More about Izilwane
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Tara Waters Lumpkin, PhD, Founder, Project Director 
Dr. Lumpkin is President of the non-profit Perception International, under which Izilwane is run. She founded Izilwane to explore, with the help of others, how human beings can shift their perceptions so as to learn to co-exist with other species and nature. Tara also is an environmental and medical anthropologist who has worked as an international development consultant for UNICEF, the United States Agency for International Development, and a variety of nongovernmental organizations. In addition, she has worked as an environmental journalist and professor of writing and media, has published poetry, fiction, and nonfiction, and has won more than half a dozen writing prizes, fellowships, and grants. At this time, she is writing a creative nonficition book titled Izilwane and is at work on an eco-memoir Throwing the Bones. In addition, she is a certified somatic experiencing practitioner and is a “giving back” coach. TaraWatersLumpkin.com.
*** Judith Cahill, Financial Accounts Manager 
Graduate of University of Mississipi at Oxford in Art History and Philosophy, 1968. French Librarian at UC Berkeley, 1969-1973. Boat builder and deep water sailor 1974-1976. Kripalu meditation instructor 1977-1983. Editor of Taoist texts and creator of distance learning programs related to the texts, 1984-2007. Lives in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo mountains 20 miles north of Taos, New Mexico. Learned from her ninth grade Latin teacher that “Progress is not always forward,” and believes that nature and the animal kingdom will endure much longer than more fragile and artificial constructs.
Camille Cruse, Managing Editor, Features Editor 
As multi-media writer/producer, Camille Cruse has years of experience developing, writing and producing content for various types of outlets including online. As the former Senior Producer for Westwood One/ BET Radio Networks, Cruse lead the research and development efforts and served as the assignment editor, breaking stories as they affected African Americans and providing radio stations with audio clips and information not appearing or offered by other mediums. As a manager, writer and producer, she enjoys utilizing her skills in efforts to make a project successful. With this, she has developed strategies for reaching niche markets on the web, while still focusing on the content to appeal to those markets. Camille Cruse serves as Contributing Senior Editor of Jacque Reid Media at www.jacquereid.com, a lifestyle website where she is responsible for editorial content. Prior to joining Izilwane, Cruse served as Production Manager/Editor of Black Outdoorsman Magazine (BOM), an online magazine catering to African American outdoor enthusiasts. The magazine featured adventure travel stories and also news and interviews focusing on conservation and environmental issues. Camille Cruse has also contributed her skills to projects produced by National Geographic Television as an associate producer and continues to sharpen her skills and expand on her experience in the outdoors, documentary filmmaking and storytelling.
Phillip Gibbs, Advisor 
Phillip has worked in the field of international issues with National Geographic, the United Nations, the World Bank, the US Agency for International Development, and numerous other major non governmental organizations. He has worked in numerous countries in Africa and Asia. His primary areas of expertise are strategic planning, program design, organizational development, and program evaluation. He is currently working on a novel and a non-fiction book, both of which are about international politics, high stakes gambling, religion, high energy physics, and the search for wholeness.
Robert Katz, Photo Editor, Photographer 
Robert is a retired professor from the University of New Mexico. Originally from New York he has spent most of the last 35 years in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He has always had an interest in photography. "My interest in photography began during my childhood; my father was always shooting slides. I view photography as a great creative outlet; a chance to explore the wonders of our world and capture those fleeting moments that will serve as permanent reminders of the beauty around us. When that intersection of the magic, moment and the beauty of the scene is captured it is a wonderful event. The truth is one never knows when that special time will occur; that is the beauty, the fun and the challenge of photography as an art form."
Morgan Novinger, Assistant, Researcher 
Morgan Novinger was born in Fullerton, California. At the age of six her family moved to Rosarito, Mexico, where she lived for 18 years. After obtaining her veterinary assistant degree and working in the veterinary field for three years, she decided to move to Taos, New Mexico, to continue her education. Although she is no longer working in the veterinary field, she still has much passion for the well-being of animals and their environment, therefore she is pursuing a career as an Environmental Scientist.
Karen Poteet, Assistant 
Though Karen was raised in a variety of settings throughout the US and Canada, the wilds of Northern Alberta quickly became her home. In this environment, understanding and harmonizing with nature became a necessity of life ad provided a ready sense of interconnectedness with the environment. Karen majored in physics at Utah State University while raising a family and studied cosmology and geology. She is an avid hiker, camper, and explorer and currently resides in Taos, New Mexico.
Though born in Taos, New Mexico, Sophie has spent the last ten years in Southern California. She is currently a sophomore at UCLA, where she studies English and French. Sophie has great interest in pursuing a career in journalism and new media, and she has spent the last two years as a reporter for the Daily Bruin, UCLA's nationally renowned student newspaper.
Megan Synk, Assistant 
Megan Synk graduated from Ohio State University with a degree in Japanese language and literature. Since leaving college, she has been an advocate and educator for children with Autism. Her intention to support sustainable living practices has drawn her to Izilwane. She enjoys a creative life and is currently interested in filmmaking and sewing.
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