Scientist and pollinator advocate Dawn Musil (@dawn_musil), a beekeeper since she was 14, is a skilled data analyst with a passion for travel, conservation, women’s rights, pollinators and ethnobotany.

While a fellow in the 2017 Venture for America Fellowship, Dawn met Nicholas Zajciw, her partner in HiveLend, an online platform that connects beekeepers and farmers through a proprietary algorithm to ensure optimal pollination. HiveLend, awarded Best of Boot Camp at Ann Arbor SPARK's Entrepreneur Boot Camp, gives beekeepers access to pollination sites and farmers a choice of beekeepers that best suit their needs. “Think of us as a pollination broker meets Uber, but for bees,” Dawn says.

Dawn received Cosmic Sister’s Plant Spirit Grant in 2018 to experience ayahuasca ceremonies at Temple of The Way of Light in the Peruvian Amazon, which inspired her to pursue higher training in ethnobotany, focusing on the relationship between indigenous Amazonian communities and native plants and pollinators. She is applying to Ethnobotany programs while bicycling the length of California.

Dawn holds a bachelor’s degree in Ecology and Biology from Ohio State University. She earned a Semester at Sea Presidential Scholarship and has gathered data in 13 countries to break down the gender gap in STEM fields. She was a United Nations Youth Representative to the U.N. Youth Assemblies in New York.

In partnership with Spirit Plant Medicine Conference in Vancouver, BC, Nov 1 - 3, 2019, the Cosmic Sister Emerging Voices Award (CS EVA) increases visibility for talented women in the field of psychedelics who work tirelessly in supportive, behind-the-scenes roles, as well as talented newcomers who shine in spotlight positions.