Amy Venema

After Amy received her Bachelor’s degree of Science in Education in the cold of the Midwest, she found that teaching was more fun and effective if done in the outdoors. What better place than the outdoors of Maui? She began a career sharing and learning about the natural environment and received her captains license to continue educating while on the water.

She’s also the Co-founder and Co-Investigator for the Keiki Kohola Project, a non-profit research group dedicated to the protection of humpback whales in Hawaiian waters. Management and safe boating practices, as well as education in the whale’s nursery grounds of Hawaii and feeding grounds of Alaska are some of the focuses of the project. Being a part of research projects has opened other opportunities to be a part of several BBC, National Geographic, Netflix and Silverback films as the captain on the vessel filming.

Like the whales, Amy migrates to Alaska each summer. She works as an expedition guide and naturalist where she can educate in her favorite classroom, the wilderness of Alaska. Whether in a kayak, on a trail or on the deck of boat, Amy embraces every opportunity to share her enthusiasm for Alaska’s wild places. She has also been an expedition guide in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Tahiti, Tonga and Hawaii sharing her knowledge and expertise about the flora and fauna of the areas and teaches about the importance of protecting these places. On Maui for the winter months, she continues doing research and captains for a snorkel and whale watching boat company. She truly enjoys educating and sharing her enthusiasm about protecting the natural world. In her off time, she spends time with her husband and tries to travel as much as possible. Antarctica, the Arctic and Africa have been some of her favorite places she has visited.