Extraordinary Women Leaders in Speleology (EWLS)

STEPHANIE JAGOU A French/Canadian living in France, Stephanie Jagou is specialized in sustainable development and corporate responsibility. She only started caving in 2013 but in a short two years this activity has become a new venture in her life and she's devoted much of her time to it, in one way or another. Since then she has joined the Caves of Haiti team, is a member of the Association Hommes des Cavernes (Cavemen Association) and has contributed her expertise to the organization and production of the successful mixed-media photographic exhibit of "The Caves of Haiti" at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France, in January 2015. This extraordinary woman has just returned from a caving expedition in Gabon (Africa), the 2015 Abanda Expedition - a follow-up of previous expeditions where orange crocodiles were discovered. During this month-long caving expedition undertaken by a French/Gabonese scientific team of which she was the only female member, she and lead spe

Amy has been featured in National Geographic's Daily Dozen twice, taken second place in the Balkan Speleological Photo Contest, received First Place in Digital Photography at Hidden Earth (judged by National Geographic photographer Robbie Shone, among others), and free-lances as a cave and adventure photographer. Amy has been interested in photography since she was young. In June of 2010 she visited a cave for the first time and fell in love with the exploration and discovery that caving provides. Being a hobby photographer at the time, she wanted to document her travels but did not wish to risk her expensive dSLR underground. The cave environment with the dust, moisture, and mud, is naturally a camera's worst enemy so she started to develop alternate techniques. She reminds people, "Photography is painting with light. Under the surface of the earth, there is no light." With this theory, she found that cave photography is much more about how one uses light than an

Some 19,000 years ago, a woman was coated in red ochre and buried in a El Mirón cave in northern Spain. Her cave-grave had a highly unusual ombstone, and archeoligist believe it may have been adorned with flowers. She was buried in a side chamber at the back of the cave and it appears that the many who took shelter for millennia after her death must have been unaware of the prestigious company they were keeping. "It's an area in the cave right where people were living," says Lawrence Guy Straus at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Along with Manuel González Morales of the University of Cantabria, Straus has been leading the excavation of El Mirón for 19 years. "It's not hidden away. This person in death was kind of presiding over the activities of her people." She was between 35 and 40 when she died. Her remains were laid to rest alongside a large engraved stone. "The lines seem to be sort of random, but there is a motif that is a triangl

Each year EWLS's event requires a strong community of supporters in the caving world and these include men. Without the wonderful help from fathers, sons, and brothers in our caving organizations, EWLS would not exist. Thank you for all that you do and Happy Father's Day! #ewls #womencavers #speleology

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This amazing woman is a cave photographer as well as a contributing photographer for National Geographic. She goes on many adventure photography expeditions. Her work is represented in the book “Women photographers at National Geographic”. She is also an author as well as a photographer, explorer, adventurer, caver and a lecturer. She has 35 year experience in the field and is also a Social Media Reporter for EWLS. SOURCES adventurephotoexpeditions.com ewls.org/carole-devillers.html

Register Now: ewls.org/register-to-attend.htm #AGCT2015 #ewls #womencavers #speleology

Register Now: ewls.org/register-to-attend.html #AGCT2015 #ewls #womencavers #speleology

Florence Bascom was the first woman in the United States to hold a PhD in Geology, and the first woman geologist ever hired by the U.S. Geological Survey. She also became the head of the Dept. of Geology at Bryn Mawr College. Bascom was was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts in 1862. Her father encouraged her interest in natural science, and she became fascinated with geology as a result of a trip to Mammoth Cave. She earned her BS in 1884, her MS in1887, and attempted to enroll in the PhD program at Johns Hopkins University. The University refused to enroll her as a regular student, but allowed her to attend classes sitting behind a screen, out of sight of the male students. She persevered, taking a full program of graduate studies. She was among the first American petrologists to utilize thin-section studies, and her work was so exemplary and professional that she was awarded the PhD in 1893. Bascom's bibliography numbers about 40 published works. Bascom was elected to Fello

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In 2013 a group of Charterhouse Caving Company (CCC) cavers have been praised for their volunteer work with the Somerset Wildlife Trust and Somerset County Council highways department in protecting Cheddar Gorge against severe flooding. Somerset County Council cabinet member David Hall said: "Everybody played their part by offering resources and expertise and the volunteers deserve a huge amount of credit for driving this forward with such commitment and enthusiasm." Linda Wilson, conservation officer for CCC, said it was a massive task. "For most of the project we were either working in very cold water or covered in mud, being eaten alive by insects, but everybody did their bit on time and we got the job done," she said. SOURCE www.bbc.com Image: Charterhouse Caving Company #ewls #womencavers #speleology

Check out these awesome museums near this year's event! Sign up now: http://www.ewls.org/register-to-attend.html WAAAM Air & Auto Museum The WAAAM Air & Auto Museum has one of the largest collections of still-flying antique aeroplanes and still-driving antique automobiles in the country. This extensive collection of antique aircraft includes the 1917 Curtiss JN-4D Jenny featuring an OX-5 90 HP engine, Piper Cub and WACO collections, the Aeronca collection, the Stearman collection and many more. There are over 130 cars in the collection at last count including the 1914 Detroit Electric, a Ford Model A or Model T, a Packard, a Studebaker, and a Locomobile. Besides this, WAAAM has motorcycles that will wow you: Harley Davidsons, Indians, Cushmans. The History Museum The current museum building was opened to the public in 1978 and was built from generous community support and donations. It has a diverse artifact collection which is constantly

Female Caver and author, Lois Manno, offers her book "Visions Underground" in the NSS bookstore. It traces the history of the artists and photographers who have explored the awe-inspiring forms and colors in one of the most extensive cavern systems in the world. The book includes images from the first caver/artist to capture the cave's mysteries in oil and canvas, to contemporary, surrealistic, photographs of cave pearls, soda straws, and pristine pools of blue-green water. #ewls #womancavers #speleology SOURCES bookstore.caves.org extraordinarywls.blogspot.com

Although not a caver, McCully captures a history that is important to cavers. This true story of the boys who discovered the cave of Lascaux, shows just how powerful cave exploration can be. Jacques, Jojo, Simon, and Marcel were looking for buried treasure when they explored a cave in the south of France in 1940. But the treasure inside was not what they expected, and in fact far more valuable: the walls were covered with stunning prehistoric paintings and engravings, preserved within the sealed cave for over 17,000 years. SOURCES http://www.emilyarnoldmccully.com http://bookstore.caves.org #ewls #womencavers #speleology