Meet Our Speakers
Netta Avineri
Dr. Netta Avineri is Intercultural Communication Professor and Chair at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. She is the Kathryn Wasserman Davis Collaborative in Conflict Transformation Graduate Director and Middlebury Social Impact Corps Faculty Director. An applied linguistic anthropologist, Netta teaches courses in Storytelling for Change, Critical Research Methodologies, Ethical Community Engagement, and Conflict Transformation. She engages deeply with community partners focused on land stewardship, food systems, language access, housing insecurity and related topics both domestically and internationally. She is the co-author of An Introduction to Language and Social Justice: What Is, What Has Been, and What Could Be (Routledge) and Series Editor for De Gruyter’s Critical Approaches in Applied Linguistics.
Kunjal Bastola
Kunjal Bastola is a junior at Northwestern University studying journalism, political science and environmental policy and culture. She was born and raised in Chicago, IL but now lives in Charlotte, NC. She grew up right next to Lake Michigan, which is where she cultivated her deep love for the water and marine life. Her parents were born and raised in Nepal, and it was the 2015 earthquake that devastated the Kathmandu Valley that really deepened Kunjal's insight into the way different communities are disproportionately impacted by environmental issues and natural disasters. She is passionate about amplifying the voices of impacted communities as the climate crisis worsens. In her free time, Kunjal loves swimming, reading, playing chess, trying out new recipes and exploring new places.
Amy Berquist
Amy Berquist is Vice President of Conservation, Education, and Sustainability for Lindblad Expeditions, where she oversees all aspects of the company’s 50+ year commitment to using travel as a force for good. She manages the Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic (LEX-NG) Fund which, since its founding in 2008, has invested more than $24.7 million in grants & programs across 77+ countries on all 7 continents. In 2006, in collaboration with National Geographic Education, Amy founded the Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship, a professional-development opportunity for Pre-K-12 educators. The program has since selected 435 educators from 49 U.S. states, six Canadian provinces, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and one Department of Defense Education Activity School abroad to travel aboard the fleet and bring first-hand experiences back to their formal and informal learning environments.
Amy led Lindblad’s efforts to become a 100% carbon-offset company in conjunction with South Pole, the world’s leading developer of international emission reduction projects. She works across departments at Lindblad Expeditions to bring a sustainability focus to the company’s operations. This includes the responsible sourcing of seafood and local produce, a commitment to reducing single-use plastic aboard, and careful attention to the products used aboard the vessels to deliver the best guest experience possible.
Amy’s role allows her to create vibrant collaborations with likeminded partners, including Planet Forward. She is thrilled to support their work with college students to inspire the next generation of environmental storytellers. She is always on the lookout for new synergies, as she believes in the power of working across disciplines and borders to create meaningful change for the planet.
Amy holds a B.A. from the College of William & Mary in Virginia, and is a Board member with the National Ghost Ranch Foundation and the TREE Foundation.
Dr. Imani M. Cheers
Dr. Imani M. Cheers is an award-winning digital storyteller with a passion for moving the planet forward. Dr. Cheers is originally from Chicago but grew up in post-apartheid South Africa. That's where her love for the environment started, growing vegetables in her home garden. Having traveled to over 40 countries on six continents, Dr. Cheers is passionate about taking students out of their comfort zone and pushing the boundaries of visual communications. When she's not filling up her passport with her son Isaiah, you can find her preparing the next generation of storytellers for careers that don't exist yet.
Tom Di Liberto
Tom Di Liberto is a climate scientist and award-winning science communicator who worked as a public affairs specialist at NOAA’s Office of Communication. He currently is on administrative leave due to recent staffing firings. He normally works on communication strategy at NOAA. As part of NOAA’s Ocean Today’s studio, he also wrote and starred in NOAA’s first ever animated series Teek and Tom Explore Planet Earth. Previously, he served as the senior climate scientist for NOAA’s Climate.gov and social media editor for the NOAAClimate accounts.
