Explorers
Fellows
Flag Carriers
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. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson
Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson is a marine biologist, policy expert, writer, and teacher working to help create the best possible climate future. She is co-founder…
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
Rosita Arvigo
Rosita Arvigo is a Doctor of Naprapathy, ethnobotanist, spiritual healer, and author of six books on traditional healing of Central America. Dr. Arvigo has…
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…
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…
Ann Bancroft
Ann Bancroft is one of the world’s preeminent polar explorers and an internationally recognized leader who is dedicated to inspiring women, girls and audiences around…
Selma Barkham
Selma Barkham is a historical geographer who discovered 16th Century Basque whaling sites on the southern coast of Labrador, Canada. She was awarded…
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…
Carol Beckwith
Carol Beckwith is a photographer who documents indigenous tribes in Africa. She’s done much of her work with Australian photographer Angela Fisher. …
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…
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…
Selma Barkham
Selma Barkham is a historical geographer who discovered 16th Century Basque whaling sites on the southern coast of Labrador, Canada. She was awarded…
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…
Carol Beckwith
Carol Beckwith is a photographer who documents indigenous tribes in Africa. She’s done much of her work with Australian photographer Angela Fisher. …
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…
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…
Gitanjali Bhattacharya
Gitanjali Bhattacharya is a Conservation Biologist and the Head of Global Development for the Zoological Society of London. …
Marilyn Bridges
Marilyn Bridges studied photography at the Rochester Institute of Technology. She is noted for her black-and-white aerial photographs of sacred sites around the world. Born: 1948 Hometown:…
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…
Zuzana Buřivalová
DR. ZUZANA BUŘIVALOVÁ is a tropical forest ecologist and bioacoustics researcher working to equitably protect tropical forest biodiversity. She is an Assistant Professor at the…
Grace Cordsen
Grace Cordsen, a polar activist and proficient climate communicator carried WINGS Flag #33 while voyaging from Svalbard to the North Pole as a researcher studying…
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…
Dominique Gonçalves
As a keystone species, elephants help maintain the integrity of entire ecosystems, which in turn deliver climate regulation benefits and resilience to climatic shocks. Ecosystem…
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….
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…
Allison C. Hanes
Filmmaker Allison Hanes carried the WINGS Flag to the Mentawai Islands of Indonesia. She scouted locations for a 90 minute feature film about the shamans…
Dr. Haiza Haroon
Materials scientist Haiza Haroon will lead her expedition to South Island, New Zealand, endeavoring to discover the potential use of earthy material, namely clay collected…
Katie Lois Hutchinson
Katie Lois Hutchinson has long been fascinated by the living world. Growing up next to the beach in Kent, England, she gained a unique perspective…
Rannva Joermundsson
Originally from the Faroe Islands, Rannva Joermundsson has been passionate about diving since learning to dive in 2008. In addition to working for one of…
Maureen Clemmons
Dr. Maureen Clemmons theorized the ancient Egyptians, being sailors, utilized the wind not only for sailing, but also for construction. With her field-tested theory…
Margaret Lowman
Born: 1953 Hometown: Elmira, NY Education: Ph.D. in Botany Occupation: Canopy ecologist (argonaut) Expeditions: Hot air ballooning to survey biodiversity in Cameroon, Africa; Jason expedition, broadcasting via satellite to…
Liv Arnesen
Liv Arnesen is a Norwegian educator, cross-country skier, adventurer, guide, and motivational speaker. Arnesen led the first unsupported women’s crossing of the Greenland Ice Cap…
Jill Fredston
Born: 1958 Hometown: Anchorage, AK Education: M.A. in Polar Studies/Glaciology Occupation: Avalanche specialist, author, professional speaker Expeditions: 25,000+ miles of rowing in the far north and sailing around…
Lene Kielsen-Holm
Years: 1963 – 2021 Hometown: Qaqortoq, Greenland Education: M.A. in Social Sciences Occupation: Anthropologist, director, Environmental and Sustainable Development Issues and Research, Inuit Circumpolar Council, Greenland Expeditions:…
Vera Metcalf
Born: 1951 Hometown: Savoonga, St. Lawrence Island, AK Education: B.A. in Rural Development Occupation: Director of the Eskimo Walrus Commission and Commissioner on the U.S. Arctic Research Commission Expeditions:…
Irina Nikolaeva
Born: 1962 Hometown: Moscow, Russia Education: Ph.D. in Linguistics Occupation: Professor of Linguistics Expeditions: Various places in Siberia – from the Urals in the West to the…
Grace Gobbo
Grace Gobbo is an ethnobotanist in Tanzania who studies plants used by traditional healers. Her discoveries include finding new plant species, some of…
Erin Pettit
Born: 1971 Hometown: Seattle, WA Education: Ph.D. in Geophysics Occupation: Glaciologist and educator Expeditions: Antarctica (West Antarctic Divide, Siple Dome, and the Dry Valleys), Alaska (Brooks Range), Washington (Mount…
