r(E)volutionary Woman

My guest today is Jessica Cox. Born without arms, Jessica drives cars, surfs, scuba dives, and otherwise lives a normal life using her feet as others use their hands. She believes that the way we think has a greater impact on our lives than our physical constraints. To prove her point while also overcoming her greatest fear, in 2008 Jessica became the first pilot in aviation history licensed to fly a plane with just her feet. Since then, she has visited 27 countries sharing her inspirational message as a keynote speaker.

To learn more about Jessica:

Website: https://jessicacox.com/
Facebook: JessicaCox
IG: rightfooted
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rightfooted/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF7Ogv-CKkU

Ngozi Okaro advocates for a fashion industry that honors planet and people. She founded Custom Collaborative to support immigrant & no/low-income women launching sustainable fashion

Today, Tes speaks with Hana Shannon. Hana is a classically trained painter from the Czech Republic specializing in portraiture.  She received her Master’s degree in painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague and moved to the US over a decade ago to pursue her painting career. The energy and freedom of NYC have always provided great inspiration.

Maggie Kane first and foremost has a passion for loving people. Full on hype queen, she is a speaker, entrepreneur, and Executive Director with a special focus in nonprofits and small, killer coffee shops.

8 years ago, Maggie founded A Place at the Table, Raleigh’s, NC’s pay-what-you-can nonprofit cafe, which has fed thousands of humans some incredible food, and an even better community. She believes strongly in the power of unconventional communities and showing everyone she meets that they have a place at the table.

She is a proud member of the Downtown Raleigh Alliance board, Band Together Advisory Board, and Feed the Pack Food Pantry Advisory Board at NCSU.

She lives in Raleigh, loves to jump rope, and eats a large amount of peanut butter. She loves hiking in the mountains and hour-long tattoo appointments. You’ll find her watching movies at the theaters in those big comfy chairs, skydiving, or breaking away for a quick 2-day weekend trip.

To learn more about Maggie Kane:
Table Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tableraleigh/
Table Website: https://tableraleigh.org/
Segment on Kelly Clarkson Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkQJeAFzZHc

JoAnna Haugen is an award-winning writer, speaker, consultant, and solutions advocate who has worked in communications-related positions in the travel and tourism industry her entire career.

She is also founder of Rooted, a solutions platform at the intersection of sustainable tourism, social impact, and storytelling. Through Rooted, JoAnna helps tourism professionals decolonize travel experiences and support sustainability using ethical marketing and strategic storytelling.

An international election observer, intrepid traveler, and American expat, JoAnna currently resides in Carthage, Tunisia.

To learn more about JoAnna Haugen:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rootedstorytelling/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joannahaugen/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/joanna_haugen

As Founder and CEO of Indigo River, Dena Prastos, AIA, is the first “waterfront architect,” trailblazing a new category in the industry. Indigo River is a women-owned transdisciplinary design firm focused on progressive waterfront architecture, resiliency, and climate adaptation. A leading authority in New York Harbor and beyond, the firm specializes in climate adaptation through waterfront solutions that seamlessly transcend boundaries – guiding and executing projects from ideation through final construction and operations.

Waterfront architect, civil engineer, futurist, climate adaptation expert, entrepreneur, and creative original, Dena is driven to transform the built world at the water’s edge. With transdisciplinary and progressive views, she is fueled by the overlapping of design, technology, and nature.

Dena is a licensed architect with a graduate degree in civil engineering. Born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, she deeply appreciates nature and humankind’s ability to design, build, and create infrastructure in some of the world’s harshest conditions. Dena is an experienced leader of innovative leading projects around the world, directing infrastructure construction, marine
engineering, and the design of waterfront architecture. This experience has given her the tools to navigate the firm’s diverse client work with her unique vision and competency in construction, engineering, and waterfront architecture.

As a one-stop shop for solutions at the water’s edge, Indigo River works on notable projects around New York Harbor including East Side Coastal Resiliency in Manhattan, Robert De Niro’s Wildflower Studios in Astoria, River Ring in Williamsburg, and the Harlem River Greenway in East Harlem.

Before starting Indigo River, Dena worked at DCAK MSA Architecture and Engineering as the Director of Project Management and Business Development, McLaren Engineering Group as a senior project manager and The Conti Group. Dena earned her Bachelor of Architecture at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), where she subsequently completed a graduate degree in Civil Engineering. At NJIT, she was a Division 1 soccer player. After gaining valuable experience in the industry, she went to Harvard Business School’s “Leading Professional Service Firms” Executive Education program.

She serves on the National Council of Architectural Registration Board’s (NCARB) Future’s Collaborative. In 2021, she joined the AIA Resilience and adaptation Advisory Group, and in 2022 she was asked to join AIA’s YAF Summit 30: Mission 2130; the Summit seeks to respond to critical issues present in the profession, namely, to address challenges the architecture
profession will face in the next century, focusing on architecture, society, and our planet. She also serves on her local Planning Board in historic Grand View-on-Hudson, New York.

PROFESSIONAL REGISTRATIONS: Registered Architect, NY, NJ & CT, AIA, NCARB, WEDG, LEED AP

ABOUT INDIGO RIVER:
Indigo River is a women-owned transdisciplinary design firm focused on progressive waterfront architecture, resiliency, and climate adaptation. A leading authority in New York Harbor and beyond, the firm specializes in climate adaptation through waterfront solutions that seamlessly transcend boundaries – guiding and executing projects from ideation through final
construction and operations.

To learn more about Dena Prastos and Indigo River:
https://www.instagram.com/indigo_river_/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/denaprastos/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/indigo-river-consulting/