In addition to his work at NOAA, Tom also served as the lead of the Department of State’s U.S. Center at the United Nations climate change conference COP29 in 2024. The U.S. Center is the premiere public face of the U.S. government at the UN Climate conference. As lead, Tom designed every aspect of the center from the build to the schedule to planning every event that took place. He previously served as emcee of the Department of State’s U.S. Center at the United Nations climate change conferences COP21, COP22, COP26, COP27 and COP28 where he helped lead the U.S. government’s public outreach space during the negotiations.
Fun fact: Tom was named America’s first Scientist Idol in 2013 after winning a competition at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Tyler Dorholt
Tyler Dorholt is the Executive Director of Communications and Marketing at SUNY ESF, where he's also an Assistant Professor in the Writing Program, and a steward of the Digital Storytelling Studio. A published writer, photographer, media maker and painter, Tyler’s pedagogical interests focus on the process of storytelling and the strategic ways it can better surface the value of environmental conservation and science.
Brianna El-Quhir
Brianna Simone El-Quhir is a student at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, where she is pursuing a degree in Natural Resources Management with a focus in Urban Forestry. A native of New York City, Brianna’s passion for urban forestry stems from her personal experiences growing up in an urban environment, and her desire to make nature more accessible to communities like her own. As the eldest sibling to Tahji and Nevaeh, she is motivated to create a world where the natural environment is welcoming and inclusive for everyone—especially people of color and those from lower-income backgrounds.
Her academic interests include soil science, forest landscape management, and the development of recreational resources in public parks. She is equally passionate about the role of outreach and communication in conservation, believing that engaging communities is essential to lasting environmental progress.
Brianna also finds creative expression through poetry, using it as a powerful tool for both environmental and cultural advocacy. To her, poetry bridges emotion and science, helping to translate data into stories that resonate deeply with others. She believes in the transformative power of words to inspire empathy and action.
At this summit, Brianna shares her poetry to advocate for Puerto Rico, specifically Vieques. For her, this is not just a competition, but a meaningful opportunity to build community, share stories, and uplift the voices of those too often unheard.
Gabrielle Ewing
Gabrielle Ewing is the Director of Programming of PBS Digital Studios, a network of original digital-first programming that connects and inspires the next generation of PBS viewers. Gabrielle oversees 25+ series across the network, serves as a direct editorial lead for several shows, and crafts network-wide creative and strategic vision. She has previously worked on nonfiction content at National Geographic, CNN, and NBC New York.
Carolyn Finney, Ph.D.
Carolyn Finney, Ph.D. is a storyteller, author and a cultural geographer who is deeply interested in issues related to identity, difference, creativity, and resilience. Grounded in both artistic and intellectual ways of knowing (pursuing an acting career for eleven years and backpacking around the world & living in Nepal before returning to school to complete three degrees), she is passionate about interrogating our past and dreaming a future that is liberatory, just and green.
Along with public speaking, media engagements, teaching and consulting, she served on the National Parks Advisory Board for eight years under the Obama administration. While she has written for numerous publications, including The New York Times, Outside Magazine, The Guardian, and The Earth Island Journal, she is best known for her first book, Black Faces, White Spaces: Reimagining the Relationship between African Americans and the Great Outdoors (2014). Recent publications include Radical Presence – the Shadows Take Shape: African Americans (Re)making a Green World” in Not Just Green, Not Just White: Race, Justice and Environmental History (edited by Mary Mendoza and Traci Brynne Voyles, University of Nebraska Press, 2025) and “Memory Divine” in A Darker Wilderness: Black Nature Writing from Soil to Stars (edited by Erin Sharkey, Milkweed Press, 2023), She was a Fulbright Scholar, a Canon National Parks Science Scholar and has received two Mellon Fellowships, including a
residency at the New York Botanical Gardens. She is currently working on her second book and is a scholar/artist in residence in the Franklin Environmental Center at Middlebury College.
Darcy Gentleman, Ph.D.
