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
Susan Dudley
Susan Dudley, Ph.D. is a plant evolutionary ecologist at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, whose early work in plant kin recognition sparked both…
Sylvia Earle
Dr. Sylvia Earle is a legendary marine biologist, oceanographer, explorer, author and lecturer with experience as a field research scientist, government official, and director for…
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…
Gretel Ehrlich
An author of 13 books, poet, documentary filmmaker, former sheepherder and ranch hand, Gretel Ehrlich has truly done it all. She was born in Santa…
Juliana Machado Ferreira
Dr. Juliana Machado Ferreira founded and serves as Executive Director of FREELAND Brasil, whose mission is to conserve biodiversity by ending wildlife trafficking. She designs…
Angela Fisher
Angela Fisher is from Adelaide, Australia, and holds a degree in social sciences. Together with Carol Beckwith, she documents traditional ceremonies of African…
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…
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…
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…
Jane Goodall
In July 1960, Jane Goodall began her landmark study of chimpanzee behavior in what is now Tanzania. Her work at Gombe Stream would become the…
Marianne Greenwood
Years: 1916 – 2006 Hometown: Gallivare, Lapland, Sweden Education: Art & Trade School of Design and Hotel School Occupation: Author and photographer Expeditions: Traveled around the world eight…
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…
Kate Harris
Diverging from her original plan of becoming a scientist and going to Mars, writer and adventurer Kate Harris explores desolate trails in pursuit…
Leela Hazzah
Dr Leela Hazzah: Executive Director and Cofounder of Lion Guardians, Leela obtained her PhD and MSc from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her research…
Jill Heinerth
JILL HEINERTH is one of the world’s premier underwater explorers and the first person to dive inside iceberg caves. A pioneering explorer, award-winning filmmaker and…
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…
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…
Nina Jablonski
Inspired to study natural history by her upbringing on a farm in upstate New York, Nina Jablonski is a biological anthropologist and paleobiologist…
Kiera Rumbough
Kiera Rumbough is a marine biologist and the lead research coordinator on a multi-year sea expedition around the world to film and document stories about…
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…
Nora Shawki
Nora Shawki is a National Geographic Explorer and Egyptian archaeologist who has been excavating ancient sites in the Nile Delta & Sudan for over a…
Hailey Shchepanik
Hailey Shchepanik, an early career ocean professional, currently an Aquatic Science Biologist and Scientific Diver with Fisheries and Oceans Canada on Vancouver Island, British Columbia,…
Cédrique Solofondranohatra
Cédrique is a plant biologist and ecologist researching the effect of cricket frass fertilizer on the growth and survival of seedlings in Madagascar palms. She…
Sunniva Sorby and Hilde Strom
Co-founders of Hearts in the Ice Sunniva Sorby and Hilde Falun Strom are returning to the Arctic with Flag #14. Dedicated to conservation, polar exploration,…
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…
Maria Tzortziou
In May-June 2023, Environmental scientist and explorer Maria Tzortziou (Flag #37) traveled to Alaska’s west coast ‒ one of the most productive areas for Alaska…
Callie Veelenturf
Callie Veelenturf, a marine conservation biologist and founder of The Leatherback Project, is dedicated to protecting the oceans. During winter 2019-20, Callie carried WINGS Flag…
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…
Edie Widder
Born: 1951 Hometown: Arlington, MA Education: Ph.D. in Neurobiology Occupation: Research scientist in deep-sea biology and conservation Expeditions: More than 50 research cruises and over 250 dives in research…
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. …
