Kathryn Pharr
Kathryn Pharr is the leader of a global community of women who focus on issues related to water. Kathryn believes that water is a source for female empowerment. She founded the Community of Women in Water as a global network which now counts more than 1000 members. Their focus is empowering women who work professionally in WASH (i.e., water, sanitation and hygiene). The Community of Women in Water want women to be leaders in WASH on the local to global levels.
Manuela Zoninsein
Manuela Zoninsein began as a journalist in China. While there, she witnessed a shift from reusable to single-use water bottles. The Brazilian-American’s love for beaches in Rio de Janeiro and her studies at MIT-Sloan Executive MBA program, led her to start Kadeya, a company that aims to replace single-use plastic bottles with an innovative vending machine that reduces plastic consumption.
Margaret Wertheim
Margaret Wertheim is an Australian-born science writer and artist who with her twin sister founded the Institute for Figuring. The Los-Angeles-based nonprofit explores the interrelationship of art, science, mathematics, and women’s handiwork. The Crochet Coral Reef is one of their projects and what we will focus our discussion on today. Margaret Wertheim holds degrees in mathematics and physics. Based on the mathematical discoveries of another mathematically-minded woman, Margaret and her twin sister Christine originated the Crochet Coral Reef project as a response to climate change. The Wertheims’ crocheted representations of coral has become a global collaboration with tens of thousands of people contributing their own pieces to citizen-generated art-installations.