Darcy J. Gentleman, Ph.D., is a science communications expert with nearly 20 years of
professional experience. As the Education Lead at Planet Forward, Darcy is the head
liaison with Planet Forward Member schools and spearheads programming strategy for science communications programming. Previously, at the American Chemical Society (ACS) from 2008-2018, Darcy was the managing editor for Environmental Science & Technology, the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, and contributed to the establishment of ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. He then ran ACS’s Science & the Congress briefing series, with 55 events across various science policy topics from 2011-2017. Simultaneously, Darcy created and managed the Chemistry Champions contest, empowering younger chemists to present their research to live and online audiences. He also contributed to various public engagement efforts including "ACS Reactions” on YouTube, social media strategy, and scientist-media interactions. At the US Pharmacopeia from 2020-2024, Darcy launched half of USP’s Convention stakeholder engagement “Sectors,” specifically Dietary Supplements, Excipients, and Innovation. He also prepared several executives’ public presentations, including the CEO, Chief Scientist, and Senior Vice President for Digital & Innovation.
Presently, in addition to his Planet Forward work, Darcy provides various science communications consulting services to public and private sector clients. His research background includes environmental/planetary science, analytical chemistry, bio-nanotechnology, and developing novel STEM educational methods and resources. Darcy has a Ph.D. and M.S. in analytical Chemistry from Arizona State University (2003, 2001), and a Hon. B.Sc. in Planetary Science and Chemistry from the University of Toronto (1999).
President Ellen M. Granberg
Ellen M. Granberg is the 19th President of the George Washington University.
President Granberg is an accomplished academic leader who has a record of strengthening teaching and research excellence across disciplines, supporting a diverse and inclusive community of students, faculty, and staff, and collaborating with all stakeholders to drive transformative change and increase institutional prominence. She became the first woman to serve as GW’s President on July 1, 2023.
Previously, President Granberg served as Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) and was a professor and senior leader at Clemson University.
A nationally recognized scholar in the sociology of self, identity, and mental health, President Granberg began her career in academia as a Professor of Sociology.
Prior to pursuing graduate studies, she spent eleven years in the telecommunications industry, leading large integrated software development teams that replaced aging billing and customer service systems.
President Granberg holds a B.A. in history from the University of California at Davis and an M.A. and Ph.D. in sociology from Vanderbilt University.
Chelsea Henderson
Chelsea Henderson is the author of GLACIAL: THE INSIDE STORY OF CLIMATE POLITICS, the first of its kind lookback at the six decades since climate change was first elevated to a president’s attention as a global catastrophe in the making. With more than twenty-five years of experience striking bipartisan compromise on federal energy and environmental policy, Chelsea has worked on and off Capitol Hill with lawmakers, administration officials, and a broad array of stakeholders from the regulated community to environmentalists. She currently hosts the podcast the EcoRight Speaks and serves as the Director of Editorial Content for republicEn.org, a project of the GMU Center for Climate Change Communication.
Jesse J. Holland
Jesse J. Holland is a distinguished journalist, educator and author renowned for his impactful storytelling that challenges perspectives and reshapes narratives. His writing prowess extends across multiple genres, with award-winning nonfiction works including "The Invisibles: The Untold Story of African American Slaves Inside the White House" and "Black Men Built The Capitol: Discovering African American History in and Around Washington, D.C." In fiction, he's known for his novels "Black Panther: Who Is TheBlackPanther?"—the groundbreaking introduction of the iconic superhero into literature—and "Star Wars: The Force Awakens-Finn’s Story." Additionally, Holland has garnered acclaim as an editor, leading the anthology "Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda" and slated to helm the forthcoming "Captain America: The Shield of Sam Wilson." Beyond his literary accomplishments, Jesse serves as a guest host on C-SPAN's Washington Journal and holds the position of associate director at The George Washington University's School of Media & Public Affairs. With a background as a Race & Ethnicity Reporter at the Associated Press, a columnist at MSNBC.com and as a visiting scholar at prestigious institutions like the Library of Congress and the University of Arkansas, Jesse continues to contribute to the discourse on social issues. Currently, he's engaged in various projects including writing his next nonfiction book, producing his first documentary and offering guidance to aspiring nonfiction authors.
