Lisa Niver's Blog: We Said Go Travel, page 115

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Want to Travel this Fall and Earn Orbucks Rewards?

This post is brought to you by Orbitz . While this was a sponsored opportunity, all content and opinions expressed here are my own.

People often ask me where should they travel
and how can they travel more?
Please find fall travel ideas below and in this brand new video:

My Fall Travel Suggestions:

 

SCOTTSDALE ARIZONA:

I stayed at the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess with a balcony overlooking Sunset Beach which has over 800 tons of fluffy, white sand and is the sixth and largest of the resort’s pools at 7,000 sq. ft., with zero-depth entry and a splash pad!
Lisa and Jen hiking with our Super Hero Capes at Tom’s Thumb
Tom’s Thumb in McDowell Sonoran Preserve is a challenging but rewarding hike, with switchbacks that earn you your cardio for the morning, and amazing views of the Sonoran Desert at the top! It’s 2 miles UP, and 2 miles back down.
Scottsdale’s McDowell Sonoran Preserve includes the beautiful McDowell Mountains, more than 30,500 contiguous acres and more than 200 miles of trails. The Preserve is open from sunrise to sunset and there is no charge for parking or access. It is the largest urban park or preserve in the United States.
Lisa and Ben as super heros kayaking Salt River
Jen and I kayaked on the Lower Salt River with Ben, a guide from AOA.

It was beautiful and relaxing. I loved being on the water. We also visited the immersive art exhibits at Wonderspaces Arizona.
VENICE BEACH, CALIFORNIA
Sunset from the rooftop at Hotel Erwin, Photo by Lisa Niver
I live in beautiful sunny Southern California. I often think about how many people travel from far away to come here for their vacations. I often spend an evening at the rooftop at the Hotel Erwin to watch the sunset. You can use this as your home away from home too!
Lisa Niver at Star Wars Millennium Falcon
Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to experience the brand new Star Wars Millennium Falcon ride at Disneyland. If you want to feel you have traveled to another dimension, this is your next ride.

EXPLORE THE SOUTH PACIFIC: VANUATU
I recently returned from an adventure in the South Pacific.
We visited Champagne Beach on Espiritu Santo and stayed at Barrier Beach Resort
Champagne Beach, Vanuatu
We climbed Mount Yasur the active volcano in Tanna and stayed at White Grass Resort.
Mount Yasur volcano in Tanna, Vanuatu
Mount Yasur volcano in Tanna, Vanuatu
In order to travel more, you can book with Orbitz.com
and immediately earn Orbucks rewards.

Feel the earn

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Orbitz’s tagline is “Rewarding Travel, Just Like That,” and they do. It is free, quick and easy to sign up and with your account, you will earn Orbucks on every purchase, and 1 Orbuck = $1. Earn more rewards by signing up for the Orbitz Rewards Dining program which does not require the Orbitz credit card but you can also sign up for the Orbitz Credit Card for even more rewards and additional rotating Special Promotions.

As an Orbitz Rewards member, you are also eligible for additional benefits including complimentary hotel upgrades, reimbursement for pet fees, and TSA PreCheck Membership at no cost.

Where will you travel next?

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Who Won the Best in Travel Photo Award 2019?

“A winner is someone who recognizes his God-given talents, works his tail off to develop them into skills, and uses these skills to accomplish his goals.” Larry Bird
We are honored to share the winners from our 2019 Best in Travel Photo Award.
Thank you to everyone who participated and our 4 amazing judges!
Click here to see all of the entries.

 

AND THE WINNERS ARE:
FIRST PLACE:  Pranab Basak for Morning netting in Bay of Bengal, India

 

SECOND PLACE:  Eduardo Armas for Rising Up in the Canary Islands
Raising up by Eduardo Armas
THIRD PLACE: Alex Gill for Footprints in Morocco
Footprints in Morocco by Alex Gill

Honorable Mention:


Katie McCormick for Rainbow Mountain Summit in Peru
Donnie Sexton for Sahara Adventure, Morocco
Syed Mahabubul Kader for Fishermen are preparing to fish in the sea of Bangladesh
Ivan Baxarias Doñaque for Le Mont Saint Michel at night with low tide: France
Andric Pasillas Rodríguez for The Garden of Serenity (Japan)

 

2018-19 Photo Award Finalists Part 1 and Part 2
Enkereri school children in Maasai Mara. Photo by Matt Payne
Thank you so much to our four judges!
Eve Boissonnault
Gary Arndt
Jeana
Matt Payne:

Matt and I traveled together in Tanzania and Kenya where he took this photo of me and the school children. He is recently back from Uganda and shared his photos and video in this article, “The Real Power of Travel Photography: A Photo Essay from Uganda” on We Said Go Travel.

