Creative Alliance

Anna Callaghan is a freelance writer and filmmaker based in Boulder, Colorado and a member of the Protect Our Winters Creative Alliance.

Faith Briggs is a creative producer, environmental justice advocate, documentary filmmaker and runner passionate about sharing contemporary stories from diverse communities. A self-described “professional nerd,” her studies at Yale University and the New York University Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute focused on representation in media and inspiring global citizenship.
A high school and college NCAA Division 1 athlete, Faith was a 400-meter runner who balked at a mile-long warm-up until years after undergrad. While recovering from years of overuse and six consecutive stress fractures in her shins during college she read Born to Run and began running longer distances. She joined Black Roses NYC for two years while working at Discovery Channels in the Documentary Department. She left Discovery to travel the world with Columbia Sportswear. During a year of new experiences and adventures, including running the El Cruce 100k stage race in the Andes and the famed OCC ultramarathon of the UTMB series, she developed a sense of responsibility for the protection of our public lands.

Faith has spent the past few years working at Oregon-based non-profit organizations with a focus on connecting youth from underserved communities with the outdoors. The former program director at Soul River Inc., she now serves as the development director of the Global Works Community Fund.

In 2018 she produced Brotherhood of Skiing working with Wild Confluence Media and The Wilder Studio for REI. In 2020 she was the subject and producer of This Land, a short documentary where she ran 150 miles through threatened National Monuments delving into the complicated history of inequity in conservation. Both behind and in front of the camera, she works with brands, non-profit organizations, institutions and individual creatives to create media representative of the world we live in and the better one we are working together to create.

Ben Moscona adventure filmmaker and photographer based in Bozeman, Montana. My photography has been featured in Powder Magazine, the Colorado Tourism Guide, Backcountry Magazine, Freeskier, SBCSkier, and Forecast Magazine. Since Ben was young, he loved to play in the mountains, forests, and deserts of Colorado. Ben Moscona is interested in regenerative agriculture, water and food justice, renewable energy and energy markets, and how combining these fields will help us curb emissions and bring about a better world.

In 2019, Moscona released the film The Headwaters for Backcountry Magazine about the interface between the history and future of water development and conservation in California and the role of skiers as advocates for a healthier planet. He is currently editing a short film about Jack Loeffler, an aural historian and environmentalist who advocates for a cultural revolution in how humans relate to the rest of life on earth.

Ben believes that by harnessing the power of snow and water-lovers everywhere, we can use climate change as an opportunity to shift to a world of renewable energy, clean water, fresh air, and plentiful food for all.

Hannah Eddy is an artist based in Reno, Nevada, nestled close to the Sierra Nevada mountains which she loves exploring.  As a snowboard, skate, and surf enthusiast, she is constantly inspired by seeking adventure outdoors and helping to protect our playground.  Hannah uses fun colors and a lighthearted illustrative style to evoke a playful interaction with nature.  In her work, you’ll see a mixture of abstract lines, forms, and colors creating dreamy imaginative landscapes along with funky females embracing the natural world and feeling the flow. She uses acrylic paint, pen and ink, and digital media on personal projects, commissions, brand collaborations, and client work.

Hannah’s art helps spread positivity, encourages an appreciation and connection to nature, and helps remind us all to let our hair down and have a little fun. Enjoy her work at hannaheddyart.com.

Flagstaff, Arizona-based photographer and filmmaker James Q Martin was born in the Arizona desert and raised in the remote reaches of Alaska. Inquisitive, spirited, and dedicated to regional and international conservation efforts, Q has since traveled extensively throughout the American Southwest and to more than 30 countries, spanning six continents, documenting the stories of world-class athletes, artists, conservationists, filmmakers, and scientists who inspire him. His hope is, by capturing their compassion for special places on film, he will raise awareness for issues facing our communities worldwide, and unite people in taking steps to preserve and protect these places for future generations.

Rooted in Flagstaff, Q Media is a fully-staffed production house created to harness this passion, embodied over the years by many critically acclaimed adventure and conservation films. 

Krystle Wright is an adventure sports photographer from Queensland, Australia, although she now lives a semi-nomadic lifestyle in her quest to capture and present unique moments from extreme sports, expeditions and adventures across the globe.

Whether she’s camping on a frozen fjord for a month in the Arctic with 23 BASE jumpers, paragliding in the Karakoram Range in Pakistan or sleeping on the back of a yacht on the Great Barrier Reef, Krystle strives to pursue fresh challenges, to seek out undiscovered layers and dimensions in her work, and is recognized for her creativity, composition, and an indomitable spirit in the face of adversity. “My biggest fear in life is regret. I follow my curiosity, my instinct, as it tells me to go to the ends of the earth. There’s an insatiable desire in me to explore with a camera in hand to try and capture a fleeting moment that encapsulates the soul of that place.”