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Hattie Hobart
Hattie Hobart is Nature Is Nonpartisan’s Chief of Staff. Previously, she
served as the American Conservation Coalition’s Western Regional Director and worked on congressional campaigns in the Kansas City Metro area. After finishing her academic and political careers in Kansas, she earned a Masters of Public Administration from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. She believes that conservation provides a path to keep wild spaces enjoyable and accessible for generations, but to do that, everyone needs to be a part of the conversation. Outside of work, Hattie loves to hike, ski, paddleboard, and spend time with friends and family in the Greater Yellowstone area.
Abbey Leibert
Abbey Leibert is an aspiring environmental journalist in her last semester as an environmental studies student at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Originally from Pennsylvania, she has grown up witnessing the numerous environmental issues and injustices in her state. With a local approach alongside her education, Abbey writes stories amplifying efforts to render solutions to environmental issues while being critical of the social and political conditions perpetuating them. Abbey has published articles around pollution, conservation, workforce development, and more.
Morghan Manuel
Morghan Manuel is a content creator, editorial strategist, and communications professional specializing in magazine production, digital content, website administration, and event coordination. A graduate of Howard University’s Cathy Hughes School of Communications, she has built expertise in editorial work, nonprofit communications, and brand storytelling.
At StrongHome Network, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting families in the entertainment industry, she manages website content, oversees digital media strategies, and contributes to the organization’s editorial vision. She also plays a key role in coordinating events that bring communities together and amplify StrongHome’s mission.
Morghan’s experience also includes brand marketing and sales with Global Exchange Vacation Club, where she refined her skills in audience engagement and strategic messaging. She is passionate about storytelling’s ability to inform, inspire, and connect communities, approaching content creation with a blend of artistic vision, journalistic naturalism, and strategic communication.
Beyond her professional experience, Morghan values creativity as a form of self-expression—one that extends beyond writing into personal branding, confidence, and execution. She believes success is built on adaptability, strong storytelling, and the ability to embrace new experiences with a fearless mindset.
With a passion for impactful media, Morghan thrives in fast-paced environments that challenge her to think critically and innovate. She is dedicated to using digital platforms and community-driven storytelling to spark meaningful conversations and drive engagement.
Committed to continuous learning and professional growth, Morghan is eager to collaborate with media professionals, contribute to editorial innovation, and leave a lasting impact on content creation, digital media strategy, and event production.
Bill McKibben
Bill McKibben is a contributing writer to The New Yorker, and a founder of Third Act, which organizes people over the age of 60 to work on climate and racial justice. He founded the first global grassroots climate campaign, 350.org, and serves as the Schumann Distinguished Professor in Residence at Middlebury College in Vermont. In 2014 he was awarded the Right Livelihood Prize, sometimes called the ‘alternative Nobel,’ in the Swedish Parliament. He's also won the Gandhi Peace Award, and honorary degrees from 19 colleges and universities. He has written over a dozen books about the environment, including his first, The End of Nature, published in 1989, and his latest book is The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon: A Graying American Looks Back at his Suburban Boyhood and Wonders What the Hell Happened.
Karli Moore
Karli Moore (Lumbee) is from Prospect, North Carolina, and is a PhD candidate in environment and resources at Stanford University. Before her doctoral studies, Karli was a biodiversity coordinator at BASF, an economic fellow at the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative, and the director of programs at the Native American Agriculture Fund. Karli grew up on the family farm in southeastern NC and advocates for Tribal food sovereignty. She is a Udall Scholar, Park Scholar, and Knight-Hennessy Scholar. She loves to spend time with her family, travel to new places near and far, and watch the newest TV shows while cross-stitching.
Bilal Motley
Bilal Motley is an award-winning filmmaker, actor, and environmental journalist from Chester, Pennsylvania. His work explores the intersections of race, class, and environmental justice, and he has been featured in major outlets including Variety, CNN, and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
A member of the Society of Environmental Journalists (SEJ), Bilal leads film workshops that empower both journalists and young people to tell impactful stories about climate change using accessible tools like smartphones.
