Rosenberg Institute Seminar Series - Josie Iselin and Marianna Leuschel

Josie Iselin and Marianna Leuschel, Co-Directors, Above/Below

Building Stories of Kelp and Oysters: How The Mysterious World of Bull Kelp and The Alluring World of Olympia Oysters come to life as web-based books and build ocean literacy for a wide audience

Abstract:  Josie Iselin and Marianna Leuschel are Co-Director sof Above/Below, the team responsible for the web story The Mysterious World of Bull Kelp and the about-to-be-released native oyster companion. They will discuss their process of teasing apart the ecological story of bull kelp and now Olympia oysters, and how they build it back together in the innovative format they have pioneered. They will discuss the design and editorial process, and collaborating with experts and the science community.  

Bio: Josie Iselin is a photographer, author, and designer of many books, with her last few focusing on the world of seaweeds and kelp. Josie is the co-director with Marianna Leuschel of Above/Below, a campaign working to bring the recognition afforded the forests on land to the kelp forests below the ocean’s surface. Above/Below’s signature efforts is a web-based book titled The Mysterious World of Bull Kelp.It has been accessed by over 39,000 kelp-curious learners and is about to be released as a
hard-cover book. Above/Below is creating a similar webstory about the native Olympia oyster, due for release March 1, 2026. Josie holds a BA in Visual and Environmental Studies from Harvard and an MFA from San Francisco State University. For over twenty years Josie has used her flatbed scanner and computer exclusively for generating imagery. Synthesizing the scientific stories of our coast is her overriding passion, bringing thoughtfulness and stewardship to this extraordinary place of discovery. Josie’s pronouns are she/her.