Kelly Bushnell

Ocean Humanities, Instructor

(she/her/hers)

I’m a teacher and ocean advocate specializing in oceanic literature, history, and culture. I received my PhD from the University of London and I’m now based in Seattle, Washington on Coast Salish Land.

My research focuses on the stories we tell about the ocean and its creatures. I'm particularly interested in the material histories and poetics of ocean animals, ecofeminisms, and the poles (especially colonialism in the circumpolar Arctic).

In May 2019 I attended the Artists and Climate Change Incubator in Anchorage, Alaska, where I collaborated with fifteen artists and educators from around the world on interdisciplinary strategies for artistic practice and pedagogy in a time of climate crisis. I spent Fall 2019 in Munich as a Fellow of the Rachel Carson Center, writing about the sea in Arctic colonialism, culture, and climate change.

I balance archival work with fieldwork as often as possible, and I love to include my students in my adventures. As a Board Member for the Center for Open Exploration I help facilitate community-based projects which approach marine science and technology from an interdisciplinary perspective. I've served as a volunteer naturalist aboard cetacean conservation and education programs, and as a team leader for the Virginia Aquarium Stranding Team, which rescues and rehabilitates (or necropsies) marine mammals and sea turtles, and I was Humanities Scholar-in-Residence for an all women's Arctic expedition team from 2017-2020. As a PADI Instructor I also teach people of all ages to explore the underwater world, and I’m especially passionate about cold water diving.

Inspiring Girls Expeditions brings together my passions for the environment, teaching, and empowering young women to be curious, creative, and courageous. Whether we’re expeditioning at home or in the backcountry, I believe that when women come together special things happen!

Expeditions at Home, 2021