Sunset in Santa Monica by Lisa Niver

Finalists from the 2017 Photo Award: Part 1 and Part 2

Winners from 2017 Award announced Sept 2018

Click here to see a list of winners from the We Said Go Travel writing competitions.

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Thank you LE Miami 2019 Conference: A Video Tour

1 Hotel South Beach LE Miami, Photo by Lisa Niver

Thank you LE Miami 2019 for including me in your conference. I loved my first time at your event. Our first day was at 1 Hotel South Beach which is stunning. Where did I stay? Cadillac Hotel and Beach Club

VIDEO: What is the Ministry of Ideas?

What happens at LE Miami?

On Monday June 17, 2019, I went to the Ministry of Ideas which is “ turns the traditional conference model on its head with an immersive program designed to promote collaboration, maximize creativity and cause conversations that will inspire the evolution of contemporary travel. We invite visionaries, experts and innovators at the top of their fields in travel, fashion, music, technology and beyond to unpack and forecast the latest trends; challenge participants to think differently; and inspire unexpected innovation.”

1 Hotel South Beach by Lisa Niver

There were multiple tracks and many workshops and talks.

I went to:

Cause Action Work 2: The Social Generation: Future-proofing Your Social Strategy

Cause Growth: From Transformation to Self-Actualization

Cause Action Work 1: Where Sense Meets Sound: How to Craft a Multi-Sensory Experience

Ministry of Information LE Miami 2019

Actioning Your Purpose: Finding Your Brand’s UnTapped Opportunity

Lunch at LE Miami with Serge Dive

Thank you again to LE Miami for including me in your conference. Special thank you’s to Eliza Bailey and Serge Dive!

VIDEO: Welcome to LE Miami PR & Media Meet ups

PR & Media Meet ups June 18 2019 at 1Hotel South Beach.

Who did I meet with?

Papaya Playa Project

The Diplomat Hotel

The Ocean Club, A Four Seasons Resort Bahama

Jaffa Tel Aviv

The Londoner Leicester Square

Arlo Hotels

Bankside Hotel

Small Luxury HOTELS OF THE WORLD.

BELMOND

Farol Hotel

GREATER MIAMI CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU

Into Japan

B SIGNATURE Hotels & Resorts

Beach Enclave

Illea Experience Hotel

Equinox HUDSON YARDS

ALAMANDAS

La Reserve

62 NORD

THE THIEF

Santo Maris OIA Your Own Island

ANDAZ Dubai

Aman

SAVOY

Lisa Niver at LE Miami 2019

Proper Hotels

Ovolo Group

Cuba Candela

Original Senses

Queen Of Clubs

Monte Carlo Hotel

Andaz Abu Dhabi

Puro Hotel

VIDEO: LE Miami Four Seasons Party at the SURF CLUB

LE Miami Four Seasons Party!

Rebels Welcome!

Four Seasons Party at LE Miami 2019

Thank you to Viktoria Riley, The Ocean Club, A Four Seasons Resort, Bahamas and Four Seasons Hotel at The Surf Club, Surfside, Florida.

I loved dancing at your party.

VIDEO:  5 LE Miami Meetings June 19 and 20, 2019

Who did I meet with in the LE Miami Marketplace?

Jennifer Wasserman, Director of Marketing – HALL Arts Hotel

Allison Dillon, Corporate Travel & Leisure Sales Manager – Thompson Nashville

Laia Climent, W Brand Ambassador, Southeast & Florida – W Atlanta- Midtown, W New Orleans- French Quarter and W Fort Lauderdale

LE Miami 2019 by Lisa Niver

Juan Carlos Gonzalez Carrillo, Director of Sales – ME Cabo

Randall Roop, Luxury Travel Sales Manager – Hutton Hotel Nashville

Lourdes Solis, Luxury Leisure Sales Manager – Solaz, a Luxury Collection Resort, Los Cabos

