Dispatches: Esha Chiocchio

11 Comments

Yes, I did a composite image. I just felt like Esha is a blend of so many things that an image like this made sense.

You can tell a lot about someone by spending time around their children, and Esha Chiocchio has two of the best kids I’ve ever met. They are keepers. Smart, funny, mature and perhaps more than anything else they are interested and involved, just like their mother.(Same for their dad but stay tuned for this story in a future interview.)

I met Esha many years ago when I would have classified her as a straight photographer, but her history with creativity is far more diverse than just photography and also goes much further back. Just to set the table, her double areas of study were anthropology and French with a thesis on French speaking West African literature. No joke. She also did two years of Peace Corp work in Mali. She speaks French, Spanish and probably other languages she is too shy to admit. Her first published photograph….National Geographic.
But what inspired me to do this interview now is Esha found herself trying to tell a larger message which prompted her to return to her studies, with a focus on sustainability. She is now a sustainability consultant who works with organizations to increase resilience in the face of climate change. She is the author of Forest and Water Climate Adaptation: A Plan for the Santa Fe Watershed and teaches both adults and kids about a range of sustainability issues. She co-founded Renewable Energy Day, is a former Sustainable Santa Fe Commissioner and is currently on the board of the Global Warming Express.

What this stolen portion of her bio suggests is the key to this entire interview. Esha follows her gut, makes a plan, works hard, teaches others and truly gets involved. If you take two things from this interview take her living proof of action as well as the idea that “getting involved” can take place on a singular, individual level and doesn’t take much. The problems of our world seem massive but at their foundation are only you and I. Want to say thanks to Esha and thanks to Shadow the cat for not eating my bag.

Comments 11

  1. Reply
  2. Reply
    1. Post
      Author

      Esha,
      You are a very inspiring person, to use an overused adjective. I like being around people who make me feel like I’m always learning. Sadly this is not as common as I would like, but you, the rest of your family, truly fit this bill.

  3. Reply

    Dan, that is beautiful. Esha is beautiful. It’s too easy to only look at what is happening now, which is truly incredible in itself, but it feels great to be reminded of the whole person. Esha is all that she’s accomplished and more.

    1. Post
      Author
  4. Reply

    Daniel, I live down the road in Abq. A century ago homes in town had chicken coops and gardens, the Rio Grande valley was full of local farms, not estates for the 1%. We can still turn things around. Loved this interview, and your series.

    1. Post
      Author

      Joe,
      I hear ya. I guess it all comes down to education. But that isn’t easy. Gotta start somewhere.

  5. Reply

    Cars. I am 75. I have never learned to drive. I lived in LA for ten years as a non-driver. Lived in W Hollywood. Walked, rode a bike, rode a moped. Panniers and backpacks for groceries. Anywhere I live, it becomes a village. Just a different approach to living.

  6. Reply

    This interview was recorded in 2017. “Hottest summer on record.” And now it’s 2024, and the temperatures just keep rising.

Leave a commentCancel reply