History
In 2003, Milbry Polk and Leila Hadley Luce founded WINGS Women of Discovery (then WINGS WorldQuest).
Fittingly, it was a pioneering mission.
At the time, there was no organization shining a light on the under-recognized discoveries and accomplishments of women explorers, none dedicated to promoting women working in the field sciences, and no one to inspire the next generation of problem solvers.
In 2005 they established the WINGS Flag Carrier Program. The numbered WINGS flags have since flown across every continent and at both poles.
In 2014, WINGS established the Emergency Fund to ensure the safety of WINGS Fellows and Flag Carriers who unexpectedly find themselves in danger or become injured in the field and require urgent evacuation.
In 2018, the WINGS Associate Board, a group of young professional women passionate about enabling extraordinary women to achieve and discover, was founded to raise funds to underwrite a Fellows grant annually, increase awareness of the mission, grow the network among young professionals and scientists, and mentor the next generation of leaders in science, exploration and philanthropy.
