Bettymaya Foott works for the International Dark-Sky Association as Director of Engagement. Preserving dark skies is her life goal and she finds that astrophotography is the most poignant way to express a love for the night, as well as educate about the impacts of light pollution. If you want to take some great photos of the night sky, listen to Bettymaya here for some of the best places to go and amazing tips and tricks for astrophotography.

Angelica Santana holds a Bachelor of Architectural Engineering with a focus in Lighting/Electrical systems from The Pennsylvania State University. Angelica is a lighting designer with CM Kling in Washington DC.  Angelica describes her work as “painting with light” when she goes into a space. As a yoga instructor, she also uses light as an important aspect of meditation. Want to de-stress you or your employees?  Shoot an email to Angelica at [email protected] 

Matt is the outgoing President of NAILD.  He held down the fort through the pandemic crisis, keeping NAILD thriving over the past 18 months.  You’ll hear about Matt’s own thriving business, plus NAILD’s leading position on Dark Sky education and advocacy. And hey, don’t forget to join NAILD!

Ashley is the Director of Conservation for the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) where she collaborates with advocates and volunteers around the world to help them promote effective uses of outdoor lighting and protect pristine dark skies. Ashley tells us about her work in dark sky awareness and education through the lens of Sensory Ecology.  And listen to her great plumbing analogy for wasting light.

Sandra Vásconez is a senior instructor in the Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering at the University of Colorado, Boulder. She is co-creator and co-director of the Rocky Mountain Lighting Academy.  Education at the Academy is designed for professionals already in the industry.  So, if you want some fresh air and a deep dive into lighting education, head on over to Boulder and learn a thing or two from Sandra. 

Dr. Fischer operates The Zoological Lighting Institute, a 501 c(3) dedicated to supporting the sciences of light and life through the arts for animal welfare and wildlife conservation. This one is broad ranging.  What are the five domains of animal welfare?  What is a ZALA station? And why should banks become bird friendly?  To find out, give this episode a listen.

In 1994 Bob Crespo eloquently stated that his son Ray was “doing nothing” and asked if he wanted to start a business doing something environmental since Ray “loved the environment.”  And so, Energy Conservation and Supply was born.  Since then, Ray and company have been working on things like controls, UV disinfection and EV charging stations.

Samyukta is an advocate with the International Dark Sky Association, and a member of their International Committee. She currently works in Slovenia, designing experiences to help people connect with darkness and the night sky. Have you ever heard of Forest Bathing?  Well Samyukta can design a dark sky experience where you can go “Star Bathing.” Give this a listen and you’ll learn about “archeoastronomy” and “ethnoastronomy.”

If you were fascinated with the previous episode with Peter, listen to this one.  He’s an expert in the field of human perception, but when you’re talking about bringing back the night sky, you’re bound to go into weird and wonderful areas of conversation. This episode touches on flotation tanks, meditation and lucid dreaming. The hour will fly by. 

Justin is the President of Stouch Lighting, Inc, a LED and UVC distribution and implementation company. Stouch Lighting has had some pretty good success with UVC in the health field. There’s hygiene theater in a public school hallway, and there’s reducing infections by quantifiably inactivating pathogens in a hospital setting.  Justin is working successfully towards the latter.  Listen to this episode then go make some room for UVC in your warehouse.