Nigel Bennett
Nigel Bennett is an award-winning entrepreneur, author, founder of Aqua-Guard Spill Response, and co-host of the podcast "Impact". His company, a global leader in oil spill control, protects water, the world’s most precious resource.
Both Nigel and Aqua-Guard have received multiple awards for their innovation, business excellence, and entrepreneurialism.
Nigel received the British Columbia Institute of Technology’s 2018 Distinguished Alumni of the year Award.
Nigel has devoted his life to environmental and social responsibility and boldly advocates for “risking it all for what really matters” among the entrepreneurial tribes to which he belongs. Nigel speaks and consults with entrepreneurs and young people worldwide about bringing their talents to solving some of our planet’s most pressing challenges.
In 2012, Nigel set up his business to run without him, See what he did with his newfound freedom and see how he (with the help of his coach) has been able to create a life that most people dream of.
An active philanthropist, Nigel donates all profit from his book sales (Take that Leap – Risking it all for what really matters) and speaking engagements to organizations that support poverty alleviation, human rights, social services, and the environment.
3 words to describe Nature?
Calm. Great reverence. Beauty
3 things Nature taught you?
To have great respect for all things.
Made me very humble
Taught me how to heal
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Solo in the wild, on top of mountains, so:
Whistler area,
North Vancouver Seymour River valley,
Mt. Magilvery area (Whitecap backcountry hut)
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Calm and inspired
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Calm and in awe
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
In awe
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Beauty and respect for silence
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
The power of nature
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Cleansing
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Mostly Ocean, Mountain and Forest
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
When I was 16 I used to climb solo up to the top of Black Mountain in the snow up a gully to the summit and sit and meditate looking out at the Lion Mountains and then return.
Susan Rockefeller
Susan Rockefeller is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, artist, and conservationist. Her latest endeavor, Musings is a digital magazine that curates ideas and innovations that pave the way for a more sustainable future. As the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Musings, Susan offers a portal to vetted products and brands that are pioneers in health, environmental, and social consciousness.
Susan is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations and is additionally an advisor to Food Systems 6, MADE SAFE, Oceanic Global, and Ohana & Co. In her film work, Rockefeller is a Principal of Louverture films and a member of the Film Committee for the Museum of Modern Art. Her own original films include: Food For Thought, Food for Life, Striking a Chord, Making the Crooked Straight, and Mission of Mermaids, have aired on HBO, PBS, and the Discovery Channel.
A longstanding philanthropist, Susan sits on the boards of Oceana, Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture, We are Family Foundation, Southampton Arts Center, and Land and Garden Preserve.
3 words to describe Nature?
Powerful. Beautiful. Mysterious
3 things Nature taught you?
How to observe
How to listen
How to imagine my place in the cycle of living and dying
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Sagaponack Beach, Long Island, NY
Little Long Pond, Seal Harbor, MAINE
Kobuk River, Alaska
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Mesmerized, in rhythm with life’s current and my own.
When you see a forest, it makes you feel…?
Like I want to lie down, feel the warmth of the sun, look at the sky, and smell the forest scents around me.
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel…?
Like I want to climb to the top of Stromboli again and glissade down the ash!
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
A sunrise gives rise to the promise of a new day and I yearn to feel that promise - a sunset is a reminder of the passing of another precious day and I feel reflective of whether I made the day count before retreating into a night slumber.
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Alert with anticipation of oncoming rain and the possibility of lighting.
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Like God’s voice is present
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Love them all. But more an Ocean person for the mermaid in me, a forest person for plants as medicine and the healer in me, a mountain person for vistas and wildflowers, and a desert person for the dry heat of the day in which to hike, and the deep dark blackness of a desert night sky.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
Scales don’t measure it - it is not linear and way beyond a scale; more like a kaleidoscope of delight, color, mystery, and vital to my well being and to all life.
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Being on a sandy beach with my brother and sister, digging into the warm sand and mesmerized by the variety of colors in the sand itself, diving into the ocean waves and belonging and feeling at one with the waves, salt water, sun, and sand - delighting in the joy of it all. Pure imaginative, physical joy, and happy memories of being a child at play and in wonder with my family.
Rachel Payne
Rachel Payne is the CEO and co-founder of FEM Inc., a holding company focused on research and development at the intersection of media, technology and gender. In 2015, FEM Inc. launched Prizma, an Artificial Intelligence tech startup for major media, telecom and tech companies. Prizma was acquired by Nielsen / Gracenote in June 2018.
She has built an exceptional career as a technology executive and entrepreneur, while actively involved in philanthropic activities. A recognized thought leader in the advancement of technology to reshape our world, she champions policies that make a meaningful place for everyone in the new economy.
After graduation, Rachel worked for International Data Group and the publisher PC World to help build their digital network, which is where she discovered the power of technology and joined the first wave of Internet companies in Silicon Valley, including eBay, Hotwire and Razorfish.
Rachel returned to school at Stanford Graduate School of Business, studying public management and international development, working in Mexico City and Kampala for microfinance organizations that provide financial services and access to technology for low-income individuals in Latin America and Africa. After earning her MBA, Rachel joined the founding team of Google.org, the philanthropic arm of Google, which focused on Poverty Alleviation and Climate Change in their grants, projects and investments. Rachel and the early Google.org executives created the first blueprint for this type of organization – a hybrid corporate philanthropy and investment vehicle.
