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…
Anna Knochel
Marine ecologist Anna Knochel (Flag #34) will be collecting data in the Galapagos that combines acoustic tagging, satellite tagging, and isotope analyses to identify movement…
Heather Kuhlken
Founder and Executive Director of Families in Nature, Heather Kulken took Flag #29 to study the “Rebel Reef” off the coast of Tela, Honduras. Coral…
Sandra Lai
Sandra Lai is a terrestrial ecologist, carnivore researcher and conservationist who was born and raised on the small island of Tahiti in French Polynesia. Early on…
Rocío López
Rocío López: A Geoarchaeological Approach to the Materiality and Historical Ecology of Earth Mounds in Uruguay Rocío López is a geoarchaeologist currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Anthropology…
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…
Julieta Massaferro
Paleoecologist / paleolimnologist Julieta Massaferro (Flag #33) researches fossil insects from lake sediments to reconstruct past environmental conditions and understand climate and other environmental changes…
Angeline Mano Matheswaran
Born and raised in India, Angeline Mano Matheswaran is a Research Assistant and Nature Educator at Salem Ornithological Foundation. Angeline is a post-graduate in English…
Three Otters Media
Tiffany Duong, Aya Walraven, and Dr. Louise Edwards have come together to create Three Otters Media (TOM), which leverages virtual reality and immersive technologies to…
Gina Moseley
Palaeoclimatologist and polar explorer Gina Moseley specializes in improving our understanding of how the Arctic responds to a warmer world. Gina has led two pioneering…
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…
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…
Alexandra Morton
Alexandra Morton was born in 1957 in Lakeville, Connecticut. She developed her love for animals at an early age when she explored in…
Carol Amore
Documentary filmmaker and wildlife photographer Carole Amore has traveled to remote parts of the world in pursuit of adventure. Her passion is the Asian tiger…
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…
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…
Anna Roosevelt
Born in 1946, Anna Curtenius Roosevelt, the great-granddaughter of the United States President Theodore Roosevelt, is an archaeologist and a Professor of Anthropology…
Iris Love
Years: 1933 – 2020 Hometown: Lincoln, VT Education: M.A. in Classical Archaeology Occupation: Field archaeologist, photographer, art critic Expeditions: Samothrace and Cnidus, Greece, and Etruscan sites in Italy Favorite Place:…
Katy Payne
Born: 1937 Hometown: Ithaca, NY Education: B.A. with honors in Music Occupation: Acoustic biologist Expeditions: Argentina, Revillagigedos Islands, Kenya, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Central African Republic Favorite Place: Quietly deep in nature Best…
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
Heather Kuhlken
Founder and Executive Director of Families in Nature, Heather Kulken took Flag #29 to study the “Rebel Reef” off the coast of Tela, Honduras. Coral…
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…
Paula Prist
Dr. Prist is currently a senior scientist at EcoHealth Alliance. She holds a Master´s and Ph.D in ecology from the Department of Ecology of University of São Paulo,…
Abeer Al-Saud
Explorer, peacebuilder, sustainability expert, and artist Abeer Al-Saud is taking Flag #32 to the “Third Pole” in the Himalayan mountains with renowned National Geographic explorer…
April Burt
Plastic pollution is having devastating effects on the Aldabra Atoll World Heritage Site and the local wildlife. Conservation biologist April Burt was awarded a WINGS WorldQuest Flag…
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…
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…
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…