Explorers
Fellows
Flag Carriers
Dr. Grace C. Young
Dr. Grace C. Young is a Research Engineer and Lead Scientist at X, Alphabet’s Moonshot Factory (formerly GoogleX), where her team is creating radical new technologies to protect…
Dr. Nurzhafarina Othman
Dr. Nurzhafarina (Farina) Othman is a conservation scientist and community advocate dedicated to the protection of the endangered Bornean elephant. With a PhD in Bioscience…
Dr. Divya Karnad
Dr. Divya Karnad is an Indian marine conservationist and associate professor at Ashoka University, dedicated to sustainable seafood, fisheries management and marine biodiversity protection. With…
Dr. Yara Barros
Dr. Yara Barros is a Brazilian conservation biologist and the Executive Coordinator of Project Jaguars of Iguaçu, a flagship initiative dedicated to the conservation of…
Mandë Holford
Dr. Mandë Holford is a professor of chemistry at CUNY Hunter College and The CUNY Graduate Center, with scientific appointments at the American Museum of…
Terrie Williams
The narwhal is one of the most iconic marine mammals of the Arctic but remains virtually unstudied due to its deep diving habits and polar…
Arita Baaijens
From December 2019 through January 2020, Arita Baaijens (Flag #2) returned to Papua New Guinea to continue the work she began in 2016 with WINGS…
Felicity Aston
Poler explorer and climate scientist Felicity Aston (Flag #27), who has led international teams of women on record-making ski expeditions to both poles, traveled to…
Dr. Jessica Ware
Dr. Jessica Ware is a full curator at the American Museum of Natural History where she serves as Chair of the Division of Invertebrate Zoology. Dr. Ware’s…
Prof Adriana Vergés
Adriana Vergés is a marine ecologist whose research focuses on the ecology and conservation of coastal marine habitats. In particular, her team investigates the ecological…
Ruthmery Pillco
Ruthmery Pillco is a Peruvian biologist who works on conservation and biodiversity projects in the rainforests of Costa Rica and Peru. In Costa Rica, she…
Dr. Patricia Medici
Dr. Patricia Medici is a Brazilian conservationist whose main professional interests are tapir conservation, tropical forest conservation, landscape ecology, and communication. Patrícia has a Bachelor’s…
Dr. Paula Kahumbu
Dr. Paula Kahumbu is a prominent Kenyan conservationist and the CEO of WildlifeDirect. She earned her Ph.D. from Princeton University, focusing on Ecology and Evolutionary…
Alifa Haque
Dr. Alifa Bintha Haque is a marine biologist and ethno-conservationist focused on conserving sharks and rays in the global south context. Her research covers sustainable…
Elizabeth Bennett
Elizabeth (Liz) Bennett is the Vice President for Species Conservation at WCS. She conducted the first ever detailed field study of the proboscis monkey in…
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Susan Eaton
Geoscientist and polar explorer Susan Eaton (Flag #14, #32) led Sea Women Expeditions (SWX) – a volunteer-based, international team of Indigenous and non-Indigenous women ocean…
Chiara De Gregorio
Chiara De Gregorio (Flag #2) focuses on primate communication, primarily among singing primates, with the goal of understanding the social and environmental factors that shape…
Felicity Aston
Poler explorer and climate scientist Felicity Aston (Flag #27), who has led international teams of women on record-making ski expeditions to both poles, traveled to…
Elyce Gosselin
Elyce Gosselin (Flag #17) traveled to Ecuador to study the ecology and conservation genomics of red and hoary bats species found in the Galapagos Islands….
Rahayu Oktaviani
Primate conservationist Rahayu Oktaviani (Flag #23) carried the WINGS Flag to Gunung Halimun Salak National Park in Indonesia, where she leads a longterm field project…
Sefra Alexandra
“The Seed Huntress” Sefra Alexandra leads The Ecotype Project for the Connecticut Northeast Organic Farming Association, an effort to fortify the living seed banks of…
Silvia Schrötter
Tropical Ecologist Silvia Schrötter focuses on how to effectively incorporate the human dimension, including livelihood development, into nature conservation and climate change adaptation. The goal…
Sunniva Sorby
Sunniva Sorby (Flag #14) and Hilde Fålun Strøm are the first women in history to overwinter in the Arctic without men. They embarked in September…
Gaelin Rosenwaks
Gaelin Rosenwaks is a marine scientist, explorer, photographer, filmmaker and author. She began her career at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution conducting research in Antarctica…
2025 Women of Discovery
Dr. Yara Barros
Dr. Yara Barros is a Brazilian conservation biologist and the Executive Coordinator of Project Jaguars of Iguaçu, a flagship initiative dedicated to the conservation of…
Dr. Divya Karnad
Dr. Divya Karnad is an Indian marine conservationist and associate professor at Ashoka University, dedicated to sustainable seafood, fisheries management and marine biodiversity protection. With…
Dr. Nurzhafarina Othman
Dr. Nurzhafarina (Farina) Othman is a conservation scientist and community advocate dedicated to the protection of the endangered Bornean elephant. With a PhD in Bioscience…
Dr. Grace C. Young
Dr. Grace C. Young is a Research Engineer and Lead Scientist at X, Alphabet’s Moonshot Factory (formerly GoogleX), where her team is creating radical new technologies to protect…
All Explorers
Susan Hendrickson
Born: 1949 Hometown: Chicago, IL Education: Honorary Ph.D. University of Chicago Occupation: Marine archaeologist, field paleontologist, professional diver Expeditions: Diving – Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Cuba, Honduras, Egypt, Peru, and…
Ana Pinto
Born: 1959 Hometown: Oviedo, Asturias, Spain Education: Ph.D. in Archaeology Occupation: Archaeologist, anthropologist Expeditions: Spain, South Africa, Tanzania Favorite Place: Outdoors on the green slopes of the Asturias mountains Best Discoveries:…
Sabriye Tenberken
Born: 1970 Hometown: Cologne, Germany Education: Central Asian Studies at Bonn University, Germany Occupation: Co-founder of Braille Without Borders (Tibet), an international organization for the blind in…
Isabella Abbott
Isabella Abbot, the first native Hawaiian woman to receive a PhD in science, was an ethnobotanist and university professor. During her career, she was…
Janine Benyus
Janine Benyus is the Co-founder of Biomimicry 3.8. She is a biologist, innovation consultant, and author of six books, including Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired…
Julianna Brush
Julianna was honored by WINGS WorldQuest with the Women of Discovery Field Research Award in 2006, for her field work to understand the effects…
Eugenie Clark
Years: 1922 – 2015 Hometown: New York, N.Y. Education: Ph.D. in Zoology Occupation: Ichthyologist Expeditions: Over 50 expeditions to the Red Sea, Australia, Japan, Papa New Guinea, Solomon Islands,…
Sveva Gallmann
Born: 1980 Hometown: Nairobi, Kenya Education: M.S. Medical Anthropology Occupation: Anthropologist, oral historian, educator, and project coordinator Expeditions: With camels through East Africa Favorite Places: Anywhere with open space in…
Aquilina Lestenkof
Aquilina D. Lestenkof is the co-director of the Ecosystem Conservation Office of the Tribal Government, located on Alaska’s island, St. Paul, the same…