W Archives – Lantern

Shawna Weaver

June 28, 2023

Shawna Weaver is a career-long educator and mental health advocate. She spent her early career as a mental health therapist and school counselor. The climate crisis compelled her to return to graduate school to earn a PhD in Sustainability Education and explore the intersection of nature and human wellness. She has presented on environmental justice topics to audiences all over North America, Australia, and Europe. She is currently focused on education program development, household sustainability, and wellness advocacy. When she isn’t working or traveling, she is home in northern Minnesota, exploring trails with her three-legged canine companion.

Keith Wilson

August 23, 2020

Keith Wilson is the co-founder (with Britta Jaschinski) of PHOTOGRAPHERS AGAINST WILDLIFE CRIME™, an international group of award-winning photographers who have joined forces to use their powerful and iconic images to help bring an end to the illegal wildlife trade. Their efforts culminated in the publication of Photographers Against Wildlife Crime (2018). Keith also edits fine art nature photography books, working with some of Europe’s leading landscape and wildlife photographers. Titles include: Zero Footprint (Leeming+Paterson), Silver (Jonathan Chritchley), and As Long As There Are Animals (David Lloyd). He is also the editor of the bestselling Remembering Elephants and its successor Remembering Rhinos, both published for the Born Free Foundation.

Ashley Wells

August 23, 2020

Ashley Wells is a writer living in Logan, Utah, where she teaches in the English Department of Utah State University. She teaches courses in rhetoric and composition, including one on the rhetoric of cowgirls and freedom. Her work exploring cowgirl narratives has appeared in Bitch magazine, Connotation Press, and Jezebel. Wells earned her Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing Nonfiction from California State University, Fresno. Her website is ashley-wells.com.

Patricia Chapple Wright

August 15, 2020

Dr. Patricia Chapple Wright is best known for her 26-year study of social family interactions of wild lemurs in Madagascar’s Ranomafana National Park, which she helped establish in 1991. She is also the founder of the Institute for the Conservation of Tropical Environments (ICTE) and Centre ValBio (CVB). The many honors she has received include a MacArthur Fellowship and the National Medal of Honor of Madagascar. Dr. Wright is currently a professor in the Department of Anthropology at Stony Brook University. Her website is patwrightlab.net.

Mark Whitwell

August 15, 2020

Mark Whitwell has enjoyed a life long relationship with the yoga teachings of T. Krishnamacharya, and with his son and primary disciple T.K.V. Desikachar, whose students have had a major impact on yoga in the West. Whitwell was editor and contributor to Desikachar’s classic book, The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice. This tradition teaches that yoga must be adapted to the individual to be successful. Yoga postures, or asanas, exist to support the breath and thereby enhance the human being’s direct absorption of the vital and nurturing essence of Life. The goal of yoga is not to achieve gymnastic extremes. For Whitwell authentic yoga is simply moving and breathing and is the birthright of all humanity. Mark Whitwell is the founder of the non-profit organization Heart of Yoga which provides yoga education worldwide. His website is heartofyoga.com.

Zoe Weil

August 15, 2020

Zoe Weil is the co-founder and president of the Institute for Humane Education (IHE), and is considered a pioneer in the comprehensive humane education movement. She is the author of six books, including the Nautilus Silver Medal–winner Most Good, Least Harm: A Simple Principle for a Better World and Meaningful Life (2009) and two books for young readers, including Moonbeam Gold Medal-winner Claude and Medea (2007). She has written numerous articles on humane education and humane living, and given interviews to such outlets as Forbes.com and numerous radio and television stations. In 2012, artist Robert Shetterly painted Zoe’s portrait for his acclaimed Americans Who Tell the Truth series. Also in 2012, Zoe was honored with the Women in Environmental Leadership award at Unity College. In 2010, she was inducted into the Animal Rights Hall of Fame. Zoe lives with her husband and several rescued animals in a home adjoining the Institute for Humane Education in Surry, Maine. Her website is humaneeducation.org.

L.A. Watson

August 15, 2020

L.A. Watson is an interdisciplinary artist and writer working in the field of human–animal studies. Watson earned her BA in Gender and Women’s Studies from the University of Kentucky and holds an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally, including at the Mary H. Dana Women Artist Series at Rutgers University, and is in the permanent collection of the National Museum of Animals & Society (NMAS). She co-curated the exhibit Uncooped for NMAS and is a founding member of the artist coalition ArtAnimalAffect. Watson currently works in her home studio on Elk Hill farm in Frankfort, Kentucky. Her website is lawatsonart.com.

Ernie Ward

August 14, 2020

Ernie Ward, DVM, CVFT (veterinary food therapist) has spent his career blending healthy lifestyles and medicine. He is internationally known for improving veterinary medical standards, creating a higher quality of life for animals, and promoting healthier habits for pets and people. Dr. Ward has been a leader in the areas of pet nutrition and weight loss, establishing diagnostic test protocols and evolving pet technologies, promoting senior pet care, and advancing veterinary practice standards and veterinary staff training. His website is drernieward.com.