Mariana Malagon, Multiproperty Groups and Travel Manager – W Mexico City

Bryan Dunn, Director of Business Development – Life House

Vickie loannidou-Dracou, Director of Sales & Marketing – Original Senses

Stacy Shaw, VP, Sales and Business Development – Virgin Voyages

Elena Bruno, Director of Sales & Marketing – Romeo Hotel

Daniel Robbins, Senior Account Executive, Entertainment – W New York – Times Square and W New York – Downtown

Jessica Bradley, Senior Account Manager – EMEA – onefinestay

James Currie, Brand Ambassador: Wilderness Safaris – Wilderness Safaris: The Americas

Lauren Miller, Senior Account Executive, Consortia – W Hotels – W Austin, W Dallas – Victory and W Scottsdale

Laura Villalanti, Director of Entertainment & Leisure Sales – Dream Nashville & Dream South Beach

Maria Nikolakaki, Founder/ Managing Director – Beyond Spaces Villas

“Each year we host a small but select group of international luxury, travel and lifestyle media – journalists who really understand and can communicate the rebellious spirit that inspires our collective. LE Miami is the world’s first invitation-only trade event dedicated to defining the evolution in contemporary travel. We connect a crowd of limited edition design and lifestyle-led travel brands with high-end travel buyers representing the creative class. Our rebellious global collective comes together to share their creativity and drive our movement forward, inspiring the future of travel.”

VIDEO: 6 LE MIAMI Closing Party 2019 in Wynwood at Ice Palace

Thank you LE Miami for a fantastic conference.

I loved the closing party and my first visit to Wynwood.

Thank you again to LE Miami for including me in your conference.

Special thank you’s to Eliza Bailey and Serge Dive!

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Where to Stay in Miami? Cadillac Hotel and Beach Club

Cadillac Hotel and Beach Club, photo by Lisa Niver
Thank you LE Miami for inviting me to your 2019 conference.
Cadillac Hotel and Beach Club by Lisa Niver
Where did I stay?
Cadillac Hotel and Beach Club
I loved the design of the hotel and the two pools. After the conference, we had fresh coconuts by the pool. The cabanas are lovely and the beach is a short stroll on the boardwalk.You can have a massage in a cabana and the kids have their own special beach chairs with sand toys!  I enjoyed my stay! See you in Miami.
Welcome to my room! Cadillac Hotel and Beach Club
VIDEO:  Where to Stay in Miami Beach? Cadillac Hotel & Beach Club

MIAMI BEACH HOTEL DONE DIFFERENTLY
Sand of Miami, Inspiration of Europe

“A refined, European-inspired stay awaits at the new Cadillac Hotel & Beach Club. This luxurious Miami Beach oceanfront hotel exudes the style and taste of the Mediterranean complemented by the vibrancy of Miami Beach. Every aspect of the hotel embodies the spirit of the European Riviera — from its impeccable hospitality to its fresh seaside cuisine — and pairs it with Miami’s iconic Art Deco design. Our highly personalized Cadillac Concierge services tailor your stay exactly to your liking, ensuring your time with us is effortless, unique and unforgettable. And because we’re located just steps away from white sands of the Atlantic, Cadillac Hotel & Beach Club is the perfect Miami Beach hotel for a romantic getaway or luxury family vacation. Now there’s a new way to experience Miami Beach.”

Lisa, Luis and Simone at Cadillac Hotel
Team Cadillac at LE Miami 2019
Let’s go to the beach!

 

Join me under an umbrella!
For all the coolest kids staying at Cadillac!

 

I love the beach!
Breakfast at Donna Mare
See all of my LE Miami videos here!

What to do after LE Miami? Drink by the pool

The hotel is part of Autograph Collection’s diverse and dynamic portfolio of more than 160 independent hotels around the world that share values of vision, design and craft through each hotel’s unique identity and guest experience.

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Happy 50th Anniversary Sesame Street!

Sesame Street is 50!

Happy Anniversary!

“It started 50 years ago—a colorful community of monsters, birds, grouches, and humans. A place where everyone counts. For our anniversary, we are bringing people together from streets far and wide to celebrate 50 years and counting. A yearlong celebration with a celebrity-studded special, press and social buzz, events, partner activations, and social impact.”

