Natalia Claas Upd -
Natalia handed him a cup of black tea and a used copy of The Old Ways by Robert Macfarlane.
Natalia didn’t protest. Didn’t chain herself to a bulldozer. Didn’t start a petition. Instead, she did something stranger: she began leaving small, hand-painted wooden fish on the doorstep of every neighbor who would lose their home. Each fish had a single word on its belly. Together, they formed a sentence she never spoke aloud: We remember what floated before they built the waves. natalia claas
“There’s a path under the concrete,” he said quietly. “Your grandfather’s boat. The wood… is it from the old forest?” Natalia handed him a cup of black tea
The trouble arrived in the form of a development notice. A tech billionaire had bought half the waterfront and planned to turn it into “a wellness destination for high-performance individuals.” Translation: glass towers, oat milk lattes for $9, and no room for boat sheds or bookshops. Didn’t start a petition
The town council folded within a week.
Lanae Rivers-Woods, MAIT
Lanae Rivers-Woods moved to Korea in 2011 where she lives in the countryside with her family, friends, and puppies. She holds a BSSW (Bachelor's of Science in Social Work), a MAIT (Master's of Arts in International Teaching), and registered by the Pyeongtaek Korean Times with the Korean government as a Cultural Expert. Ms. Rivers-Woods used her 15 years experience as a social architect, UX/UI designer, and technology consultant to found South of Seoul in 2015. South of Seoul is a volunteer organization that leverages technological tools to mitigate cultural dissonance in multi-cultural communities. Through South of Seoul, Ms. Rivers-Woods works with independent volunteers, non-profit organizations, businesses, local & federal government, universities, and US military organizations to develop solutions to support English speaking international residents in rural South Korea. Additionally, Ms. Rivers-Woods founded the South of Seoul smart phone app available for Google Play and iPhone. The app provides information a resources for those living and traveling in South Korea. When she isn't in South of Seoul development meetings or working her day job, Ms. Rivers-Woods loves to be outside at skate parks, the beach, or playing in the mountains.