While at Google, Rachel led International Business Operations in Emerging Markets, spending several years living and working in sub-Saharan Africa. Rachel served as Country Manager, Africa Leadership Team, with the goal of building the foundation for an Internet Economy. She focused on infrastructure, localization, strategic partnerships, and public policy to ensure broad-based participation in the opportunities created by mobile phones and emerging technologies. Her team’s work was recognized in 2010, where she accepted Google’s first award at Mobile World Congress for “Best Mobile Apps for Economic and Social Development” for building and scaling critical mobile services in agriculture, trade and health that serve people in poor, rural areas. She also worked with heads of state on policy relating to Internet access and job creation. She moved back to Southern California to lead the Technology vertical for Google, managing cross-platform media sales teams. She later became Principal, Global Strategic Alliances, and managed Google’s most important strategic partnerships in Media & Entertainment
Rachel served on the Board of Directors for BRAC USA, ranked the #1 NGO in the world. She is a Guest Lecturer on Business Applications of Artificial Intelligence at Loyola Marymount University.
3 words to describe Nature?
Profound. Awe-inspiring. Harmony
3 things Nature taught you?
Self discovery
Infinite possibility
Humility
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Patagonia, Argentina
Amazon, Peru
Pacific Ocean (anywhere!!!)
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel…?
Free, joyful, in alignment
When you see a forest, it makes you feel…?
Protected, safe, joy
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel…?
Power, feminine, creation
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel…?
Sublime, tranquility, peace
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel…?
Exuberant, curious, alive
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel…?
Curious, respect, humble
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
All of the above, don’t make me pick one.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
As a child, we want camping a lot in National Parks like Bryce Canyon and Zion. Our parents taught us about living on the land in harmony with nature, appreciating the bounty and beauty, reminding us we were only visitors and needed to show respect and care. These golden memories are filled with joy and awe.
Barrie Mowatt
Barrie Mowatt, a pioneer of visual arts, has a long and accomplished history as an educator, philanthropist, and entrepreneur opening the Buschlen Mowatt Fine Art gallery in 1979. Barrie is the visionary behind the Vancouver Biennale Open Air Museum, where he combines his passion for art, education and community service in exhibitions that bring great art to public spaces where people live, work, play and transit, free for all to enjoy, explore and be inspired by. Barrie is also the founder of the Celebration of Hope Foundation, co-founder of Taste the Nation, and the Buschlen Mowatt Scholarship Program at Arts Umbrella. Barrie received the Vancouver Business in Arts Award from the Vancouver Board of Trade, and the Ethics in Action Award, presented by Vancouver City Savings and the BC Work Ministry. He has twice been nominated for Western Canada’s Entrepreneur of the Year in the category of socially responsible businesses.
3 words to describe Nature?
INCREDIBLE. AWE INSPIRING. MAGICAL
3 things Nature taught you?
PATIENCE
GRATITUDE
FRAGILITY OF LIFE
3 most treasured Nature spots?
JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL FOREST
YOSEMITE
HAIDA GWAII
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
DWARFED AND INSIGNIFICANT
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
ALIVE AND REFRESHED
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
EXCITED, CURIOUS AND IN AWE
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
GRATEFUL TO BE ALIVE IN THAT MOMENT
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
ALIVE AND CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT WILL FOLLOW
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
ALIVE AND EXCITED
Are you an Ocean, Mountain,Forest, or Desert person?
I’M ALL 4 OF THESE.
I LUV LOOKING AT, CLIMBING & BEING ON TOP OF MTNS; AS WELL I LUV BEING DEEP IN FORESTS, AND IN THE OPEN DESOLATE DESERT AND WATCHING AND LISTENING TO THE POWER OF THE SURF...EACH ARE INSPIRATIONAL RETREATS WHERE I CAN BE AT ONE ONE WITH MYSELF AND IN AWE OF THEIR GRANDEUR AND IMMENSITY.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
BEING ALONE IN THE MTNS PICKING HUCKLEBERRIES, DISCOVERING LADY SLIPPERS AND RUNNING NAKED AMONG THE TREES AND TALL GRASSES!
Ross Beaty
ROSS BEATY is a geologist and entrepreneur in the international minerals and renewable energy industries. He currently Chairs Pan American Silver Corp. and Equinox Gold Corp. and has founded and divested many other resource companies. He is also an environmental philanthropist, primarily through The Sitka Foundation. He serves on the Advisory Board of the Nature Trust of BC, is a Director of The Pacific Salmon Foundation and Panthera, and is patron of the Beaty Biodiversity Center at the University of BC. Mr. Beaty was appointed to The Order of Canada in 2017 and the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame in 2018.
3 words to describe Nature?
Spiritual. Wondrous. Sustainable
3 things Nature taught you?
What beauty really is.
What sustainable systems look like.
The ability to enjoy simple things without all the junk in urban systems.
3 most treasured Nature spots?
Patagonia
BC coast
Galapagos
When you look at the ocean, it makes you feel...?
Small
When you see a forest, it makes you feel...?
Fulfilled
When you see a volcano, it makes you feel...?
If it’s an active volcano it’s always awesome. If it’s an extinct volcano I always think of the power of plate tectonics.
When you see a sunrise or sunset, it makes you feel...?
Beauty
When you hear thunder, it makes you feel...?
Appreciative of the power of nature
When you hear the wind howling, it makes you feel...?
Ditto
Are you an Ocean, Mountain, Forest, or Desert person?
Mountain
On a scale of 1 to 10, how important is Nature to your well-being?
10
Share with us a childhood nature memory?
Hiking and camping with my family.