Octopus & Ape!

The Octopus and the Ape are the most intelligent creatures on land and sea, and they’re both masters at manipulating and adapting their environments.

We bring together the scientific and cultural perspectives of an Anthropologist with the organizational and spatial savvy of an Architect to design meaningful environments, both permanent and temporary, that leverage material culture to tell the story of an individual, a brand, a civilization, a celebration, or a journey.

Who We Are

Our Board of Advisors

To help Julie and Charlie bring all of this awesomeness into reality, they've enlisted the help of a few amazing contributors, who join them on the Octopus & Ape Board of Advisors!

Julie Lesnik

Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer

Julie is an anthropologist, professor, and author of the new book Edible Insects and Human Evolution. Through this work she has come to appreciate the diversity of life on Earth and the many ways that organisms make a living.

I head up the educational side of O&A, namely a podcast called "O&A Roadshow", launching summer of 2020!

The O&A Roadshow is the evolution of what Octopus & Ape was originally envisioned to be: a nonprofit, educational #SciComm (Science Communication) channel aimed at highlighting the many unexpected places we see science in our daily lives.

The O&A Roadshow will interview world-traveling scientists about the many artifacts they've collected on their journeys, the intersections of science and material culture more broadly, and how simple but thoughtful design decisions can help tell those stories.

Charlie Klecha

Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Charlie has a diverse background, including roles ranging from nonprofit executive to design professional to rock-band-tour-manager to cheesemonger, and he delights in finding the joy, and the science, in each new path.

I head up the business side, called O&A Studios!

O&A Studios is a design consultancy providing Event / Exhibit Design & Production, Interior Design & Architectural Planning, and Nonprofit Consulting & Strategic Planning services.

We've been involved in projects ranging from planning and executing special exhibits, conferences, weddings, and social events, to residential interior design and project design advising, to fundraising, strategic planning, and digital infrastructure help for small nonprofits. We've even put together a few custom 'Escape Room' experiences, and consider ourselves rather crafty with handmade reclamation projects!

The man, the myth, the old-ass bastard with the mustache of an old-timey bare-knuckles boxer. Derek is a Systems Administrator, science enthusiast, and strong STEM advocate. He believes science education is vital to young and old alike, and should be equal parts informative, wondrous, and fun.

Derek I. Batting

Elder Geek & Director of Minutiae

After graduating Yale with a focus on public health and food systems, Aly co-founded a company in the intersection of entertainment and ad-tech (Spylight.) She has since acquired a cult following under her instagram brand Bugible for her educational programming, events (bug & wine pairings), and public relations efforts.

Aly Moore

Board of Advisors

After decades in Quick Service Restaurant (Fast Food), Cheryl made the move from fries to flies! Realizing the large amounts of food wasted in the US combined with the need to feed a drastically growing global population, she found herself drawn to insects as a solution. Cheryl now consults in the Insects as Food and Feed industry and serves on the board of the North American Coalition for Insect Agriculture (NACIA).

Cheryl Preyer