This talk is part of the Vital Impacts Student Speaker Series, presented in collaboration with Changemaker Talent. These compelling talks blend storytelling with award-winning imagery to bring to life the biodiversity crisis and the people and programs working toward a sustainable future.

After two decades on the front lines of conflict, Ami Vitale asked herself whether she was telling the story or making it the story through documenting the same thing as everyone else. This, plus grappling with PTSD, led to her taking on a yearlong assignment for a nature organization, traveling the world, reporting on biodiversity, and documenting animals. Not only did it prove a balm to her soul, but it created an epiphany: We can’t solve our problems without taking nature into account. Be inspired by the hopeful and heartwarming stories she told next—about coexisting with and learning from wildlife.

AMI VITALE

Ami Vitale, photographer and documentary filmmaker, illuminates the unsung heroes and communities protecting wildlife and finding harmony in our natural world. Ami’s contributions have earned her numerous accolades, including being named a Conservation International Innovators Fellow and a 2024 inductee into the NC Media and Journalism Hall of Fame. She is also the recipient of prestigious awards such as the Missouri Honor Medal for Distinguished Service, the Lucie Humanitarian Award and a six-time World Press Photos award winner. Notably, Instyle magazine recognized Ami as one of fifty Badass Women, a series celebrating women who show up, speak up and get things done. Ami is also the founder and Executive Director of Vital Impacts, a women-led non-profit organization that uses art and storytelling to support grassroots conservation efforts around the world.