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| Dear Friends,
WINGS WorldQuest empowers women scientists and explorers on the leading edge of discovery. Your support makes it possible for these trailblazers to go beyond borders and explore new territory. Since 2003, WINGS has reached 130 of these extraordinary women from 67 countries with $678,000 in unrestricted grants and support. WINGS also has inspired more than 1,000 students in 15 countries through our explorer-hosted webinars and partnerships.
Your gifts support the connections that women scientists say are vital to their work. Last week, explorer Kate Harris told a group of WINGS supporters at our sold-out Explorer Talk, "Perhaps the great task of modern explorers is not to conquer, but to connect." We can’t agree more, which is why WINGS makes valuable connection possible – for these women scientists and interested supporters like you. When you support WINGS, you’ll be among the first to learn about our salon-style Explorer Talks that we host throughout the year where WINGS explorers share backstories and breakthroughs.
Your support this year also gave eco-physiologist Terrie Williams the technology she needed to track the elusive narwhal in the Arctic – enabling her to discover critical information about the species’ ability to adapt to climate change. Read her recent Flag Report along with those of documentary filmmaker and biologist Allison Hanes and other scientists and explorers WINGS supported in 2019.
We couldn’t have done it without you. More women scientists and explorers need the critical and unique support that WINGS offers – expedition funding, peer outreach, and the opportunity to share findings and experiences with students and supporters all over the world.
We have big plans for 2020 and a lot of exciting news to announce soon. Save the date of May 13, 2020, for our next Women of Discovery Awards Gala. Until then, we have an inbox full of extraordinary women scientists and explorers looking to engage with WINGS. Can we count on your support for these entrepreneurs in discovery? Make your gift today.
Your support is bringing real change. Thank you!
Yours in discovery,
Beth Nixon
Chair, Board of Directors
Ps. Your support sends women scientist and explorers on expeditions and provides critical funding for their research and discoveries. They’re counting on your help!
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Sold-Out Explorer Talk with Kate Harris
Three-time WINGS honoree Kate Harris spoke to a packed house in NYC this month and shared antecdotes and insights from her 10 months biking the silk road, video that brought her words to life, and details on her next book! Generous donors that evening went home with signed copies of her award-winning book, Lands of Lost Borders. We'll be announcing our 2020 roster of events soon - stay tuned!
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Terrie Williams: Climate Change and the Arctic's Iconic Narwhal
Wildlife eco-physiologist Dr. Terrie Williams spent a month above the Arctic Circle conducting some of the first thermal measurements of these toothed whales with new Infrared technology – funded by WINGS – to determine skin temperatures and heat loss in the context of climate change. Her research led to exciting discoveries about narwhal thermoregulation and adaptability to warming oceans and shrinking sea ice.
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Allison Hanes: Folklore and Conservation in Siberut, Mentawai Islands, Indonesia
Filmmaker Allison Hanes traveled with the WINGS flag to Indonesia as the first step in producing a 90-minute feature film about the shamans of Siberut and the Mentawai gibbons, local primates who are known for their singing. With the One Health Productions team, she plans to use information gathered on this expedition to also create a virtual reality short and a traveling multimedia exhibit using gibbon song and indigenous knowledge to showcase connections between humans, other species and their environment.
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High Altitude Archaeologist Recounts Her Journey Since Becoming a WINGS Fellow
Constanza Ceruti is a high-altitude archaeologist and anthropologist who specializes in studying sacred mountains. The list of her accomplishments is prodigious: She has ascended more than 100 mountains above 17,000 feet and has summited peaks on every continent other than Antarctica. In 1999 she co-directed the scientific expedition to the highest archaeological site in the world, Mount Llullaillaco (a 22,110-foot-high volcano), and discovered three of the world's best preserved mummies. We recently caught up with Constanza in between expeditions to find out more about her work and perspective on women in STEM fields.
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| What WINGS Women of Discovery Are Up To
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- April Burt was featured in the popular blog Oh The People You Meet following her Explorer Talk with us last month. Watch the trailer for the short documentary about the Aldabra Clean-Up Project, "Island Under Siege."
- Edie Widder received the Eleanor Fletcher Lifetime Award from the Loggerhead Marinelife Center for “her trailblazing work in bioluminescence, exploring great ocean depths, and studying the fascinating environment of the giant squid.” Read about the Go Blue Award.
- Jane Goodall talks about overcoming dismissive remarks, such as being told she was “just a girl” when she first told people she wanted to study chimpanzees in Africa.
- Jill Tartar, award-winning astrophysicist and Chair Emeritus for SETI Research at the SETI Institute (the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence), is interviewed about her path into astronomy, being the sole woman in her undergraduate engineering class, and the big questions that the SETI Institute explores: What is life? How does it begin? Are we alone?
- Sunniva Sorby is entering her third month above the Arctic Circle documenting climate change. Read her recent blog, "For the Love of Science," about the power of Citizen Science to transform science and society, and how this overwintering expedition will contribute to each of her seven projects, including Arctic cloud observations for NASA.
- Susan Shaw spoke at the 2019 Plastic Health Summit in Amsterdam, discussing the hidden dangers of burning plastic. Watch her presentation.
- Sylvia Earle and Mission Blue announced this month their newest Hope Spots in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea – one of the world’s most biodiverse reefs – and the Ghizilagaj Reserve National Park in the Caspian Sea. Read about these places that are critical to the health of our oceans.
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| | WINGS Junior Council Fall Update
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| By Junior Council Co-Chair Kimi Goldstein
The WINGS Junior Council – young professionals committed to the mission of WINGS – has been busy this past year with a number of exciting events and fundraising campaigns. In February, we hosted our 2nd Annual Valentine’s Day Raffle, featuring some of NYC’s best restaurants, like Via Carota, and raised over $2,100. In April, we had a great turnout for the Women of Discovery Awards Gala – it was so much fun to get together and hear from this year’s new Fellows! The very next day, the Junior Council partnered with local informational entertainment venue, Caveat, for their April edition of the show “Yeah She Did,” where women shared the stories of other women overlooked by history.
April’s theme, EXPLORERS, was a perfect fit! Our Junior Council Explorer-in-Residence, Captain Sophie Hollingsworth, joined us on the Lower East Side to talk about Osa Johnson, an early-20th century explorer, filmmaker and writer. We also were lucky to have WINGS Flag Carrier Sefra Alexander in the audience.
We geared back up this fall with a book club event featuring WINGS Fellow Kate Harris and her award-winning adventure memoir, Lands of Lost Borders. We were able to have a lively Q&A with Kate via Skype from her off-the-grid cabin in British Columbia.
At the end of October, we hosted our 2nd annual “Fit for the Field,” a fitness fundraiser taught by Junior Council member, Joanna Stone, personal trainer and founder of Barre Vida. Women’s activewear designer Athleta co-sponsored the event, hosted at their Flatiron location.
Looking ahead, we’re excited to be building out our operating model and strategic plan for the next few years to accelerate our growth and impact! To learn more about the WINGS Junior Council, please visit our website. To get involved, contact the Member Engagement Chair Samantha Berenblum or Council Co-Chairs Kimi Goldstein and Laura Hellman.
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