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Top   ·   Administrators   ·   Researchers   ·   Photography-Video Team   ·   Research Interns   ·   Advisors

Alison M. Jones is a conservation photographer who has documented ecosystems and their management for over 20 years in Africa and the Americas. After copiloting over thousands of miles of Africa’s vital rivers and lakeshores with a camera always at the ready, she became immersed in studying global issues of water. She founded No Water No Life® in 2006 to raise public awareness of freshwater issues by combining the powers of photography and science. Granted an honorary Masters Degree in Photography from Brooks Institute, she is a Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photography, Director of North American Nature Photography Association and member of ASMP, Society of Environmental Journalists, Explorers Club and TechnoServe (a development NGO). She is a founding supporter of Kenya’s Mara Conservancy and currently enrolled at Columbia University’s Center for Environmental Research and Conservation. Her images are found in magazines, television, books, workshops, lectures, and exhibits. Her web site is alisonjonesphoto.com.

Robin Sears, Ph.D., Project Science Advisor
Forest Ecologist

Robin R. Sears is a forest ecologist and dean at the School for Field Studies, an environmental field study abroad program based in Salem, Massachusetts. She has fifteen years’ experience working with smallholder farmers in tropical rainforest countries on issues related to agriculture and forestry production, development, and biodiversity conservation. Her research is on ecological and land use dynamics at the aquatic-terrestrial interface in seasonally flooded environments along the Amazon River and its major tributaries. Having climbed four glacial peaks in the Andes and Mexico, kayaked on the coasts of Canada and the US, and hiked along and fished in innumerable mountain streams around the world, Robin appreciates the critical and complex nature of freshwater services.

Robin MacEwan is a restoration ecologist who specializes in wetland, riparian and upland environmental restoration and mitigation. Robin’s background includes development of environmental resource assessments and management plans, restoration and mitigation site design, wetland delineation, nonnative invasive species management, and mitigation site maintenance and monitoring. Robin has an M.S. in Resource Management from Antioch University New England and an M.A. in Landscape Design from the Conway School of Landscape Design.

Lynn Hamlen, Project Educational Outreach Coordinator

Lynn Hamlen is currently serving her 14th year as Executive Director of the Darien Nature Center, which, under her leadership, designed and opened a new state-of-the-art environmental education center in 2002. Prior to the Nature Center, Lynn served as Chairman of the Darien Board of Education from 1988–1993. While living in New York City in the early 1980s, she worked as a Promotion Writer for Newsweek Magazine and the Direct Mail Advertising Association. Lynn’s understanding of how to package and promote No Water No Life to nature centers, land trusts, schools and environmental groups around the country, will be a most valuable asset to the project.

Laurel Dodge, Project Curriculum Writer

Laurel Dodge has a Master’s Degree in Environmental Studies and has been an environmental educator, artist, and naturalist for fifteen years. She has written curriculum for the Darien Nature Center in Darien, CT, and Prospect Park Wildlife Center in Brooklyn, NY. She runs Nature Strollers nature study workshops for the Orange County Audubon Society in New York, and is currently writing a book entitled Nature Study for the Whole Family.

Top   ·   Administrators   ·   Researchers   ·   Photography-Video Team   ·   Research Interns   ·   Advisors

After a childhood spent combing the beaches and woods of Massachusetts, Erin was inspired by a truly remarkable high school biology teacher to enter the life sciences. She graduated from Boston University in 2001 with a BA in Biology and initially pursued a career in molecular and cellular biology. However, after two internships with the Student Conservation Association involving Pacific salmon research in Sitka, AK and Eugene, OR, Erin found her true calling in ecology and conservation biology. She recently completed her Masters degree in Conservation Biology at Columbia’s Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology. She now works at the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation at the American Museum of Natural History. Erin is very excited to continue her work as a research consultant for No Water No Life.

Kalista received her Diploma in Renewable Resources Management from Lethbridge College and live swithin a mile of the Columbia Wetlands in British Columbia. As Wildsight’s Lake Windermere Project Program Assistant in Water Stewardship, Kalista teaches pre-teens about watersheds, non-point source pollution, aquatic ecosystems and the importance of clean water. Her passion for protecting natural landscapes for both human and wildlife uses has motivated her to train volunteers to monitor water quality for Wildsight and to teach local families about the importance of water stewardship and wetlands. Her research for No Water No Life will focus on upstream/downstream transboundary issues in the Columbia River Basin, and then those same issues being faced by the Nile Basin Initiative. In August 2008 she published an article on the Columbia River, titled “Most Dammed River.”

