SAMUEL JACKSON

Western Washington University, Fairhaven School of Interdisciplinary Studies, B.A., Environmental Anthropology

While at Western, Sam studied the relationship between climate change and natural resource conflict. After graduating, he parlayed his education into jobs in environmental education and forest restoration around the Puget Sound in Washington State. A passion for art and storytelling gradually invaded Sam’s stable life of building hiking trails and leading volunteer work parties, and he began developing a science fiction graphic novel set in East Africa. This led Sam in 2014 to spend seven months volunteering as an English teacher at Les Enfants de Dieu (EDD), a school for street children in Kigali, Rwanda. While at EDD, Sam was proud to collaborate with one of his students, illustrating a short story about a Rwandan superhero. Sam’s travels through Africa have taken him to the top of a 12,000-foot active volcano in the Democratic Republic of Congo and on a cross-continental road trip from Zanzibar to Cape Town. Currently, Sam is working as a freelance illustrator in New Orleans, Louisiana, and selling his comics to raise money for EDD. He is conversant in French. This fall, Sam will be working on the second chapter of his graphic novel and submitting applications to graduate programs in arts administration.

ALEXANDRIA FELTES

St Lawrence University, B.S., Conservation Biology, B.S. Global Studies (minor in African Studies)

An East Coast native, Alex focused her studies on conservation biology and global studies at St. Lawrence University, spending as much time outdoors as possible. During her junior year she traveled to eastern Africa, where she spent almost five months in Kenya and Tanzania. While abroad Alex completed an independent study on the Northern Coast of Kenya, helping the Watamu Marine Association to launch their local community ecotourism organization and their dolphin identification and survey team. Alex also spent a summer in South Africa studying wildlife and conservation management practices in both a terrestrial and marine setting. For the past two and a half years she has worked as a marine biology instructor at the Catalina Island Marine Institute (CIMI). At CIMI Alex also serves as an aquarist and one of their social media correspondents, creating educational videos about the incredible and diverse wildlife found throughout the island. Alex holds certifications in CPR, First Aid, and Waterfront Lifeguarding. She is also NAUI Rescue SCUBA certified. Alex is proficient in Swahili.