Women Mind the Water Women Mind the Water

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,