Top   ·   Administrators   ·   Researchers   ·   Photography-Video Team   ·   Research Interns   ·   Advisors

Alison Fast is a Peabody Award-winning television producer and camera woman who has worked for NBC/Universal, BBC Worldwide and MTV Networks. She has documented the World Water Forum in Mexico City, the XXII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City and the Clinton Global Initiative in New York City. As a media instructor, consultant and Program Director for Barefoot Workshops, she has trained over thirty-five NGOs in Africa and the Middle East to use the power of media to better meet development goals. She uses grassroots storytelling to bridge diverse communities around the world and to work towards global strategies for peace and a sustainable future. In 2005, she participated in a Lakota Nation “spirit run,” covering 1600 miles on foot to call attention to the plight of the environment worldwide. She graduated in 1998 with a degree in Journalism from Boston University College of Communication.

Julie Eckhert is a professional video producer, teacher and media trainer with a passion for environmental issues. During her career as a correspondent for ABC Network News and WABC-TV in New York, she reported on wildlife endangerment from pollution, droughts and water shortages; seasonal flooding, acid rain, radioactive threats, and many ecological threats. She is currently writing and producing a video on flood control in the Long Island Sound Watershed. Active in the local food movement, she has supervised a community vegetable garden and taught classes in backyard farming. Julie holds a bachelor’s degree in English education and a masters degree in journalism from University of Minnesota. She has taught English and Spanish to high school students and television journalism to graduate students at Columbia University and undergrads at New York University.

Peter Berman is a professional videographer/photographer who specializes in environmental issues. As a WABC-TV photojournalist for 30 years, he covered numerous environmental issues, including the toxic waste site at General Motors in Tarrytown; sludge dumping in the Atlantic Ocean; radioactive releases of water into the Hudson River; fishing crisis in Long Island Sound; pharmaceutical pollution in the Atlantic; toxic waste by a battery company in the Hudson River; and toxic water pollution in Elizabeth, NJ, called the equivalent of the Love Canal. Now the owner of Insight Photo Video, his broadcast journalism background furthers the causes of the conservation and ecology community. Peter is currently working on a video on flood control in the Long Island Sound Watershed. He teaches photography workshops and exhibits his African wildlife photographs throughout Westchester County, NY.

“Painting and drawing had always been a part of my life growing up in Wisconsin. Four years of study in Illustration and Advertising at Art Center College of Design for a Bachelor of Arts led to work at McCann Erickson-Hakuhodo and the Koedi Studio in Japan. Back in Santa Barbara I have designed 30 large format landscape photography books for David Muench Photography Inc. Photography became a large part of my life with photo trips to mountains, deserts, forests and oceans. Travels to the Antarctic, Africa, Asia and India have deepened my knowledge of our planet’s limited resources. I focus my work on communicating the interconnected landscape of earth, air and water.” Her web site is www.bonniemuench.com.

Jane Baldwin is a fine art photographer, working exclusively with black and white film. Her work has appeared in individual and group shows, most recently the Center for Photographic Arts (Carmel CA). Jane was on Alison’s 2004 “Over the Waters of Africa” expedition flying over waterways of 9 sub-Sahara countries and her 2005 “Waters of Ethiopia and Kenya” safari to water sources of Ethiopia and deserts of Kenya. Originally from Seattle, Jane’s connection to the natural world from an early age reflects itself in her life and work. She began traveling to Africa in the early 1990s, forming an immediate attachment to its land, people and environment. The natural world, taken for granted as a child, became a preoccupation. In Africa the elaborate interdependence of environment, people, water, and dams seems more obvious than in developed cultures, which serves as a reminder to those in developed continents to care for these fragile elements. Jane serves on the Board of Directors of PhotoAlliance in San Francisco, where she has lived since 1994. When not photographing in Africa, she spends time in Sonoma County CA raising olives and producing olive oil using sustainable and organic horticultural practices.

Jennifer Weinberg, Contributing Photographer
Nature Photographer

Jennifer Weinberg received her B.A. from Brooks Institute of Photography in 2001 while also interning with Alison Jones. Following a second internship in Seattle with Art Wolfe and developing her portfolio of western landscapes and flora, Jennifer returned to New Orleans in 2004 to focus on photography and be near family. After Hurricane Katrina and the devastating effects to her home and hometown, Jennifer moved with her new husband to North Carolina. Jennifer specializes in portraiture and nature photography. She is a member of the North American Nature Photography Association and was awarded the Russ Kinne Grant in 2004. Jennifer’s work has been exhibited in New York, Washington DC, Seattle, New Orleans, and Raleigh NC, and is published in magazines and nature journals. Currently, Jennifer owns a portrait studio in Cary, NC, and teaches digital photography and nature workshops at Duke University and North Carolina State University.