I loved celebrating at the Sesame Street Road Show in Los Angeles.
I also got to see two Sesame Street shows at Beaches Turks and Caicos!
Lisa Niver and Grover at Beaches Turks and Caicos
When I was a little girl, we lived on Fort Benning military base in Georgia. My parents needed a special antennae so that I could watch Sesame Street on television. It was very important to them that I could watch this new show which was for small children like me.

Sesame Street: Ready for School! A Parent’s Guide to Playful Learning for Children Ages 2 to 5:

“For the past 50 years, Sesame Street has stood at the forefront of child development, stimulating and nurturing the minds of preschoolers not only through the iconic TV show, but also through books, games, mobile apps, and community engagement initiatives. With Ready for School!, Senior VP of Curriculum and Content at Sesame Workshop Dr. Rosemarie Truglio shares all the research-based, curriculum-directed school readiness skills that have made Sesame Street the preeminent children’s TV program, and that every parent needs in order to get their preschooler ready for lifelong learning.

Sesame Street Road Show with Team Beaches!
Aaron, Elmo and Lisa!

“Each of the book’s eight chapters focuses on a key area: language, literacy, math, science, logic & reasoning, social & emotional development, healthy habits, and the arts. An essential dynamic of Ready for School! is its emphasis on the importance of play in a child’s learning process. To respond to that need, dozens of “Play & Learn” activities are included to aid parents in educating their children: at the kitchen table, on the bus, in the park, or in the preschool classroom while playing together. In addition, the book recommends scores of hints, tips, ideas for useful products, and deep-dives on more complex topics for parents, all designed to make preparing young kids for school easy and joyful.”

 

 

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Reader’s Digest: There Is No One Bikini Body

Thank you to Lindsay Tigar and Reader’s Digest
for including me in your article:
“These 17 Empowering Swimsuit Pics Prove There Is No One Bikini Body”


Lindsay Tigar




Instead of thinking the worst about yourself and your body, let your bikini be a symbol of strength, acceptance, and beauty, celebrating the unique shape, curves, and imperfections that make you shine.

 

“I did not give up”

COURTESY LISA NIVER

I love this photo and feel happy because it reminds me that I did not give up. This was after I had sold my car, quit my job, and rented out my condo to go on an 18-month trip with my husband. On the trip, I chose to leave my marriage and return to the states; I felt I had nothing and I was so lost. It took time for me to realize that I had the most important things my life: my health and the chance to begin again. I am happy in this body. This is what 50 looks like.” —Lisa Niver, Travel Writer, We Said Go Travel

Thank you to Lindsay Tigar and Reader’s Digest
for including me in your article!

 

Learn more about Lisa Niver at LisaNiver.com

BIO:

Lisa Ellen Niver, M.A. Education,is a science teacher and an award-winning travel expert who has explored 101 countries and six continents. She is an award-nominated television host, travel journalist and passionate artist whosailed the seven seas by cruise ship for seven years and backpacked for three years in Asia. She is the founder of We Said Go Travel which was read in 212 countries in 2018 and named #3 on the top 1000 Travel Blog and the top female travel blogger 3 times in 2019. Find her talking travel at KTLA TV and in her We Said Go Travel videos with over one million views on her YouTube channel. She has hosted Facebook Live for USA Today 10best, is verified on both Twitter and Facebook, has over 150,000 followers across social media and ran fifteen travel competitions publishing over 2500 writers and photographers from 75 countries.

She has been a finalist for six Southern California Journalism Awards in the past three years for broadcast television as well as print and digital articles. She won an award for her print Jewish Journal article. Niver has written for AARP, American Airways, Delta Sky, En Route (Air Canada), Hemispheres (United Airlines), Jewish Journal, Luxury Magazine, Ms. Magazine, Myanmar Times, National Geographic, POPSUGAR, Robb Report, Saturday Evening Post, Scuba Diver Life, Sierra Club, Ski Utah, Smithsonian, TODAY.com, Trivago, USA Today 10best, Wharton Magazine and Yahoo. She is writing a book, “Brave Rebel: 50 Scary Challenges Before 50,” about her most recent travels and challenges. Look for her underwater SCUBA diving, in her art studio making ceramics or helping people find their next dream trip.

Read her recent articles in Ms. Magazine and TODAY.com
Watch her KTLA TV segments here.

