The Every Second Breath Project was created to visually share the messages we think the oceans of the world are sending, and to tell the stories of people who have heard and seen the message and took inspired action.
Our own stories of passion for the world’s waters are included here by way of our bios…
CYNTHIA ABBOTT || Producer/Director
Cynthia is an award winning independent producer/director of short form environmental films, who believes the power of storytelling can change our collective vision of the ocean and create a new vision for the ocean’s future – protected and thriving. An experienced cinematographer, editor, and producer who has worked in Burma and Thailand, she has spent her adult life living near the ocean in California and Hawaii and is witness to its environmental demise. Compelled to take action, she produces films on environmental issues to raise awareness and move people to take action.
ANDREA LELAND || Producer/Director
Andrea has produced and directed award-winning documentaries focusing on Caribbean cultures having won numerous awards and have screened at museums, conferences, and festivals throughout Europe, Latin America, and the United States. Residing on St John, USVI for over 25+ years she has seen first hand the urgency of creating films about the ocean crisis.
Andrea has retired from the Every Second Breath Project in 2021 to pursue her art.
FABIÁN AGUIRRE || Cinematographer, Steadicam Operator, Naturalist
Fabián is a Mexican documentary cinematographer in
MAYA PISCIOTTO || Editor, Cinematographer
Maya Pisciotto is an editor and camera operator from the San Francisco Bay Area. She co-runs The Understory, a small documentary film company based in Mill Valley, CA. Her work in film is greatly influenced by her background as a vocalist, songwriter, and performer, and her work with The Understory finds a creative home between narrative and non-fiction with a focus on amplifying stories that build community and create impact as a force for good.
MICHELLE ABBOTT || Graphic Designer/Web
Michelle is a graphic designer currently based in San Diego. She is passionate about the world around her and believes that travel and cultural immersion is an integral part of a healthy and successful life. Michelle’s travels have taken her to many countries around the world, where she has witnessed the direct impact of human consumption and waste in our ever-changing world. Seeing our positive and negative influence we leave on this earth, she has a gained a personal interest in sustainability and eco-friendly design solutions in the graphic arts.
LISA SUMMERS || Writer
Lisa Summers began her career in marine and coastal protection with the California Coastal Commission’s statewide Adopt-A-Beach and Coastal Cleanup Day program and later worked as an oil spill response and contingency plan analyst with the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. Since then, she served as the communications coordinator for The Bay Institute, a SF Bay-Estuary nonprofit that advocates for the environmental, water management, and economic policies necessary to ensure the health of the greater SF Bay. As a science writer, Lisa has written about topics ranging from immortal microbes in Antarctic ice sheets to the impact of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) on freshwater mussels to acoustic ecology and noise pollution . She currently works in Grants and Funded Projects for the Sonoma County Water Agency and on special projects with Every Second Breath project.
MICHELLE McMILLAN || Blog Writer – Ripple Effects
Michelle is a traveler and a writer, who has spent time studying and learning in communities all over the world. She grew up in a small coastal town in Northern California where she spent her childhood playing in tide pools, exploring the river, and tromping through the Redwoods. Her formative years were shaped by the environmentally conscious community that she was raised in, and she has carried a love for the ocean and the natural world with her ever since. Michelle has a BA from Bennington College, where she focused her studies on the relationship between human communities and their natural environments.
C. Abbott