Women Making Waves 2023

 

Nine More Women Shaping Our Seas and Surfing

Written by SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel

This is the eighth year for SurfWriter Girls annual Women Making Waves story focusing on nine amazing women making a difference in the lives of our oceans and in surfing.

Like the ninth wave in a set, that is more powerful than the rest, these women have had a powerful impact on the world. Scientists, surfers, environmentalists, artists, and more. SurfWriter Girls Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel are excited to introduce you to this lineup of dynamic women.

Natalie Brake, mixed-media, surf and nature artist based in Vancouver and Mexico, draws inspiration from these distinctly different cultures and her love of the ocean. Though her artworks are experimental and abstract, her surfing style is old school, favoring longboards and a mellow way of riding the waves. Fascinated by the changing patterns in water and star-filled night skies, Brake often includes these images in her paintings. Her Luminescence Works series combines both worlds with images that mimic ocean phosphorescence and the Aurora Borealis lights.

Emily Himmelstoss, a supervisory geologist with the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center in Massachusetts, is focusing on shoreline change. For more than fifteen years she has been at the forefront of developing Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) software that can help decision makers protect coastlines and prepare for coastal hazards, including extreme storms, coastal erosion, and sea level changes. In addition to working with research scientists, she is also creating collaborative ways for data experts, government agencies, NGOs, and private citizens to communicate about coastal issues.

Cindy Lee, Chief Fun Officer and agent at Bucket List Coach Travel and Tours and a National Day Ambassador, is an enthusiastic booster of all things Huntington Beach. In addition to her day job of helping people discover new places and adventures, she is a community volunteer in HB (Surf City USA), promoting its attractions and lifestyle. A strong supporter of the North Orange County Surfrider Foundation, which is dedicated to protecting oceans and beaches, Lee can be found at beach events and cleanups lending a hand and sharing the stoke.

Pacha Light, a former pro surfer, born in Ecuador, with endorsements from Billabong and Go Pro, is an environmentalist and supporter of SeaTrees and the Surfrider Foundation. Wherever her surfing adventures take her she tries to pay her good fortune forward by giving away one or more of her preloved surfboards to young surfers starting out on their own journeys. Pacha's underlying goal in everything she does is to "take care of Mother Earth." She enjoys being in the "sweet embrace of nature" and knows it's important to protect it. Her Women of the Sea video project tells the stories of Japanese and South Korean Ama, abalone divers.

Kassia Meador, founder of surf brand Kasia+Surf, makes "functional and radical women's wetsuits, accessories and lifestyle gear" with an emphasis on performance and protecting the environment. A sponsored, professional surfer by the age of 17, who the New York Times dubbed "the queen of noseriding" for her graceful style, Meador was ranked #2 on the WSL women's longboard tour in 2011. In 2015 she launched her company, a brand "for women by women." She wants to help empower women to live their dreams through "active lifestyle choices and experiences."

Cynthia Mejia-Giudici, who spent her early years at the Sand Point Naval Base in Seattle, Washington, where her father was stationed, has strong ties to the sea and to preserving her Filipino culture. A preservation specialist for Seattle's Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific Experience and the Filipino American National Historical Society, she has been involved in community outreach and is working on a project to deepen the understanding of the Filipino American presence in Seattle's Chinatown-International District. Currently she is conducting a study to identify Filipino American historical sites for preservation.

Jin-Si R. Over, a geographer with the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center in Massachusetts, is also a drone pilot specializing in coastal aerial imaging and mapping. With a background in micropaleontology, she is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Hollings Scholar, who says that, after studying in Hawaii, "the beach stole my heart." Using geographic information systems (GIS) data, aerial photography and satellite imagery, Over can monitor and measure coastal changes, providing pictures and elevation maps of shorelines and wetlands.

Mindy Pennybacker, author Surfing Sisterhood Hawaii and a journalist with the Honolulu-Star Advertiser, is a strong supporter of women surfers and the surfing culture they share dating to the 19th Century. In addition to documenting the accomplishments of women surfers and the trailblazers who have grown the sport, Pennybacker is helping to build connections with today's women surfers. She wants the ocean to be a place all people can enjoy and feel welcome. Her book emphasizes the sisterhood women surfers share and celebrates the fun that comes from riding the waves.

Vanessa Yeager, founder Women Who Surf (WWS) social media group and Latinx Surf Club, teaches and encourages women and Latino kids to surf. Growing up far from the ocean in Moreno Valley, California, Yeager got hooked on surfing watching the "Gidget" movie on TV. Moving to Newport Beach, she took up surfing herself and later, as a new mother, started Surf Mommas to give support to other moms who surfed, sharing information, and watching each other's kids at the beach. The group, which became WWS, expanded to include all women surfers and now has close to 30,000 members around the world.

Leaders in their chosen fields, each woman shares one thing in common – a passion for the ocean and a desire to make the world better.

To see more amazing Women Making Waves, see SurfWriter Girls previous stories.

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Sunny Magdaug and Patti Kishel hold the exclusive rights to this copyrighted material. Publications wishing to reprint it may contact them at surfwriter.girls@gmail.com Individuals and non-profit groups are welcome to post it on social media sites as long as credit is given.