Annie, “OCEAN ANNIE” environment educator of the ocean, one of America’s leading inspirational speakers . She is founder of www.DiveIntoYourImagination.com. Her company changes the way a new generation views the ocean. As an underwater cinematographer and environment educator, Annie has created a series of award winning books, DVDs, motivational art series and has become a Les Brown Platinum Speaker.
Originally from Chicago, Annie has spent the past two decades living and working around the world. Traveling from Indonesia to Galapagos, Belize to Papua New Guinea, Annie has explored and documented life on our planet! Annie was inspired by her Grandmother words when she was 10 years old, “You have to travel when you are young because when you get to be my age, you can’t climb the mountains!”
Currently based in Santa Barbara, California, Annie works as a producer, photographer and motivational speaker. Specializing in the underwater realm she utilizes her skills as an underwater cinematographer, scuba diving instructor and USCG 100 ton boat captain on many of her assignments. Annie’s work has been published and broadcast worldwide, and the goal of Dive into Your Imagination is to be in every school around the world and giving the gift of the Ocean to all.
In the past two years, Annie has been on a public speaking tour reaching thousands of children, parents, professionals and corporations. Dive Into Your Imagination has received many awards including those from the Teachers’ Choice Award, Kids First endorsement, three iParenting Awards, and three platinum and one gold award from the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio 2009 Awards. In addition to this, Annie has written instructor training manuals, launched www.DiveIntoYourImagination.com, and her signature collection of images, posters, cards, magnets, window clings plus more partnering the ocean with inspirational messages.
Although she loved the movie, Finding Nemo® and the exposure it gave to our oceans, it was only a story. She wants to give our children the real story, expose them to real animals and teach about their natural history. Animals are so “animated” in their natural environment; they don’t need any stories but their own. This is why Annie created the Dive into Your Imagination series for kids, to get them out of the virtual world and into the real world. It is better than cartoons! She truly believes that kids will help educate their parents and many of the myths about our oceans and water will be dispelled. She wants kids growing up loving the water and all the animals because we protect what we love. This is a difficult concept for people to grasp, that everything we do on land affects our lakes, oceans and our planet. We look at a body of water and we don’t think of it as a living breathing organism that is the home to thousands of animals. Depending on our understanding and experiences, some people even fear Mother Ocean. This is what Annie hopes to change by transforming through entertaining education. Save Our Seas, a foundation from Geneva, helped Annie get the educational messages about our ocean out into the world!
She wants everyone to understand the importance of the ocean. It creates about 70% of the oxygen our planet needs for survival.
She has touched, moved and inspired children and adults by showing them how to “dive into their imagination” and to create the future they want to live. We are not creatures of our pasts and we can be anyone we want today. Our lives are filled with possibilities and choices if we are there to take them. She is teaching and empowering children to want to live on a healthy planet that they helped create.
Annie invites you to “Dive into Your Imagination!”
http://www.DiveIntoYourImagination.com