Explorers
Fellows
Flag Carriers
2024 Women of Discovery
All Explorers
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…
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…
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…
Kate Jackson
Born: 1972 Hometown: Toronto, Canada Education: Ph.D. in Biology Occupation: Herpetologist specializing in Central Africa venomous snakes Expeditions: Surveying reptiles/amphibians in Central Africa, herpetological expeditions in South and Central…
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…
Norina Vicente
Entomologist and conservation biologist Norina Vicente focuses on the evolutionary history of the eusocial, wingless wasps “ants” of poorly known regions, Afrotropical and Malagasy. For…
Kathleen Webster
Herpetologist, Conservation Biologist, and Ph.D. student Kathleen Webster carried WINGS Flag #39 while leading a team of international and local field biologists on an expedition…
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…
