very young immigrant, her Great Aunt was a war-bride and one of her ancestors was an early Sydney-Hobart competitor….Jen has inherited their adventurous spirit! At home, she loves quality time with her supportive husband Neil (also an entrepreneur and musician) and her close family & friends. She also enjoys being a whippet-slave to a much-loved family pet, Sierra!

Citizen Science trainer and facilitator, Marine Researcher, Part time acrobat

Jodi is a marine researcher specialising in citizen science, conservation biology and behaviour change. Underwater, she trains divers in global reef health monitoring protocols; above it, she engages and inspires through hands-on research, education and personal development to encourage everyone to become the best versions of themselves and to look after the planet.

Jodi loves adventure, is a part time acrobat and full time lover of life. She enjoys unique, immersive travel; her journeys leading to a curious nature, and McGyver-like innovativeness. She leads by example, getting amongst the action to make things happen. She is an entrepreneur and is currently looking at ways to reduce cigarette butt waste, in between monitoring reefs as part of a global reef health monitoring program.

KATIE is an Australian born artist working across various media including video, installation and interactivity and app development. Katie is interested in the experience of time, the intangible and the natural environment and playing with contradictions within the act of seeing and looking. Katie explores this idea through the history of the moving image, psychology, computing, climate change and cosmology. She has a particular interest in the intersection of science art and is hoping to integrate her work and her experience with eXXpedition.

Katie lived on a riverboat that ran trips for tourists between the English cities of Bath and Bristol and therefore has experience on the water and general water safety training. She is now looking forward to expanding into the world of coastal sailing on board RV Sea Dragon with eXXpedition.

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.

Science Communicator and Model

Laura Wells is an Environmentalist, presenter and one of Australia’s top curvy models. Holding degrees in both Biology and Law, qualifications in Environmental management systems and currently studying a Diploma of Paramedical Science; Laura’s passion for the environment, love for the ocean and interest in facilitating climate change action has led her to become a positive role model, advocate and ambassador for change.

Laura is currently presenting shows for National Geographic and working with environmental organisations and corporations to promote sustainable and ethical choices.
Laura believes in the importance of educating people not only on the issues, but focusing on solutions, to empower individuals to create change. Whether this be in their personal sphere around the relationship with their body and who they are, or the impact their actions have on the environment; fostering behavioural change can facilitate improvements in environmental and human health simultaneously.

Student

Vinuri has always been drawn to the ocean and water since she was young. She has engaged in all water sports in school which includes swimming, rowing and water polo. Vinuri is a PhD student at the University of Adelaide, investigating microbes colonizing marine plastics. She was born and raised in Sri Lanka and moved to Australia for her studies. As a dual citizen of both countries she wanted to tackle the oceanic plastic issue in both her countries to her best ability. 

She decided to be apart of the eXXpedition crew to help solve the global oceanic plastic issue and contribute to this vital journey.

Pilot

Nancy developed a love for nature at a young age sparked by family trips to the coast and into the Australian wilderness. This led to a passion for scuba diving, sailing, and hiking. She holds a PADI Advanced Open Water certification and RYA Day Skippers qualification. She also developed a fascination in flight early on and so began a career as a pilot. During this career she has been involved in safety management and completed a Masters in Science and Technology. After a few years working and studying in a male-dominated industry she was inspired to help other women break down barriers. She became involved with a mentor and sponsorship program to help educate rural girls in Uganda. Through her visits to Uganda, she learned that education was the key to promote lasting change to an entire community and not just for the individual.

While she loves being outdoors immersed in nature, she became increasingly concerned about how much waste littered the earth and was devastated by its effect on wildlife. In a bid to reduce her environmental footprint, she made changes to her daily habits and, as her work involves traveling, she began studying Ecotourism. Still wanting to do more but unsure how she stumbled across an article about eXXpedition. She then obsessively read all she could find out about it. A vital cause championed by women with a fact-finding, solution-driven and educational based approach with sailing thrown in the mix. She just had to apply and is so excited to be on board. Nancy is hoping she can contribute to the research, find solutions and bring that knowledge back to her community to help make the “unseen seen”.

Plastics Researcher

After spending 14 years in the travel and tourism industry, in 2003, Nicole had a life-changing experience when she left Sydney for a year of travel. After seven months traversing Central and South America, Nicole arrived in the Caribbean island of Barbados. After volunteering for two months at the Barbadian environmental education non-governmental organisation, Future Centre Trust, Nicole was invited to continue her work for two more years. Two years turned into eight, with Nicole eventually leading the organisation, spending much time on solid-waste related projects including recycling.

Nicole has recently graduated with her PhD from the University of Queensland, Brisbane. Her thesis analysed the generation and management of plastic food and beverage packaging material in the context of small island developing states, mapping the packaging value chain to identify innovation.

Based on her unique experience, Nicole joined WasteAid as an Associate in December 2018. WasteAid works in parts of the world where there are no or limited waste management services. Through her eXXpedition experience, Nicole plans to highlight the work of WasteAid to improve plastic management in developing countries, preventing the flow of plastics into the world’s ecosystems. Nicole thanks WasteAid for their support in promoting this journey.

Connecting her travel and sustainability passions, Nicole has also worked part-time with EarthCheck since 2014. EarthCheck is the world’s leading scientific benchmarking certification and advisory group for travel and tourism and is focused on sustainability of the industry. Nicole is grateful to EarthCheck for its support in promoting her role in eXXpedition.

Nicole plans to use her wide-ranging interests, experience, and her eXXpedition experience to change the way we value plastic, by re-designing first, then ensuring collection wherever possible, and to #useplasticbetter.