Fritha Pengelly received her M.F.A. in dance from the University of Washington and her B.A. in dance from Hampshire College. Fritha spent seven years (1994–2001) performing and teaching nationally and internationally as a member of the New York City-based Doug Elkins Dance Company. In addition to her work with the Elkins Company, Fritha has performed with The Chamber Dance Company, David Neumann, and Wire Monkey Dance. Her own work has been shown at several venues in New York City, The Five Colleges in Massachusetts, Darien Arts Center (CT), Seattle, and at the Inside/Out Series at Jacob’s Pillow. She is the Artistic Director of Pengelly:Projects, which presented its first full evening of work in Northampton, Massachusetts in July 2004. Her current artistic focus is exploring issues related to earth, environmental ethics, and our modern predicament through dance and video. Fritha was a visiting assistant professor of dance at Hampshire College from 2002-2004. She is also a certified Pilates Instructor and is currently a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Anne L. Doubilet, Project Photographer
Underwater Photographer

Anne L. Doubilet is an underwater explorer, writer and photographer recently named to the Women Diver's Hall of Fame (www.wdhof.org). She has logged over 5000 dives worldwide in areas including the Red Sea, Papua New Guinea, Palau, Japan, Galapagos, Australia, and throughout the Caribbean, teaming up with National Geographic Magazine on over 30 stories about the sea. She serves as Board Member of Wings Worldquest (www.wingsworldquest.org), an organization that awards grants to extraordinary women explorers for support of their fieldwork. In March of 2007 she was elected to the Board of Directors of the Explorers Club (www.explorers.org), an international group with a hundred year legacy of the who's who in exploration. Author and contributing photographer of the children's book, Under the Sea from A to Z, her work has also appeared in the Explorers Journal and various National Geographic Society publications. In May 2007, Anne will carry flags from both Wings Worldquest and the Explorers Club on a diving expedition to Papua New Guinea to study the poisonous catfish, Plotosus lineatus. Ms. Doubilet is the founder of ALD Consulting in Manhattan specializing in book editing, photo exhibits and video-media projects.

Top   ·   Administrators   ·   Researchers   ·   Photography-Video Team   ·   Research Interns   ·   Advisors

Ariel Zucker – Undergraduate at Columbia University pursuing Environmental Biology and Economics. Ariel compiled research on the Blue Nile and Omo River Basin in 2007.

Robert Donovan – Adjunct Professor of Geography at Mercer Community College and PhD Candidate at Rutgers University. Robert shared his complied research on the history of the Raritan River Basin in 2007 and 2008.

Mary Corddry – Author and former Eastern Shore of Maryland correspondent for the Baltimore Sun with long-term focus on soil, water and land conservation. Mary compiled research on the Mississippi River Delta in 2008.

Melaina Macone – Undergraduate at Sweet Briar College pursuing Biochemistry and Mathematics. Melaina compiled a NWNL background report on the Mara River Basin in 2008.

Sarah Doyle – Undergraduate at Sweet Briar College pursuing Environmental Studies and Biology. Sarah compiled a NWNL background report on the Omo River Basin in 2008.

Megan Behrle – Undergraduate at Sweet Briar College pursuing International Affairs. Megan compiled a NWNL background report on the Mississippi River Basin in 2008.

Carina K. Finn – Undergraduate at Sweet Briar College pursuing Anthropology and Theater. Carina wrote and submitted several articles nationwide on NWNL in 2008.

Top   ·   Administrators   ·   Researchers   ·   Photography-Video Team   ·   Research Interns   ·   Advisors

Robin Sears, Ph.D., Project Science Advisor
Forest Ecologist

Robin R. Sears is a forest ecologist and dean at the School for Field Studies, an environmental field study abroad program based in Salem, Massachusetts. She has fifteen years’ experience working with smallholder farmers in tropical rainforest countries on issues related to agriculture and forestry production, development, and biodiversity conservation. Her research is on ecological and land use dynamics at the aquatic-terrestrial interface in seasonally flooded environments along the Amazon River and its major tributaries. Having climbed four glacial peaks in the Andes and Mexico, kayaked on the coasts of Canada and the US, and hiked along and fished in innumerable mountain streams around the world, Robin appreciates the critical and complex nature of freshwater services.

