Hi there! I’m Izze, director of The FEO Project.

I grew up between New York City and the archipelago of Penobscot Bay, Maine. I spent the school year falling in love with writing & photography and all summer sailing as much as I could: racing, teaching, and cruising with family & friends around some really special islands. My love of nature and new places led me to California for college, where I started surfing and studied Geography and Environmental Systems & Society. 

My first year at UCLA,  my ecology professor said something that has been ringing in my ears ever since: We have the science on climate change, but it’s  stories that we need. Stories inspire people to act. From that moment on, I knew I wanted to be part of finding and telling those stories.

While sailing, surfing, and walking my way around wild places, I’ve found it’s the good feelings— hope, love, and gratitude— that get me outside and deepen my connection to the Earth. I believe sharing that experience with others has the power to be transformative, so I’m working to cultivate my own sense of optimism and make it contagious. This project is my attempt to combine my love of sailing with my passion for storytelling in service of island communities and climate action.

My dream is that the stories and images that emerge from this voyage will directly benefit the projects & people we encounter as well as inspire more sustainable and nature-led living near and far. I hope you can find a way to support us, get involved, or follow along.

With gratitude for you & land & sea,

Izze