Facilitators and Experts

 

Experts

During the last week of October we will have several experts who share their expertise during webinars attended by 50 to 150 schools globally. 

Céline Cousteau

A a socio-environmental advocate and public figure. She is known for her work as a documentary film director, producer, explorer, artist, public speaker, brand ambassador and designer, and is a frequent panelist at the United Nations in New York. She is the Founder/Director of CauseCentric Productions and Co-Founder/ Chairman of the Board of the Outdoor Film Fellowship. Céline is the daughter of ocean explorer and filmmakers Jean-Michel Cousteau and granddaughter of Jacques Yves Cousteau.
Céline spent much of her youth aboard her grandfather's world-famous research vessel the Calypso, plying the seas with family in search of answers to the oceans' greatest mysteries. One of her first major expeditions on board was at age nine when she and her father and grandfather journeyed to the Amazon. There they spent 18 months navigating its coastal and jungle waters in areas that were still largely unknown to the outside world. This exploration also involved encounters with remote and un-contacted tribes, considered by many to be the last remaining guardians of the rainforest. It was through this experience that Céline began to learn about the interconnectedness of not only the environment, but humanity.[4] She has spent her life dedicated to understanding the human "tribe" and the relationships forged between individuals, communities and ecosystems. Her relentless search to uncover the interconnectedness of everything has been the inspiration behind her many films, artworks and activism. She has one son with her partner Çapkin van Alphen, an Australian cameraman.

 

Matt Larsen-Daw

Education Manager for #OurPlanet at WWF

Education Manager for the Our Planet project
- a partnership between WWF, Netflix and Silverback Films focused on the launch of an 8 part series
voiced by David Attenborough, streaming globally on Netflix.

The programme includes citizen science tools and resources for school biodiversity projects.

 

Richard E Hyman

Richard was a diver, photographer and navigator aboard Captain Jacques Cousteau’s relatively small and unsteady wooden famed research ship named Calypso.
His first job was to drive a supply truck from Los Angeles, California in the U.S. to the Canadian wilderness. There he worked with Cree Indians to build a cabin for the Cousteau team to winter in and film Beavers of the North Country.Richard’s career has been in business. He is a PADI-certified Aquanaut.
He conducted a webcast on Ocean Exploration and Climate Change, from Classroom Under The Sea, an underwater habitat.
He is passionate about our environment, particularly the ocean and its creatures. He gives back by mentoring students.
He is Co-Founder of Future Frogmen,  an organization for students eager to learn about ocean-related science, issues and solutions.
He is starting an organization focused on helping environmental organizations work better together.
Author of FROGMEN - A Personal Account of Journeys With Captain Jacques-Yves Cousteau and the Crew of Research Vessel Calypso

 

Hannah Heynderickx

PHD researcher investigating Ocean acidification and climate change
Born on April 13, 1991 in Ghent, Belgium. From a young age Hannah knew she wanted to be a scientist.
Her academic career began at the University of Ghent where she completed her Bachelor and Master of Science in Biochemistry & Biotechnology with a specific focus on microbiology.
After 5 years of studying, she took a break and spent a summer volunteering in South-Africa working at a rehabilitation game reserve for wild animals.
In 2014, she decided to continue her studies with a second masters in Marine and Lacustrine Science and Management at the Free University of Brussels.
During that summer, Hannah pursued a professional internship at the Blue World Institute in Croatia, documenting the behaviour of the resident bottlenose dolphins. For the completion of her masters in Marine science in 2016, she was honoured as student Laureate for her overall excellent study results and submitted thesis on Genetic population structure of the coral species Seriatopora hystrix in the Indo-Malay Archipelago.
All these experiences brought her to the University of Otago in New Zealand where she was awarded a doctoral scholarship to start a PhD at the Botany Department. For the past year she has been doing research on ocean acidification in relationship to bacteria and phytoplankton interactions.

 

Dr. Languell - 2018

Star Project Earth - Discovery Channel
For more than 19 years, Dr. Jennifer Languell has championed the integration of green building principles and sustainable design within the construction industry.  Today, as Founder and President of Trifecta Construction Solutions, she remains an outspoken advocate and valued consultant to a wide range of industries that are incorporating sustainable business practices into their daily operations.  In 2011 she became the first person to receive the National Association of Home Builders’ Green Advocate of the Year award twice since its inception in 1997.
Her work has included the creation of award-winning high rise, multi-family, and single-family residential project, commercial projects, and some of the largest and most sustainable land developments in the world.  She has also become a trusted consultant to governments and municipalities that are rapidly moving toward more sustainable and fiscally prudent operating and management practices.   Dr. Languell and Trifecta have received numerous awards from government and industry organizations such as the Urban Land Institute, National Association of Home Builders, Center for Sustainable Florida, and the Florida Green Building Coalition.  An award-winning author, Dr. Languell was also selected as a technical advisor and star for the Discovery Channel’s environmental series Discovery Project Earth.
Dr. Languell serves in leadership roles with many non-profit organizations, is a past President/Vice President of the Florida Green Building Coalition, a LEED Accredited Professional for the USGBC, a NAHB Verifier and Certified Green Professional, and a Certifying Agent with the Florida Green Building Coalition.  She has certified over five million square feet of buildings and 30,000 acres of land developments using programs such as LEED, FGBC and Green Globes.

 

Facilitators

Meet our 2019 Facilitators! This inspiring group will guide a small group of teachers. 
Facilitators Climate Action project