Award-winning artist, best-selling author and illustrator known for environmental and disability advocacy.
1990s
Raised on the Gulf Coast of Florida, Bethany grew up participating in wildlife rehabilitation efforts, namely for gray squirrels. Throughout her youth, she volunteered hundreds of hours with local animal rescues, including the S.P.C.A. Tampa Bay.
2010s
At sixteen, Bethany began her college years. While studying at the University of South Florida, Bethany volunteered over 1,000 hours before turning 21 to protect native flora and fauna. She interned with the prestigious Lowry Zoo’s (now Zoo Tampa) manatee rehabilitation department and the Department of Environmental Protection to protect native flora and fauna in aquatic and coastal ecosystems.
Bethany was the founding president of the Pre-Veterinary Society at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg before being elected President of the American Pre-Veterinary Medical Association (APVMA). During this time, Bethany gathered a specialized group of university students to form a Roots and Shoots program. Bethany led the group to visit Pinellas County High Schools, where they inspired after-school programs to help protect native endangered flora and fauna. Stahl created spin-off Roots and Shoots groups at Boca Ciega High School. Dr. Jane Goodall awarded her and the group a Certificate of Appreciation for their work propagating hundreds of Florida Golden Asters. Bethany was granted access to endangered seeds from Bok Towers Botanical Gardens, where she directed students to grow them. Participants of Bethany’s group met Stahl at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve, where she led the group with Bok Tower Botanical Gardens horticulture specialists to plant the growing seedlings.
Bethany studied Barred Owls diets and evolutionary adaptation in an undergraduate position for esteemed published researchers, volunteered with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Manatee Rescue team and was a part of rescue missions. She interned for the Genetics and Veterinary department at Southeastern Guide Dogs (now Dogs Inc) and worked for the veterinary department as a surgical assistant at the S.P.C.A. Tampa Bay.
After receiving her Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences with a focus in Interdisciplinary Animal Sciences and a minor in American Sign Language, Bethany was bedbound from suffering from chronic pain diseases. She shifted her physical efforts to painting and soon showed artwork in galleries and had solo exhibitions in the United States. A few short years later, she discovered the world of authorship and was excited to share her heartfelt messages with readers worldwide.
Her third book, Save the Ocean, became her first best-seller and started her Save the Earth® children’s book series. Since then, many books in the Save the Earth® series have become Amazon best-sellers, received multiple literary awards, and are utilized in schools and educational programs worldwide.
2020s
Her work has been adapted into large-scale installations nationwide, engaging her stories with outdoor activities in ecological preservation areas.
Bethany is actively involved in the community. She regularly donates books to local Little Free Libraries, has donated artwork to green spaces, including the University of Tennessee Botanical Gardens, and has volunteered several thousands of hours to various wildlife, domestic animals, and conservation organizations.
Bethany began creating skincare and self-care items that were all-natural and eco-friendly. She began studying phytochemistry and became an NAHA (National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy) and AIA (Alliance of International Aromatherapists) education-recognized certified aromatherapist through Aromahead Institute School of Essential Oil Studies. She completed over 2,000 hours of coursework in the Herbal Immersion Program and received a certificate of completion from Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine. She founded Happy Little Herbs, LLC, which has planted over 100 trees in the coastal region of Madagascar. Her goal is to help make the world a happier place for humans, animals, and plants alike. However, instead of selling her items, she has turned her passion for clean, green, and natural products toward education and has since closed the business, promoting less waste and encouraging others to take the power of what they can grow in their yards into their own hands while sharing her formulations in scientific journals for further study as well as writing books and publishing articles to give the power back to the people.
She writes for scientific journals on phytochemicals and component blending in aromatherapy with a focus on holistic healing as an addition, not a replacement, to allopathic medicine. Her unique and individual research with a focus on pain management for communities without access to western medicine has been published in the academic community.
Stahl travels the United States, teaching art and storytelling at some of the nation's largest fine art festivals and museums, including the Dogwood Arts Festival, Knoxville Museum of Art and Zoo Knoxville, was invited to participate in a Deep Ecology Artist Fellowship residency with United Plant Savers at their Ohio Sanctuary, all while holding book signings at bookstores such as Barnes & Noble, competing and winning awards, and showcasing her art nationwide.
In 2025, she began plein air painting and has participated in 8 competitions winning 5 awards, with her work being held in galleries, museums, and exhibitions nationally while also participating in gallery competitions having been accepted into 10 competitions, winning 11 awards.
Today, she advocates for disabled individuals and is on a mission to create a more inclusive world for those who face adversity, celebrating this feat of autism advocacy by being invited to read her book "The Day I Learned I'm Autistic (and ADHD!)" at the first ever Autistic Pride Day celebration in Chattanooga, Tennessee.