Molly Mehling, M.En., Project Science Advisor
Aquatic Biologist and Photographer

Molly Mehling is a research scientist, college educator and photographer using visual means to communicate about the nature and science of environmental issues. She has earned a B.S. Environmental Biology from Mount Union College, a Masters from the Institute of Environmental Sciences at Miami Univ. and is now a PhD candidate in Zoology at Miami Univ. As an aquatic biologist and environmental toxicologist, Molly has been at the water’s edge for over 10 years conducting research in headwater streams, wetlands, rivers and lake ecosystems. Her current research projects focus on using the biodiversity of littoral benthic macroinvertebrates as indicators of lake and watershed condition in the Sierra Nevadas and methyl mercury bioaccumulation in experimental stream mesocosm food webs.

Using photography, Molly reaches beyond data tables and figures to share her enthusiasm for scientific discovery and the diversity of life, hoping this powerful communication tool can unify more stakeholders around sustainable solutions to current environmental challenges. Her web site is www.mollymehling.com.

Thomas Stoneback, Ph.D., Project Advisor on Communications
Scientist, Publisher and Entrepreneur

As a scientist, publisher and entrepreneur, Tom Stoneback was Chief Environmental Officer for Rodale, Inc., for 25 years. A national environmental leader, Dr. Stoneback focuses on economics, the environment and its sustainability. Tom currently serves as Executive Director of the National Canal Museum and Hugh Moore Park. Dr. Stoneback is a communications industry leader and a direct/interactive marketing expert who has established seven successful non-profit organizations focused on community impact, civic health, and quality of life.

Milbry Polk, Project Advisor on Nonprofit Promotion
Author, Explorer and Mentor to Women Explorers

“Exploration has informed most of what I have done in my life. I am a Fellow of The Explorers Club and of the Royal Geographic Society and honorary Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. I have authored/edited 10 books, including Egyptian Mummies. With Mary Tiegreen, I co-authored Women of Discovery on the accomplishments of women explorers over the past two thousand years; and with Angela Schuster I co-edited The Looting Of The Iraqi Museum. I founded the Margaret Mead Film Festival at the American Museum of Natural History, co-founded the Film Festival of the Museum of the American Indian and judged numerous festivals. I have traveled extensively, led expeditions, lectured worldwide and created educational programs. Currently, I am a contributing editor for The Explorers Journal and executive director of Wings WorldQuest, a nonprofit I founded to celebrate women explorers and promote scientific exploration and education. Having offered $250,000 in grants, Wings has 29 Fellows, a Flag Program, and soon a website on women’s contributions to the world through exploration. I am married, have 3 daughters and live on the Hudson River where I try to row as often as possible.”

Laly Lichtenfeld, PhD., Project Advisor on African Conservation
Entrepreneur in African Forestry and Environment

Dr. Laly Lichtenfeld is the executive director and co-founder of the The African People and Wildlife Fund, an international non-profit based in Tanzania and New Jersey. She received her Ph.D. from Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies for her unique work describing human-lion relationships and conflict in Tanzania. Laly lives in northern Tanzania in the village of Loibor Siret on the boundary of Tarangire National Park with her partner and PPF co-founder, Charles Trout.

She has worked extensively with the Maasai and Hadzabe to reduce human-wildlife conflict and is an African lion specialist. Last year, PPF made history when it was the first non-profit in Tanzania to be donated village land for a field center. A passionate conservationist, Laly spends every possible moment working in the bush in the Tarangire and Selous-Niassa ecosystems. She has been featured in a program aired on Discovery Channel Canada, is a recipient of the Fulbright Award, and is currently working on writing her first book. Laly feels fortunate to be living her life’s dream every day that she wakes up.

Cristina Mittermeier, Project Advisor on Photography
Author, Photographer, and Mentor to Conservation Photographers

Cristina Mittermeier is a Mexican marine biologist, conservationist and photographer. As a photographer and writer since 1996, Cristina has co-edited 8 books, including a series published with Conservation International and Cemex. Megadiversity: Earth’s Wealthiest Countries for Biodiversity (1996), Hotspots: Earth’s biologically richest and most endangered ecoregions (1998), Wilderness Areas: Earth’s Last Wild Places (2002), Wildlife Spectacles (2003), Hotspots Revisited (2005), and Transboundary Conservation: A New Vision for Protected Areas (2005), and Pantanal: South America’s Wetland Jewel (2005) are all part of that series. Her latest book project, The Human Footprint was produced with the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York in conjunction with her own organization, the ILCP. Cristina serves on the Advisory Board of Nature’s Best Magazine, is a Board Member of the WILD Foundation and a member of Conservation International’s Chairman’s Council. She is also the Executive Director of the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP), a prestigious consortium of some of the best photographers in the world.

Alison M. Jones, Project Director   ·   330 East 79th Street   ·   New York, NY 10075 USA
Home Page   ·   Phone/Fax: 212-861-6961

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