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TODAY.com: Saving our Seas: One Staghorn Coral at a Time

Thank you to TODAY.com Parenting Team for publishing my article:
Saving our Seas: One Staghorn Coral at a Time
Does your family want to play in the ocean while also participating in saving our seas?

The team at Kimpton Angler’s Hotel in South Beach invites you to rescue a reef. They have adopted a section of the reef in collaboration with the University of Miami and you and your family can visit the coral garden.

Angler’s Reef Photo by Steve Boxall

Coral reefs thrive in a very limited zone of temperature and pH. Due to pollution, disease and major storms, many areas of the reef in Florida have been damaged. Around the world, concerned citizens and organizations have been re-planting coral to restore the reef and rebuild natural habitats for many marine organisms, while protecting coastlines and coastal communities from storm surge and flooding.

Dalton Hesley, Sr. Research Associate, University of Miami’s (UM) Benthic Ecology and Coral Restoration Lab explained: “We are thankful to have been able to connect and collaborate with Kimpton Angler’s in order to advance coral reef conservation and restoration. With their support, we were able to restore a beautiful coral site aptly named ‘Angler’s Reef.’ Our mission is to build community and coastal resilience through ongoing research, coral restoration, and public engagement which would not be possible if not for collaborators like Kimpton Angler’s.”

The coral reef site is a short boat ride from the Miami Beach Marina and is located at 25.659617° -80.097550°. My group went on the underwater journey with Deco divers. While most of the group enjoyed snorkeling the site with Will and Captain Annie, Anna and I went scuba diving with Patrick and were able to see the new staghorn coral up close. We spent over an hour in the renewed coral garden and were mesmerized by our dive.

Watch my video of our dive: Angler’s Reef Boat Trip with Kimpton Angler’s Hotel 

After diving around the world in Sipadan, Bora Bora, Indonesia and Thailand, I have to admit I was not expecting to be impressed by the sea life near Miami Beach. However, I was shocked by both the variety and the size of the animals we encountered.

We saw one of the largest green moray eels I have ever seen and I have seen quite a few 4 to 5 foot eels in Cozumel. It was a giant. We saw a large crab dance across the coral as well as two very big lobsters. We saw many Pedersen’s Cleaner shrimps and schools of fish of all colors and sizes. I loved seeing a variety of Angelfish including both Queen and French Angelfish. Please enjoy my video below but know that you and your small snorkelers are invited to see it yourself during your stay at Kimpton Angler’s.

On your excursion like ours, you can have lunch on the boat and enjoy the beautiful views of Miami beach as you enter into and go out of the harbor.

Miami Beach Marina by Lisa Niver

Sinem Kaya, General Manager, Kimpton Angler’s Hotel, joined me on our excursion and told me about Kimpton’s commitment to becoming part of the fabric of the local community and supporting projects that really can change the world. In fact, the original buildings of Kimpton Angler’s hotel were built in the 1930s by Mr. and Mrs. Townsen as a boutique hotel. They lived in the cottage next to the hotel now known as the villas. They both loved to fish and rumor has it that Ernest Hemingway, a close friend of the Townsen’s, was a frequent guest and inspired the Angler’s nautical traditions.

Kaya told me that the historical heritage of the hotel “ties us inextricably to the ocean that surrounds us and we want to make sure the creatures of the sea are taken care of for our children and their children. We enthusiastically joined University of Miami and their Rescue-a-Reef program to share this important work and the beauty of our oceans with our guests.”

Kimpton Angler’s Hotel pool in South Beach. Photo by Lisa Niver

I personally have participated in several citizen science projects to help restore reefs from Belize to Bonaire and commend Kimpton Angler’s for adopting a reef and adding this guided excursion so that guests can explore Miami Beach from top to bottom!

You may have been told that rainforests are the lungs of the Earth, and they do produce nearly a quarter of atmospheric oxygen. However, the rainforest consumes nearly all the oxygen it produces. Most of our atmospheric oxygen actually comes from the oceans which are the actual lungs of our planet and need our protection.

By restoring the staghorn coral, which is one of the most important corals in the Caribbean, we create “thickets” which are a habitat for reef animals, especially fish. Without this, the entire ecosystem suffers. UM and Kimpton Angler’s Hotel added 300 staghorn corals and two underwater “trees” installed at the nearby Key Biscayne underwater nursery. Each “tree” holds approximately 120 coral fragments which are used to naturally propagate hundreds of additional fragments and restore more reefs in the future. A year later, the planted coral at Angler’s Reef is thriving and has grown to the size of a large basketball.

