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There is a time in all of our lives when something speaks to or touches our soul. How did you or will you respond when such moments arrive?
This council is dedicated to this theme and will be filled with stories from people who heard and answered the call of the whales and dolphins. Gigi Coyle will share about such times in her life and Leah will share about how the call of whales came through storytelling. Together they will explore what it means to listen and respond, to discover a pathway and reach out to others who have as well. We look to open a continuing conversation for your own inquiry and sharing in this and future councils.
We will also be joined by Ted Cheeseman, creator of Happy Whale, a photo identification system that will make it possible for us to have a better understanding of the whales who we live with and travel through our home waters. Ted's work reminds us that knowing the whales we live with, provides more ways to know their stories.
Ted will be joined by his sister, mermaid, and whale dreaming council member, Tara Coyote.
Featured Guests
Gigi Coyle, Leah Lamb & Ted Cheeseman
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Gigi Coyle is a community activist, council carrier, and life passage guide for individuals, organizations and communities. She is currently a guardian for Walking Water, The Topa Institute, Ways of Council and the European Council Network.
She has been described as a “field catalyst,” contributing to citizen diplomacy, women’s empowerment, and the healing so needed around power and wealth.
Gigi has been blessed to spend time with whale dreamers and places where such relationships have been historically rooted. She has travelled to many continents with this focus - spent five summers in British Columbia island waters, gathering an Interspecies Communication community with the ORCA whales as well as devoted two years creating the first permitted program to release dolphins from captivity.
Leah Lamb is the author of The Whale Dreamer. She is a storyteller, writer, and committed to reconnecting to the whales we live among. Her work lives at the intersection of myth, activism, and the restoration of our embodied belonging to the living world.
She produced & hosted The Green Channel at Al Gore’s network, developed social impact campaigns The Mystery of Love and Food Inc for ‘Active Voice’ with The Ford Foundation, consulted for Pachamama Alliance on communications, has covered the UN Climate Conferences, and written about culture and the environment for National Geographic New Watch, Fast Company, and Spirituality & Health Magazine. She lives in Maui, where she swims in the songs of humpback as often as possible.
Ted Cheesman grew up whale watching in California's Monterey Bay. In 1980, his parents, both naturalists and educators, founded Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris. In 1994, Ted joined the company as a leader of ecology based wildlife safaris, working on all seven continents. After earning a Masters of Science in Conservation Biology from Duke University, Ted returned to the company to lead polar expeditions.
For decades Ted was deeply involved in Antarctic expedition management. He served on the executive committee of the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO) for five years, where he helped minimize the environmental impact of tourism in Antarctica.
With over three decades of experience in eco-tourism, much of it in Antarctica, Ted has experienced first-hand the impacts of humans on marine ecosystems. While some current trends are encouraging – the recovery of many great whale populations, for example – many trends highlight the challenges facing marine wildlife.
In 2015, Ted stepped down from his role with Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris to focus on marine conservation. In 2024, Ted completed a PhD studying humpback whales in the North Pacific. Ted sees a huge opportunity to capture scientific data to further our understanding and care for the oceans and all marine life. Happywhale was born out of Ted's desire to create an innovative research and citizen science program that helps us better understand whales as individuals.