His 2020 debut documentary, Midnight Oil, chronicled life inside the South Philadelphia oil refinery where he once worked. The film was an official selection at the BlackStar Film Festival, and was acquired by Black Public Media for public television distribution.
His follow-up short, Quarantine Kids, co-directed with his daughter, won the 2022 Philadelphia Filmmaker Award at BlackStar and Best Short Documentary at the March on Washington Film Festival.
Bilal’s latest film, Trash & Burn, documents the decades-long grassroots fight to shut down America’s largest trash incinerator—located in his hometown of Chester. The film has screened at universities, festivals, and public institutions worldwide.
Halle Parker
Halle Parker covers environmental health and health care inequities for Verite News in partnership with the Kaiser Family Foundation. Before Verite, the New Orleans-based journalist covered Louisiana's environment for local public radio stations WWNO/WRKF, the Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate and down the bayou for the Houma Courier. At WWNO, she also co-hosted and co-produced the narrative podcast Sea Change, which dove into environmental stories on the Gulf Coast. Halle's reporting and photography has been recognized at the state, region and national level, as well as abroad. She also serves on the board of the Society of Environmental Journalists. She's one of the youngest SEJ members to be elected board president and is the first Black woman to serve in the position. She originally hails from Virgina.
Kasha Patel
Kasha Patel is the deputy weather editor for the Capital Weather Gang at The Washington Post, covering weather, climate change and the environment; she also writes the weekly Hidden Planet column. Before joining The Post, she produced news stories, videos and features about the Earth sciences, climate change and satellite research for NASA. She specialized in topics at the intersection of the environment and public health, such as tracking infectious diseases from space. Patel also has significant on-screen experience, appearing on the Weather Channel and BBC, among others. She hosted an award-winning miniseries on NASA TV highlighting Earth science research in the field. She was previously the host of the Undark science magazine's podcast.
Kasha is also a stand-up comedian and writer who focuses her jokes on her life as an Indian-American and science. Founder of the comedy production company DC Science Comedy, Kasha produces and hosts science-themed comedy shows where scientists, writers, comedians, and singers grace the stage. She also hosts and acts as emcee for monthly book-themed comedy shows, weekly mics, and special events.
Dre Pedemonte
Dre Pedemonte is a graduating senior at The George Washington University, majoring in English and supplementing her studies with journalism courses that support her passion for storytelling. She currently works as the Social Media and Communications Intern at Planet Forward, a platform dedicated to college environmental storytelling.
As a first-generation Peruvian-American college student raised in a large, lively family in Northern Virginia, Dre brings heart, curiosity, and creativity to everything she does. A lifelong performer, she grew up studying classical ballet and acting, which deeply shaped her love of the arts.
Today, she works across mediums—writing, film, music, and digital media—to explore new narratives about people, culture, and the planet. In her free time, she plays her parlor-sized Breedlove guitar named Joplin and indulges her love of horror films and all things cinematic.
Joy Reeves
Joy Reeves is an award-winning science communicator, energy justice advocate, and climate cartoonist from Washington, D.C. She currently works as the Director of Policy and Strategic Development at the Rachel Carson Council, an environmental justice nonprofit focused on advocacy against the wood pellet industry, synthetic pesticides, and false climate solutions. In 2024, Joy received a Master’s degree in Environmental Management with a specialization in Environmental Economics and Policy from Duke University, where she also earned her Bachelor’s degree. During her time as a Planet Forward correspondent, she was named a 2024 Storyfest winner, leading her to publish a piece on marine iguanas in the Galápagos. Joy’s passion is in environmental storytelling, as she has received formal training in science communication as a Huang Fellow, founded the Environmental Comics Classroom, and authored the book Growing Up in the Grassroots: Finding Unity in Climate Activism Across Generations, published in 2020. Joy has represented youth and faith-based constituencies in COP28 in Dubai, where she lobbied European Parliament and OPEC. Joy was named a Udall Scholar in 2021 and hopes to continue her career in public service and nonprofit leadership. Her other professional interests include environmental conflict resolution, federal energy policy, and community-based environmental management.