Krystle is known for pushing herself to extremes, sometimes beyond what might even be considered sane. Anything to get that elusive, compelling shot. The world has no boundaries and she will do whatever it takes to shoot from her unique perspective – whether hanging from precarious positions on remote cliff edges, swimming through jagged, unexplored canyons, or trudging for days through vicious, baleful weather. It’s about that final experience – capturing a fleeting moment, sharing a treasured insight, telling incredible stories about impassioned endeavors that might otherwise go undocumented. She has battle scars – enough to compete with the most hardened adventurer – to prove it.

She feels incredibly privileged to share her photographs with a wider audience, and her work has appeared in selected esteemed publications such as Sidetracked, National Geographic, Outside, The Times, Red Bulletin, GQ, Huffington Post and clients such as Canon Australia, Canon USA, Outdoor Research, Helinox, Big Agnes, KEEN, Seirus, Evolv.

Forest Woodward is an internationally published and awarded photographer and filmmaker based out of Western North Carolina. 

With an eye towards social and environmental justice issues, Forest’s recent work focuses on public lands in the American west, seeking out a diversity of perspectives–from those of ranching families in Colorado’s Front Range, to the indigenous coalitions formed around Bears Ears National Monument.

His ongoing work in the remote South Pacific island nation of Tuvalu seeks to examine the human narrative within the context of climate change and climate-based migration. Throughout his work Forest seeks to document his subjects in a way that transcends politics and prejudice and offers the viewer an opportunity to engage in relevant contemporary issues through a humanistic lens. 

Forest’s photographs have been widely published, with notable appearances in The New York Times, National Geographic, Esquire and The Atlantic. His films Food Chains and The Important Places have received critical acclaim and screened in dozens of countries with festivals including Tribeca and Berlinale.

Mike Thurk is a professional photographer and outdoor enthusiast, with a style steeped in moments of honesty. Using natural light and shadow in his photography whenever possible allows him to enhance the raw beauty of human experiences. Through his images, he tells stories of remarkable individuals and the stunning world in which we live. Thurk cherishes the meaningful relationships he’s built through this storytelling journey and is always on the search for new collaborations and the adventures they will bring.

Meg Haywood Sullivan is a professional photographer & environmentalist who splits her time between shooting campaigns with brands and pushing for environmental stories through editorial features and her social platforms.

With a career steadily blossoming, Meg realizes the importance of having a visible platform and partnerships with brands who are stepping outside the box to be a part of the greater good.

With one foot in the outdoor industry and another in the realm of the commercial/fashion world Meg’s clients include Patagonia, KEEN, Clif Bar, New York Times and more. She currently is working on various projects exploring mankind’s relationship with the great outdoors.

Ming Poon is a photographer/director of photography based in Lake Tahoe, California. Passionate about outdoor pursuits, travel and making a difference, Ming is inspired by culture, nature, music, friends and family.

In 2018, Ming received Powder Magazine’s prestigious Photo of the Year award. Ming’s work has been featured in Teton Gravity Research, Powder Magazine, Backcountry Magazine, Standup Journal, Adventure Sports Journal, ROAM, Ascent Backcountry Journal, Vermont Life Magazine and a variety of others throughout the globe.

His images have also appeared in international commercial marketing campaigns for Swatch, O’Neill, Jones Snowboards, POC Sports, NOW Bindings, Hestra Gloves, Intuition Liners, Leki Poles, Thirty-Two, YETI and more.

An accomplished climber, snowboard mountaineer, mountain guide, mountain biker, and athlete in his own right, he is always a fundamental part of the team on whatever project he’s shooting, giving him a unique and intimate perspective at the cutting edge of human endeavor. Not only does he have an eye for the shot, but he can actually put himself where he needs to be to get it.

Harnessing the power of visual media to tell stories, Jenny Nichols is an award-winning filmmaker who creates films that will act as tipping points in conservation campaigns. Jenny Nichols thrives on multidisciplinary projects and collaborates with a dedicated community of photojournalists, filmmakers, writers, illustrators, scientists and conservation organizations to try to expand the reach of conservation stories. Jenny’s films have screened at HotDocs, Brooklyn Film Festival, Telluride Mountainfilm, Banff Mountainfilm Festival, DC Environmental Film Festival, Jackson Hole Science & Media Awards,  and many more!  Jenny is also an artist focused on wildlife working to connect art and conservation.