Staghorn Coral at Angler’s Reef. Photo by Lisa Niver June 2019
Thank you to University of Miami and Kimpton Angler’s for choosing to make a difference for our ocean and for all our futures.

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Happy August! We Said Go Travel News 2019

August  News  2019 with We Said Go Travel:
Happy end of Summer! Thank you for all of your support!

 

Thank you to Carmen Rios and Ms. Magazine for publishing my article:
“The Scully Effect and the Feminist Future of STEM”

“This Changes Everything:” Screening and Panel at LA Press Club
Thank you to the LA Press Club for the screening of Geena Davis’ documentary,
“This Changes Everything!”

Thank you to Candice Georgiadis for interviewing me
for Authority Magazine about The Future of Travel!

I am currently traveling in the South Pacific scuba diving!
I cannot wait to share my photos and videos with you.
Do you want to learn more about SCUBA?
Meet me at the next SCUBA SHOW:
click here to learn more about it!
Read about my dive in Florida
on TODAY.com:
Saving our Seas: One Staghorn Coral at a Time

or join me underwater in this video:
 Do You Want To Save Our Seas?

Thank you to everyone who entered our 2018 Travel Photo Award.
Find out about our 24 finalists and see their photos: Part one and Part two
Click here to see all the published entries.
We will announce the winners in September 2019.
Thank you so much to our four judges!
Eve Boissonnault
Gary Arndt
Jeana
Matt Payne:

Matt and I traveled together in Tanzania and Kenya where he took this photo of me and the school children. He is recently back from Uganda and shared his photos and video in this article, “The Real Power of Travel Photography: A Photo Essay from Uganda” on We Said Go Travel.

Enkereri school children in Maasai Mara. Photo by Matt Payne

 

WHERE CAN YOU FIND MY TRAVEL VIDEOS?

Here is the link to my video channel on YouTube where I have over one million views on YouTube! Thank you for your support! Are you one of my 2,319 subscribers? I hope you will join me and subscribe!

Recent videos from speaking at Metro Women’s Leadership Summit, IPW Anaheim 2019  and my trip to Miami for the LE MIAMI conference.

To see more We Said Go Travel articles, TV segments, videos
and social media: CLICK HERE







Thank you for watching my videos, reading my stories, following along on social media and asking me about booking your travels!
Have you seen all of my KTLA TV news segments?
Click here to watch them.

My fortune cookies said:
“The rainbow’s treasures will soon belong to you”
“Good things come to those who wait. Be patient!”
Thank you for your all of your support. Lisa

Discover more on my social media accounts:  Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and at LisaNiver.com. My social media following is now over 160,000 and I am verified on both Twitter and Facebook.

I now have over
ONE MILLION VIEWS on my YouTube channel!

Please visit my channel and
subscribe, like and comment about my We Said Go Travel videos!

Want to watch some of my videos?

Here  is a post about my most watched/top 10 travel videos from 10 different countries.

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Ms. Magazine: The Scully Effect and the Feminist Future of STEM

Thank you to Ms. Magazine and Carmen Rios for publishing my article:
“The Scully Effect and the Feminist Future of STEM”

During summer vacation, STEM still matters. How can we keep young girls and women interested in technology and the most lucrative jobs that will define our future?

The fourth annual AT&T SHAPE 2019 conference this June at Warner Brothers Studios was focused on 5G and the future of entertainment—and in a jam-packed panel called “The Scully Effect,” actor and activist Geena Davis, The Big Bang Theory cast member Mayim Bialik and astrophysicist Erin Macdonald discussed the leaky pipeline for women to careers in STEM, and how to make that future more female.

Video from The Scully Effect

BURBANK, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 22: (L-R) Dr. Erin Macdonald, Geena Davis and Mayim Bialik speak onstage during ‘The Scully Effect – I Want to Believe in STEM’ panel at AT&T SHAPE at Warner Bros. Studios on June 22, 2019 in Burbank, California. (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for AT&T)

Over 20,000 people attended SHAPE and experienced some of the latest new tech on the market firsthand. But our impressive advances are still limited by who gets to dream them up, and who gets to shape their construction.

