Seattle Reign FC Legend: Bri Dwyer – Entrepreneur, Creative Director for Global Seafood

The Legends Campaign, a partnership between Seattle Reign FC and Starbucks, honors women for their extraordinary contributions to our community in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Prior to Seattle Reign FC’s match against San Diego Wave FC on May 3, the club recognized Bri Dwyer, an entrepreneur and Creative Director for Global Seafood.

Dwyer first picked up a camera around the age of 12 and the rest is history. Her photography journey evolved from portraits and weddings into photographing for national seafood campaigns and creating visual narratives for Alaska’s fisheries.

“Everything changed for me when I moved to Alaska,” shared Dwyer. “I took the standard path getting into portraits and weddings, but after I moved to an island in the Bering Sea, I was exposed to the fishing industry for the first time and fell in love.”

She continued, “I was so inspired by how beautiful Alaska was, but also by the contrasting ruggedness of commercial fishing. It was clear that the industry had so many amazing and unique stories to tell and I was completely captivated by that.”

While in Alaska, Dwyer met her now-husband, a commercial fisherman, and her access to the industry expanded to include working on the decks of fishing boats which offered an inside look at the fishing lifestyle.

“I pulled my camera out and just started taking photographs. I began to write about the people I was photographing and sharing these stories in a way that wasn’t common at the time – in a way that people hadn’t really heard before. When I shared the stories of an industry that is traditionally very mysterious to a lot of people, I started to get some attention.”

Aside from the thrilling storytelling element of her job, Dwyer is continually inspired by the necessity to establish transparency and authenticity across the seafood industry.

“My goal is to bring the human side of what we do as an industry back to consumers because knowing where our food is coming from and knowing how it's being produced is becoming more and more important. It’s also important to establish a human connection to our food. The people who are farming and harvesting seafood are just that – people. It’s me and my family.”

Capturing photos and videos in the seafood industry is no easy feat, as no two days look exactly alike. Oftentimes, the schedules are last minute and variable, depending heavily on the weather and conditions that day.

“In this industry, you really have to be ready to go with the flow and get your hands dirty,” laughed Dwyer.

In recent years, Dwyer founded her own production company and co-founded a media agency, InnaSea Media, to help the seafood industry enhance its visibility and expand its communication efforts.

“Having two female-owned and founded businesses that support an industry I’m passionate about is a huge accomplishment that I’m really proud of.”

On being a mother and entrepreneur, Dwyer says “It has been really special to think about showing my daughter that you can be a mom and have a successful career. I want to show up for her as somebody who pursued something that she was passionate about and made a career out of it. The journey to figuring out how to do that looks different for a lot of people, but as parents, we just figure it out.”

The seafood industry, as well as the media production industry are often male dominated fields, meaning Dwyer often finds that she is the only female in these environments. Though it isn’t easy, Dwyer would encourage young women to be confident and take up space.

“Pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone is what is going to allow you to continue to be successful in a male dominated industry. It can be uncomfortable at times, but you have to be able to push through that and know that you can still find a lot of support.”

She continued, “I would also say that it’s important to be open in how you communicate your experience as a woman. Know that you don’t have to do exactly what men do and be perceived as one of the guys. We are women, we are out here and we can handle it. It feels really good when you can be authentically who you are as a woman in these industries and beyond.”

For Dwyer, becoming a Seattle Reign FC Legend was very unexpected, but very appreciated.

"I'm greatly honored and I was shocked to even get the email about being nominated. I sometimes forget that what I’m doing, what we’re all doing, matters. To be honored alongside such an amazing lineup of women who have accomplished so many things and who have been setting examples for other young women like me is incredibly humbling. I'm in a very niche industry so being recognized for what I'm doing in my little corner of the world feels like I’m doing something right, and I'm super grateful for it.”