Maggie Rhoads
Maggie Rhoads is a 2024-2025 Correspondent for Planet Forward. She focuses her reporting for Planet Forward on environmental policy through a solutions-based lens. You can follow Maggie Rhoads on Twitter/X @themaggierhoads and/or add her on LinkedIn.
Frank Sesno
Frank Sesno loves stories. He's been telling them all his life. In high school, through his student newspaper. In college, on the radio. In his 21 years with CNN, through pictures, interviews, and documentaries. As CNN White House correspondent, anchor, and Washington Bureau Chief, Frank reported on events and people from around the world. He witnessed epic challenges and inspiring resilience. He told stories about threats to the planet along with scientific discoveries and breakthroughs driven by human ingenuity.
Frank is now the Director of Strategic Initiatives for the GW's School of Media and Public Affairs (SMPA) and the Executive Director of the George Washington University Alliance for a Sustainable Future. The Alliance is a broad pan-university initiative to amplify the university’s teaching, research, convening and impact relating to global challenges around climate change, environmental justice, and sustainability. Frank was SMPA's Director for 11 years, where he focused on the next generation of storytellers and on the future of journalism in a chaotic world. In 2009, during his tenure as director, he started Planet Forward to both launch the next generation of environmental storytellers and highlight ideas that can be transformative.
Frank's love for the world around us started before college, on horseback in the Colorado Rockies. He rode and camped. He experienced beauty and balance. Which is why today, amid all the challenges we face, Frank believes that the story of how we can move the planet forward is more compelling and more urgent than ever.
Sarah Stroup
Sarah Stroup is professor of political science at Middlebury College and director of the Kathryn Wasserman Davis Collaborative in Conflict Transformation. She is author of Borders Among Activists (Cornell, 2012) and co-author of The Authority Trap (Cornell, 2017), winner of the 2019 ARNOVA Outstanding Book Award. At Middlebury, Stroup teaches courses on humanitarian relief, international political economy, conflict transformation skills, philanthropy, and non-state actors. She is trained in reflective structured dialogue and basic mediation and is former faculty co-director of the Engaged Listening Project, a dialogic practice initiative for faculty and staff.
Stroup’s current research projects explore the role of neutrality in global mediation and dialogue and the intersection of international and domestic peacebuilding efforts. She is a graduate of Dartmouth College and received her PhD in political science from University of California, Berkeley. Sarah and her husband John live in Vergennes, Vermont, with their two children.
Ciara Thomas
Ciara (See-air-uh) Thomas is a Senior Writing Correspondent at Planet Forward and a
graduating senior at Tuskegee University, where she is pursuing a degree in political science. With a strong passion for journalism, policy analysis, and advocacy, Ciara has dedicated the past three years to covering environmental issues, offering a unique perspective that integrates political analysis with the lived experiences of minority communities.
Her reporting focuses on climate change, sustainability, and environmental justice, examining how policy decisions at the local, state, and federal levels disproportionately affect underrepresented populations. By analyzing the intersection of government action, corporate influence, and activism, Ciara aims to bridge the gap between complex environmental policies and their real-world consequences.
Beyond her work as a journalist, Ciara is a proud member of the Gamma Kappa Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., where she upholds the organization’s legacy of service, leadership, and advocacy for social change.
Through her writing, Ciara strives to elevate diverse voices, highlight the challenges faced by communities on the frontlines of climate change, and drive meaningful conversations about the future of environmental justice. She believes that storytelling is a powerful tool for advocacy and is committed to using her platform to inform, inspire, and mobilize readers toward sustainable solutions.
Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso
Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso is an award-winning queer Navajo filmmaker. She was a fellow with the Firelight Media Documentary Filmmaker Lab, and the 4th World Indigenous Media Lab. She started making films at the age of 9, through the Native youth media project Outta Your Backpack Media. At the age of 13 she made the award-winning Docu-drama film In the Footsteps of Yellow Woman, based on the true story of her great-great-great grandmother Yellow Woman, who lived through the Navajo Long Walk of 1864-1868. The film screened in over 90 film festivals internationally and won 11 awards. Ivey Camille continued to refine her filmmaking craft with a full scholarship to Idyllwild Arts Academy in California. She later returned home to work on films in her community of Navajo Nation. At the age of 19, Ivey Camille began work on Powerlands, her first feature. Powerlands has screened internationally and won several festival awards including the The 2022 Rigoberta Menchú Grand Prize.
Dr. Allison Tuttle
Dr. Allison Tuttle is the Chief Zoological Officer at Mystic Aquarium where she serves on the Aquarium’s Executive Leadership Team and oversees the Aquarium’s animal, environmental quality, and interpretive programs. She has authored numerous peer-reviewed research publications about wildlife health. Dr. Tuttle is a past president of the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians (AAZV) and the International Association for Aquatic Animal Medicine (IAAAM) and currently serves within the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) as an Accreditation Commissioner and Vice-Chair of the Aquarium Affairs Committee. She is passionate about the impact that aquariums can have on the conservation of ocean wildlife and telling important stories about these animals to effect positive change.
Dr. Tuttle earned her BS in Biology and Psychology from Washington College and her DVM from North Carolina State University. Her post-graduate education includes completion of Mystic Aquarium’s Internship in Aquatic Animal Medicine and Research and a Residency in Zoological Medicine with a focus on Aquatic Health Management at North Carolina State University. A Diplomate of the American College of Zoological Medicine, Dr. Tuttle is a board-certified specialist in zoological medicine.
Daniel Vera
Daniel Vera is a sophomore majoring in Sustainable Energy Management at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Raised in Ecuador, Daniel’s upbringing across diverse climates has fostered a deep connection to the environment and a unique perspective on how culture and nature intersect. Adjusting to American life through an Ecuadorian lens, he has cultivated a passion for amplifying marginalized voices and uncovering stories that often go untold.
Daniel’s storytelling is rooted in his belief that the environment is not just a backdrop but a central character in the human experience. His work explores the intricate relationships between people, culture, and the natural world, shedding light on how climate shapes everything from daily routines to global conservation efforts.
When he’s not writing, Daniel can be found on hikes along creeks, tending to his collection of fish tanks, or spending quality time in the backyard with his brother Julian and their dog Maya.
Darcy Gentleman
Darcy J. Gentleman, Ph.D., is a science communications expert with nearly 20 years of
professional experience. As the Education Lead at Planet Forward, Darcy is the head
liaison with Planet Forward Member schools and spearheads programming strategy for science communications programming. Previously, at the American Chemical Society (ACS) from 2008-2018, Darcy was the managing editor for Environmental Science & Technology, the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, and contributed to the establishment of ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. He then ran ACS’s Science & the Congress briefing series, with 55 events across various science policy topics from 2011-2017. Simultaneously, Darcy created and managed the Chemistry Champions contest, empowering younger chemists to present their research to live and online audiences. He also contributed to various public engagement efforts including "ACS Reactions” on YouTube, social media strategy, and scientist-media interactions. At the US Pharmacopeia from 2020-2024, Darcy launched half of USP’s Convention stakeholder engagement “Sectors,” specifically Dietary Supplements, Excipients, and Innovation. He also prepared several executives’ public presentations, including the CEO, Chief Scientist, and Senior Vice President for Digital & Innovation.
Presently, in addition to his Planet Forward work, Darcy provides various science communications consulting services to public and private sector clients. His research background includes environmental/planetary science, analytical chemistry, bio-nanotechnology, and developing novel STEM educational methods and resources. Darcy has a Ph.D. and M.S. in analytical Chemistry from Arizona State University (2003, 2001), and a Hon. B.Sc. in Planetary Science and Chemistry from the University of Toronto (1999).