The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media first identified “the Scully Effect.” The character of Agent Dana Scully in the X-Files inspired 63 percent of the women in science surveyed by the organization to pursue their work in the male-dominated STEM fields. Macdonald even explained on stage that she chose her career, her haircut and her trench coat based on the character.

When I was in high school, I was very good at science. My biology teacher told me to be a doctor, so I thought about it, and I did take pre-med classes at University of Pennsylvania. I even was accepted and went to UCSF Medical School, which is one of the best in our nation. But I left medical school. Only later, as a science teacher, did I learn about forensic science and water treatment plants, and realize that I never had thought about being a research scientist when I was growing up.

But getting women and girls interested in STEM fields is only the beginning. Widespread harassment, a general lack of mentorship opportunities and the demands of balancing work and family still push many would-be scientists, techies and innovators out of the field. Two-thirds of girls in fourth grade are interested in science, but this rapidly declines as they enter middle school and high school. Women are 50 percent of college graduates, but hold only 28 percent of STEM jobs.

“Every sector of our society has a gender imbalance,” Davis remarked during the discussion, adding that simply changing the names in a script from male to female can create parity on television—and fuel more “Scully Effects” in viewer’s lives. When women see themselves in characters on-screen, they can imagine new realities for themselves in the world.

The Geena Davis Institute isn’t the only organization working to help women re-envision their potential; the Women’s Media Center regularly evaluates women’s representation in entertainment and news media, and groups like Women & Hollywood celebrate the work of women across entertainment mediums and encourage viewers to do the same. And the #SeeHer movement, which launched in 2016 with the aim of delivering a 20 percent increase in the accurate portrayal of women and girls in advertising and media by 2020, and the Cannes Lions “See it, Be It” initiative are also both focused on increasing the number of women in media.

Lisa Sherman from The Ad Council spoke on a panel this month at Cannes Lions—on a panel with Tara Walpert Levy, the VP of Agency and Brand Solutions at Google; Linda Boff, Chief Marketing Officer at GE; Linda Yaccarino, Chair of Advertising and Partnerships at NBCUniversal; and Suzanne Kounkel, Chief Marketing Officer at Deloitte—about their own campaign to share real life STEM role models with girls.

#SheCanSTEM was launched in partnership with MTV as a series of five videos spotlighting female sound engineers, marine biologists, animators and engineers. Across city bus stop benches and billboards, the campaign also highlights STEM careers and inspirations for girls and women passing by.

“If you care about equality, you have to embrace diversity—especially now, as people in tech are programming our computers and designing artificial intelligence,” Melinda Gates wrote in her book, The Moment of Lift. “We’re at an infant stage of AI. We don’t know all the uses that will be made of it—health uses, battlefield uses, law enforcement uses, corporate uses—but the impact will be profound, and we need to make sure it’s fair.”

Joy Buolamwini, an African American computer scientist at MIT Media Lab, is certain that it isn’t. Her research exposed racial and gender bias in facial recognition software: the error rate for recognizing light-skinned males with such programs, she found, was less than one percent; for darker-skinned females, it shot up to 35. As AI infiltrates our lives more and more, will some people be unrecognizable?

“African American women are only 3 percent of the entire tech workforce; Hispanic women, 1 percent,” Gates confirmed. “Women comprise about a quarter of the tech workforce and hold just 15 percent of the technical jobs.” These disparities shape tech—and our culture at-large by extension. “If we want a society that reflects the values of empathy, unity and diversity,” Gates wrote, “it matters who writes the code.”

We need women in STEM. We need female characters on TV. We need diversity of people and of thought in all of our occupations. “Study after study has shown that diversity leads to more creative teams and increases a company’s bottom line,” Female Quotient founder Shelley Zalis explained in Forbes. “According to McKinsey, companies ranking in the top quartile of executive-board diversity were 35 percent likelier to financially outperform the industry medians. Other research finds that inclusive teams make better business decisions 87 percent of the time.”

Diversity is good for business and it’s good for all of us. Whether it’s on-screen or in the lab, parity in tech is a pivotal part of building a feminist future.

BURBANK, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 22: (L-R) Mayim Bialik, Geena Davis and Dr. Erin Macdonald pose backstage during ‘The Scully Effect – I Want to Believe in STEM’ panel at AT&T SHAPE at Warner Bros. Studios on June 22, 2019 in Burbank, California. (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for AT&T)

Read my article on Ms. Magazine

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