Beneath the Surface: Oral Histories of South Florida’s Waters

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  Amanda Di Perna

  Amanda Di Perna and Anna Meredith

  In this interview, Amanda explains how she was able to jumpstart her career at a young age. Her passion for ocean advocacy started when she was a young windsurfer who would collect trash in the oceans while out on the water. This passion fueled her as she describes her undergraduate education at Florida International University as a Marine Biology student. She obtained an internship at Debris Free Oceans, where she ultimately started her professional career after graduation. Amanda emphasizes the importance of education in conserving our waterways, so she actively visits classrooms to speak on the harm of debris in our oceans, especially plastic, including micro-plastics.

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  Edward Pritchard

  Edward Pritchard and Janis Alvarez

  In this interview, Edward Pritchard discusses his deep connections to water and habitat conservation efforts in South Florida. Hailing from Jupiter, Florida, and presently employed in Miami-Dade Parks, Ed emphasizes his lifelong proximity to water. He underscores the significance of his current work in enhancing community outreach, particularly through Miami EcoAdventures, connected to Miami-Dade Parks. He highlights the transformative role of education on youth, emphasizing hands-on experiences, and draws from his own personal journey to elucidate these points.

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  Erick Magyar

  Erick Magyar and Arturo Espinosa

  In this interview, Erick Magyar, talks about where he grew up, his experiences getting involved in different environmental clubs during his undergrad in Florida International University, while pursuing a degree in Computer Science. Mr. Magyar talks about the importance of protecting our coral reefs and the effects of coral bleaching. Mr. Magyar also discusses different alternatives to protect our reefs, such as the use of solar panels throughout South Florida. Mr. Magyar dives into how his father influenced his passion for the water and the importance of protecting our waterways. Mr. Magyar uses his social media to share important information on the issues that are happening in our community, and most importantly those pressing issues regarding our environment.

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  Guy Forchion

  Guy Forchion and Diondra Casarez

  In this interview, Guy Forchion discusses the social and cultural impacts of Miami’s waterways, specifically Virginia Key Beach. Guy Forchion talks about his experience growing up in South Florida and how Virginia Key Beach had significant meaning to his childhood. He reflects on the changes, challenges, and experiences that he witnessed in Virginia Key Beach as well as his efforts to help restore Virginia Key Beach to its beautiful potential while being the Executive Director of the Virginia Key Beach Park Trust. He also highlights his experience working in Congress and how it was tied to his relationship with Virginia Key. Guy reflects on Virginia Key Beach as a landmark of community and harmony that created a recreational outlet for African Americans in South Florida.

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  Jill Reiter

  Jill Reiter and Aliya Shanes

  In this interview, Jill Reiter discusses her experience growing up in Miami and falling in love with water advocacy. She explains the environmental changes in Miami she has noticed over the years since her childhood, and how a marine biology class in high school inspired her passion for water advocacy. Jill refound her love of the water when she left her career as a lawyer to become a stay-at-home mom and took classes to become certified as an Advanced Florida Master Naturalist in her free time. Jill talks about the education work she has done as a volunteer ranger at Everglades National Park, her experiences on Miami Waterkeeper’s board of trustees, and the importance of educating the next generations of Miami’s communities about the importance of caring for our waterways.

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  Julia Wester

  Julia Wester

  In this interview, Julia Wester discusses the changes and experiences she has lived through as a co-founder of Field School and a Professor at the University of Miami. Professor Wester talks about her work at Field School, an organization that teaches students, and what it means for her team to be on the water almost every day conducting research. She also discusses her work as a social scientist, which allows her to study everyone's actions and try to explain why we act the way we do. Additionally, she spoke about how water quality has declined and how she has been able to interpret it.

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  Maggie Winchester

  Maggie Winchester

  In this interview, Maggie Winchester discusses the importance of the conservation of Miami's waterways. Although growing up in Vermont, Mrs. Winchester quickly found her love for the ocean and sea life. She was able to make this passion a career. She graduated from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth with a Master of Science in marine biology, and from there eventually moved to Miami, where she is now the Florida Program Specialist for Florida Conservation at Ocean Conservancy. She delves into the need for ocean conservation as well as different ways to move forward in the fight for ocean preservation. She explains how through policy and education, people can work towards increasing water quality and how ocean life will greatly benefit.

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  Mike Lambrechts

  Mike Lambrechts and Janis Alvarez

  In this interview, Mike Lambrechts talks about the strong connections and ties he has with South Florida water and habitat conservation efforts. Being from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and now volunteering, Mike has always been around water. He shares how important the work he is doing is to involve community outreach, through his volunteer leadership with Coastal Conservation Association (CCA). He stresses the importance and impact that education is having on youths, through hands-on experiences, and is able to share his own personal experiences in what coastal conservation efforts look like from a community perspective.

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  Sandy Moise

  Sandy Moise and Andrew Ruby

  In this interview, Sandy Moise discusses how she got into advocacy for South Florida waterways, specifically the rookery at Biscayne Bay. As an Ohio native, Sandy noted the differences between her home state and South Florida, mainly the numerous bodies of water in Miami. The COVID-19 pandemic served as a sort of catalyst for her love for Biscayne Bay, as she was able to observe the water and marine life free from the noise of busy channels. As she observed it over time, she noticed how the pollution and dangerous habits of those who use the waterway for recreation affected the marine life, plants, and birds that inhabit the rookery she works to preserve. She advocates for simple yet effective solutions to keep one of Miami’s premier tourist attractions clean and safe for the plants and animals that inhabit it.

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  Steven Leidner

  Steven Leidner and Joseph Perez

  In this interview, Steven Leidner talks about the importance of taking care of our environments. He talks about his passion for conserving the waterways because of his love for tropical fish. He speaks about his experience with the Walmart Developmental that took place in the Pine Rocklands endangered habitat. Leidner reflects on his experiences with advocacy for the environment and all of the things the City of Miami has done to environments that should be protected. He speaks about his involvement with Virginia Key Beach and the developments to Virginia Key over time. He highlights some of the environmental injustice by the county and city that have taken place. He touches on the issues with boat shows that sometimes have a disregard for the environment.

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  Suzee Bailey

  Suzee Bailey and Arturo Espinosa

  In this interview, Suzee Bailey, the founder of Resident’s for Resilience, talks about where she grew up, how her parents influenced her, and the main goals of her organization. She grew up around lakes and was always fascinated by water. Later, she moved to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. She was paddle boarding in this area after a major sewer spillage, and she contracted MRSA from being exposed to the contaminated water. This moment marked the beginning of her water advocacy efforts. She is most concerned with bridging the information gap, making sure that residents are aware of water contamination so that they can take preventative measures to prevent infection. She is also interested in proposing water restoration efforts such as bringing back native oyster species which can filter the water, or mangrove panels which can serve as storm walls. She also expressed concern about the housing situation in South Florida, and the need to elevate certain areas to avoid them being underwater in the near future.

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  Toni Lohroff

  Toni Lohroff and Anna Meredith

  In this interview, Toni Lohroff talks about the similarities and differences of living in Michigan, California, and Miami. Ms. Lohroff discusses what drives her to pursue marine biology and advocacy on behalf of ocean conservation. She describes how impactful education is on the future of our oceans. Toni explains that she is the education manager at International SeaKeepers and is always educating future generations of Miami on how we can conserve our beautiful waterways. Ms. Lohroff also explains her undergraduate and graduate research that has informed her understanding of the different waterways she has worked with. Even though she focuses on advocacy in the form of education now, she describes her passion for coral reefs, which relates to her research.