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…
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…
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
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…
Maria Bollerup
Passionate for conservation and tourism, Maria Bollerup uses her experience from the increasingly more political travel industry and the dive industry to join the forces…
Laura Macamo
Laura Macamo is a specialist in conservation genetics, leading the genetic classification of wildlife species in the Gorongosa National Park. Maramo carried WINGS Flag #33…
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…
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,…
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…
Meg O’Hara
Meg O’Hara is an artist and environmentalist, with her work based on ocean conservation in the polar regions. Meg has been the Artist-in-Residence aboard expeditions…
Katie Conlon
Environmental advocate, explorer, researcher, humanitarian, storyteller, director, poet, and peacebuilder, Katie Conlon, Ph.D., is carrying Flag #32 on her expedition, “The Third Pole: Because It…