Kimiko Russell-Halterman is an environmental educator with Brown Girl Surf, an organization that teaches young girls and non-binary youth to connect with the ocean and nature. Surfing is overwhelmingly white and male-dominated in the United States, a dynamic that has deepened historical patterns of exclusion toward Black people. Through her work, Russell-Halterman seeks to decolonize and promote the accessibility of the sport by conducting a storytelling project on cultural outdoor activities among members of the organization. Her connection to the water is tied to her matrilineal heritage and history. Her moment of inspiration came when she visited ama divers on the coast of the Mie Prefecture in Toba, Japan. There, she witnessed a millennia-old tradition of Japanese women divers who harvest from the sea floor without oxygen tanks, relying only on their breath. This experience deepened her desire for such knowledge, advancing her relationship with the ocean and renewing her appreciation for the simplicity of subsisting from the sea floor. As a marine science instructor, she has learned to harvest from the ocean floor herself, diving with a spear gun, Hawaiian sling, or even with her bare hands. However, ama culture is threatened by dwindling shellfish and a decreasing number of women entering the profession. Russell-Halterman seeks to deconstruct traditional perceptions of humans as destroyers of nature by teaching children how to reconnect with and live harmoniously within the natural world