Anya Miller is the Director of Brand and Creative Strategy at Seattle-based creative firm Duct Tape Then Beer. She works with all sorts of disciplines to gain creative clarity and inspiration on projects ranging from films to political campaigns to ground-up brands. A Canadian living away from the motherland, Anya likes all things 80’s, climbing tacky granite, slashing snow that makes no noise, hand-drawn diagrams and baby animals.

Scott Markewitz is recognized as one of the most accomplished outdoor and action sports photographers in the industry.

His travels and adventures have taken him around the globe with many of the world’s best athletes, including several POW alliance members. Scott’s images have appeared in advertising and promotional campaigns for many consumer and outdoor brands, including Adobe, Tag Heuer, J Crew, Salomon, Adidas, Puma, Underarmour, Red Bull, Thule, Specialized, Camelbak, Pearl Izumi, Giro and many others; and on more than 500 US and International magazine covers.

When not on assignment, you’ll find him out skiing, mountain
biking, or trail running, pushing his own limits in some of the sports he loves to photograph. He lives with his wife Veronique and their son Julien in Salt Lake City, Utah and Provence, France.

Brennan Lagasse has been working on sustainability issues for the past two decades. His most recent multi-year effort focuses on the many intersecting issues surrounding protecting the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Leveraging his diverse skill set, Brennan continues working with the Gwich’in tribe and other Arctic Refuge allies to raise awareness, and get people activated around the implications involved in allowing the last 5 percent of protected land on the Alaskan North Slope to be lost like the other 95 percent to fossil fuel development. Brennan has brought college students to the Arctic Refuge to learn from the Gwich’in about their culture and the Refuge. He has also published words and photographs with several media outlets about the importance of protecting this unique place and looks forward to working with POW on several climate solidarity fronts. In his role as a ski guide, Brennan works in the Sierra Nevada, Alaska, and internationally on an annual basis in places like Antarctica, Greenland, and the Himalaya. He has experienced the effects of climate change firsthand in these places and continues to advocate for and support the current cultural shift of adventure athletes and the greater global community to understand how climate change affects all, and how to be a part of the solution. 

Born and raised in the mountains around Bozeman, Montana, Ben Goertzen holds a deep passion for conservation that was instilled in him at an early age. He started skiing as soon as he could walk and never looked back. After years of competing on the Freeskiing Tour, Ben directed his attention away from competitions and focused on storytelling by skiing in front of the camera. In 2015, he started working with Vision Hawk Films, a prestigious wildlife film company, in order to leverage his ability to showcase wildlife and the environment positively. Now, Ben is combining his three passions for skiing, environmental and wildlife conservation, and filmmaking to influence policy and preserve our world for future generations.

Zaria Forman documents climate change in pastel. She travels to remote regions of the world to collect images and inspiration for her work. She has flown with NASA on several Operation IceBridge missions over Antarctica, Greenland, and Arctic Canada. She has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning, CNN, and ABC7 Eyewitness News. She’s delivered a TEDTalk and spoken at Amazon, Google, and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Her work was part of Banksy’s Dismaland exhibition and she was the artist-in-residence aboard the National Geographic Explorer, in Antarctica. Her works have been featured in the New York Times T Magazine, National Geographic Proof Blog, Huffington Post, and the Smithsonian Magazine, among others. Zaria Forman currently works and resides in Brooklyn, NY, and is represented by Winston Wächter Fine Art in New York, NY and Seattle, WA.

Andy Best lives a nomadic lifestyle that is authentic to his “Still Wild” ethos, traveling the world to tell stories of Earth. A commercial and editorial filmmaker of 10 years, now turned photographer, he is led by his love for sharing moments captured within film and photos. Andy believes that the undiscovered locations people find upon their personal journeys are eternal waypoints on a path of progression, each inextricable to life itself. Only in recognizing their relationship to one another can we truly even begin to be part of the bigger picture.

For 35 years, photographer James Balog has broken new conceptual and artistic ground on one of the most important issues of our era: human modification of our planet’s natural systems. He and his Extreme Ice Survey team are featured in the internationally acclaimed, Emmy award-winning documentary Chasing Ice and in the 2009 PBS/NOVA special, Extreme Ice. He is the author of ICE: Portraits of Vanishing Glaciers and seven other books. His photos have been extensively published in major magazines, including National Geographic, and exhibited at museums and galleries worldwide.