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…
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…
Fiona Ogutu
Obtaining her Ph.D. at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Fiona is carrying Flag #34 to Lake Victoria Basin, Kenya, to assess the bioaccumulation and biomagnification…
Azlin Fazlina Osman
Bioengineer and nanotechnology researcher Azlin Fazlina Osman and her team will explore dolomite reservoirs around the Ashio mountainland in Kuzu district, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Dolomite…
Krushnaa Patil
Krushnaa Patil is an avid explorer and climber, beginning in 2007 by attending mountaineering courses with the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering in Uttarkashi, Uttrakhand, India….
Dr. Ulyana Horodyskyj Peña
Glaciologist, geologist, and mountaineer Dr. Ulyana Horodyskyj Peña is the head of communications for the University of Colorado Boulder’s Climate Adaptation Science Center. Her research…
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,…
Cassandra Quave
Writer, professor, podcast host, mother, and ethnobotanist Cassandra Quave, Ph.D., is a two-time WINGS Flag Carrier. Cassandra is an endowed Associate Professor of Dermatology and…
Rahayu Oktaviani
Primate conservationist Rahayu Oktaviani (Flag #23) carried the WINGS Flag to Gunung Halimun Salak National Park in Indonesia, where she leads a longterm field project…
Gaelin Rosenwaks
Gaelin Rosenwaks is a marine scientist, explorer, photographer, filmmaker and author. She began her career at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution conducting research in Antarctica…
Vera Rubin
Dr. Vera Rubin was a trailblazing astronomer who pioneered work on galaxy rotation rates. Her observations provided…
Stephanie Schwabe
Born: 1957 Hometown: Charleston, SC Education: Ph.D. in Biogeochemistry and J.D. in Law Occupation: Cave diver, geomicrobiologist Expeditions: Diving into the ocean’s Black Holes and Blue Holes Favorite Place: In…
Marie Tharp
Years: 1920 – 2006 Hometown: Ypsilanti, MI Education: M.A. in Geology Occupation: Oceanographic cartographer Expeditions: At sea on the following research vessels: Eastward to the North Atlantic & Caribbean,…
Gitanjali Bhattacharya
Gitanjali Bhattacharya is a Conservation Biologist and the Head of Global Development for the Zoological Society of London. …
Nathalie Cabrol
Nathalie has been a Principal Investigator (PI) at the SETI Institute since 1998. She leads projects in planetary science and astrobiology, develops science…
Dalia Amor Conde
Dalia Amor Conde is a conservation ecologist and associate professor at Southern Denmark University and is also the Director of Science at Species360. She…
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…
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…
Ana Pinto
Born: 1959 Hometown: Oviedo, Asturias, Spain Education: Ph.D. in Archaeology Occupation: Archaeologist, anthropologist Expeditions: Spain, South Africa, Tanzania Favorite Place: Outdoors on the green slopes of the Asturias mountains Best Discoveries:…
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
Gaelin Rosenwaks
Gaelin Rosenwaks is a marine scientist, explorer, photographer, filmmaker and author. She began her career at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution conducting research in Antarctica…
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…
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…
Sefra Alexandra
“The Seed Huntress” Sefra Alexandra leads The Ecotype Project for the Connecticut Northeast Organic Farming Association, an effort to fortify the living seed banks of…
Rahayu Oktaviani
Primate conservationist Rahayu Oktaviani (Flag #23) carried the WINGS Flag to Gunung Halimun Salak National Park in Indonesia, where she leads a longterm field project…
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….
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…
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…
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…