Today, March 8th, is International Women’s Day, a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. We thought we would use this opportunity to showcase some of the amazing, talented and passionate women who have helped and continue to make One Ocean Expeditions the company it is today. From the ship to the shore, here are just a few of the many superstars in the OOE family.
Maria Cashin, Expedition Leader & Geologist
Expedition Leader, geologist, adventurer and now Fellow of the RCGS. Maria Cashin has always had a strong connection to nature, spending her childhood summers exploring Newfoundland’s dramatic coastlines, sweeping barrens and thick boreal forests. She is passionate about the Polar Regions and conservation of this area, embracing opportunities to nurture ambassadors for these areas through her work.
Cathy Lawton, General Manager
General Manager of One Ocean Expeditions, Cathy brings 20 years of experience in the expedition cruising industry. Instrumental to the development of the brand, she established OOE as a leading polar operator, while maintaining brand values and authenticity. With an extensive background in environmental policy, Cathy is proud to share her passion for environmental and social responsibility, focusing on economic development in the Canadian North through sustainable Arctic travel. Her approach to responsible tourism and her passion for creating industry-leading, unique programming ensures that guests become ambassadors for the remote regions we travel to. Her attention to detail, continually striving for excellence and ‘big picture’ approach has been essential to the success of the company. Cathy’s role in establishing partnerships with like-minded organizations has elevated the guest experience and the OOE brand. She is an RCGS fellow and received the Erebus medal for her contribution to the Victoria Straight Expedition 2014.
Eva Molin-Westerholm, Program Coordinator
Eva has been an influential member of the One Ocean Expeditions team from its inception. Her mentorship in the expedition industry is one of her most powerful skills, creating memories for guests with her knowledge and deep understanding of the areas in which we travel.
Jenn Burling, Sales Manager
Jenn’s passion for travel was born out of a number of early opportunities to travel throughout high school as a competitive gymnast as well as a French exchange program. After graduation, she travelled to New Zealand & Australia. This trip prompted Jenn to pursue post-secondary studies in International Tourism Management. Jenn’s career in the travel industry now spans 20 years and her travels have grown to include over 25 countries and counting. Her most recent visit to Canada’s Arctic territory of Nunavut was a lifetime highlight. Jenn joined the OOE sales team four years ago. Born and raised in British Columbia, Jenn now resides in Squamish with her family and continues to share her passion for unique experiences with her clients, colleagues and family, as she is always excited to assist in the planning of the next big adventure.
Denise Landau, Historian-in-Residence
Denise has dedicated most of her life to the outdoors, and so it follows that her vocational projects involve environmental conservation. As President and CEO of “Friends of South Georgia Island” and a Trustee for South Georgia Heritage Trust, Denise works on global strategic conservation projects, helping the regions she visits. Her passion for conservation is contagious.
Kaylan Worsnop, Expedition Leader
Kaylan has been guiding since 2014, leading groups in six different countries over four continents. Working primarily in Antarctica, she sees first hand the transformation that wild landscapes can inspire. The Polar regions will change you. Sculpting the experience of a life-changing voyage is the most rewarding job she never expected to have.
Katie Murray, Historian-in-Residence
Historian-in-Residence, Katie teaches our guests about the fascinating history of the destinations we visit. With a PhD in Polar History and a background in museum studies, she is a passionate storyteller with an abundance of knowledge that she loves to share. Katie even spent a summer working as the Curator of the South Georgia Museum. Currently assisting in the development of the One Ocean Expeditions educational department, Katie offers a warm smile to everyone who comes aboard.
Carla Santos, Sales and Operations Manager (Lisbon)
Carla started her life Maputo, Mozambique, moved to Portugal as a teenager and then to Australia for 20 years. She has since moved back to Portugal to reconnect with her cultural heritage. Carla has worked in the travel industry for over 28 years and within this long history, adventure travel is her strongest passion and more than half of her working life has been dedicated to the polar regions. Carla’s reputation and commitment to doing whatever it takes to make people’s travel dreams come true led her to be one of the first recruits to the One Ocean Expeditions team.
Daisy Gilardini, Photographer-in-Residence
An award-winning conservation photographer, Daisy has spent over 20 years exploring the polar regions and specializes in the photography of Antarctic wildlife and North American bears. As a regular host of One Ocean Expeditions’ Photography Symposium voyages and a Photographer-In-Residence for both OOE and the RCGS, Daisy has an impressive resume. The renowned photographer has skied the final degree to the North Pole, has been published internationally in leading magazines and has been recognized by some of the world’s most prestigious photography awards.
Alex Anaviapik, Cultural Guide
As an onboard Culture Guide with One Ocean Expeditions, Alex has a passion for teaching guests about the North, its culture and its people. Growing up in the High Arctic, Alex has studied her culture and works as a volunteer and researcher on important projects that assist and promote her community, as well as building ocean literacy awareness. Believing in the powerful experience that is visiting the North, she helps guests see things from the Inuit point of view and offers a unique perspective on Inuit life.
Hannelore Cuypers, Sea Kayak Guide
Hannelore had an adventurous childhood living in the Lofoten Norway, travelling, paddling, hiking, climbing, and wild-camping. An expedition in Alaska when she was 7, followed the year after by a mountain trekking in the Alps, made life-lasting impressions on her. After graduating in 2009 she worked in Norway as a general dental practitioner, but her passion for nature and guiding never disappeared, and she became a summer tour leader for the Norwegian Trekking Association in 2014. Hannelore has worked for One Ocean Expeditions as sea kayak guide both in the Arctic and Antarctica, but her biggest achievement so far is an almost half year expedition covering the Norwegian border, a 2986 km trek, on foot, snowshoes and skis, whilst wild-camping in four seasons. She left her dental career in 2016 for a position in Antarctica, working and living at the historical site Port Lockroy.
Debra Taylor, Business Development Manager (Bristol)
Debra has many years’ experience in the travel industry and has held director-level positions in several international companies specialising in expedition cruises. Debra has been with One Ocean Expeditions since the beginning and manages the business development in the UK, Europe and Rest of the World markets, working with agents, media and on relationships with third parties. Having recently bought a cottage for renovation in Dorset, she likes nothing more than taking herself down there, popping on her hiking boots and going off for a jolly good walk! She has been lucky enough to do a fair amount of polar travel including having been to both the North and South Poles.
A huge thank you to all of our team for making One Ocean Expeditions possible.