Who is CWS
We thought you'd never ask...
Lisa Gembitsky
Co-Founder & CEO
Alison Haitana
Operations Manager
Lacey Williams
Community Manager
Meet the Crew
Cryptid Women’s Society is a women-led community for the curious, the brave, and the slightly
too invested in strange things.
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Founded by Lisa in New Zealand and Juliet in Australia, CWS brings together women who research, investigate, explore, and question the unexplained.
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We’re talking cryptids, paranormal encounters, UFOs, ancient mysteries, folklore, field research, evidence, and the stories that refuse to stay neatly tucked inside the “that’s probably nothing” box.
At the heart of CWS are women.
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Women who have had experiences they can’t explain. Women who want to get out in the field, learn real skills, share evidence, follow leads, and be taken seriously.
Women who have spent years watching from the sidelines and are ready to step into the search.
We’re here to build confidence, connection, and opportunity, while creating a space where the weird can be discussed without judgment and the research can get muddy, messy, and seriously exciting.
We’re supportive, curious, sharp, welcoming, and exactly the right amount of strange.
Lisa Gembitsky
Co- Founder & CEO
Lisa is the co founder and CEO of Cryptid Women’s Society, South Pacific strange-stuff chaser, lifelong martial artist, and the unofficial Lara Croft of the South Pacific. A black belt who has been doing some form of ninja turtle business since she was two, Lisa has always had a fascination with weapons, blades, ancient relics, lost civilisations, cryptid creatures, UFOs and basically anything that makes normal people say, “That’s a bit much.” Perfect. She’s in.
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Lisa has helped build CWS into a bold, women-led community for the curious, the brave, the researchers, the investigators, and the ones who have always felt pulled toward the strange.
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For Lisa, CWS is about more than monsters, mysteries, and evidence, although she is absolutely here for all of that. It’s about people finding the thing that lights them up, that shiny little spark that pulls them onto the path they were meant to follow.
She believes everyone deserves the chance to explore that calling, to be taken seriously, to build skills, to connect with the right people, and to step into the work they know they’re meant to do.
Alison Haitana
Operations Manager
Kia ora, my name is Alison Haitana and as an indigenous New Zealander, I blend together the golden threads of faery tales, myths and legends along with shamanism & creativity.
Undergoing many rites of passage and a curious willingness to step into the fires of birth and death for transformation & reflection.
Nature truly is my Nature as I straddle the worlds as a Story Shaman, who is discovering the bones of a story before all the separation. I also am a self-trained Tech Mystic and design intuitive websites and courses.
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Lacey Williams
Community Manager
Lacey Williams is an Appalachian folklore researcher, writer, and public speaker with a passion for cryptids, regional history, and the stories that shape local communities.
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A founding member and moderator of the Cryptid Women’s Society, she combines historical research, folklore, and field investigation to help create an inclusive space for women interested in the strange and unexplained.
Raised in the Appalachian foothills and deeply connected to the culture of the region, Lacey’s work focuses on preserving folklore traditions while exploring the intersection of history, legend, and lived experience.
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Through community events, workshops, writing, and media appearances, she encourages others to embrace curiosity, ask questions, and find connection through the stories that bring people together.
For Lacey, the Cryptid Women’s Society is more than a paranormal community - it’s a sisterhood built on support, education, and empowering women to confidently explore the unknown.
