teresa carey

Teresa dreams of a place where frizzy, salt-crusted hair and t-shirt tans are trendy. She loves the ocean and wants to use her best skills to inspire everyone to love and protect the ocean. She does this by enjoying, organizing, and sharing citizen science and conservation through film, writing, and spoken word. As a writer, her interest is in telling stories that draw on the intersection of science, culture, and heart. Teresa’s work has been published in national and local magazines and she’s been honored with a Best Documentary Feature Award at the Made in Michigan Film Festival and an invitation to speak at TEDx. Teresa is a US Coast Guard licensed captain and professional mariner. When she’s not sailing the ocean or crafting stories, you can find her dancing, experimenting with raw foods, and laughing to loud in public places.

One Simple Question is an award-winning documentary written and produced by Teresa. It is the story of a journey in a small sailboat to find a record-breaking iceberg, which weaves together themes of adventure, personal discovery, and the science of polar ice. 

Hello Ocean facilitates citizen science and media to empower the public, inform legislation, and inspire change. As Director of Hello Ocean, Teresa strives to expand oceanic research and outreach by connecting scientists with recreational sailors as vessels of opportunity, and supporting the research with an engaging multi-platform media. 

In a remote indigenous village in Guna Yala Panama, the Kuna people have lived in nearly perfect harmony with nature for centuries. The village is of significant ecological importance to the critically endangered leatherback sea turtle population, and home to one of the most crucial nesting sites in the world. No Word for Nature: How An Indigenous Village Challenges the Nature Concept, a documentary film currently in production, sets out to explore the mystery behind the thriving sea turtle population and discovers why an ancient approach to conservation couldn’t be more important today.

Sailing, Simplicity, and the Pursuit of Happiness began in 2008 when Teresa drastically changed her life to live aboard a small 27 foot sailboat named Daphne with only her cat Dory for company. Its not a house, but it was home. Its not a car, but she traveled a blue road. For two years she sailed, explored, and discovered what simple living meant to her and shared it all on her blog. Now her and her husband are helping others become sailors and inspiring them to chase their own creative dream through honest and uplifting writing.