Canadian Chapter Executive & Other Explorers

Jett Britnell FI'16, FRCGS, FRGS, is a British Columbia based Explorer, Underwater, Wildlife & Expedition Photographer, internationally published Writer, Scuba Diver and Speaker. He also a Fellow in the Royal Canadian Geographical Society (Ottawa) and the Royal Geographical Society (London). Together with his wife, he co-authors an adventure & exploration column for Luxe Beat Magazine under the banner Third Age Expeditions. Jet is also a member of the Ocean Artists Society, an ambassador for the “League of Underwater Explorers.” and also a consultant to Elephanatics, an elephant advocacy organization residing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Much of his work is focused upon undersea exploration, globally protecting endangered species, preserving natural habitats, supporting marine & wildlife conservation efforts and environmental education. From 2019 / 2020 Jett served as the Explorers Club’s Regional Director for British Columbia/Yukon and effective Jan 1, 2021, he assumed the role of Chapter Chair for The Explorers Club’s Canadian Chapter.

Robin Brooks FI’14 is a proud member of the Explorers Club based in Toronto and Georgian Bay Ontario. Director of Marketing for Travelopia’s Exodus Travels, Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and supporter of the Africa Wildlife Foundation, Rewilding Europe, and the eBioAtlas. She has coordinated logistics for EC flag expeditions to Madagascar, Turkmenistan, and has a cultural census project in Myanmar documenting the tattooed faced females of the Chin Tribes. While far more comfortable in the background, Robin has appeared as a travel expert on NBC, ABC, the Washington Post, and New York Times. An advocate for the power of relationships, staying positive, empowering local communities and marginalized groups, and supporting gender equality across the globe, she believes that exploration should improve life for the people and places we explore.

Polar Ambassador, Author, and Explorer, Sunniva Sorby made history in 1993 as part of the first team of women to ski to the South Pole. She was also the first Canadian woman in 1999 to ski across the Greenland Icecap and in 2021 as the first duo of women to overwinter solo in the Arctic. With over 25 years in the Arctic and the Antarctic as historian, naturalist guide and zodiac driver she is a passionate advocate through storytelling, active citizen science, youth engagement and visual inspiration. An accomplished keynote speaker she co-presented at the UN COP26 together with Maria Pia Cassarini from Polar Educators Int’l on the “Importance of Polar Education to understand climate change”. In 2002 she was nominated as "Woman of the Year" by San Diego council member Christine Kehoe where she flew to the State Capital to accept her award for her volunteer work and community service outreach to kids and young women as part of her efforts to promote sports education and healthy lifestyles. Sunniva has been sought after as a keynote speaker for numerous companies and special interest groups. Her recent keynotes have included: GOOGLE, Right-Mesh (Block chain company), PEER Summit (Bitcoin CEO’s). City of Ft Meyers, Calif. Science Educators Conference, American Society for Training and Development, Telus and BC Hydro, Royal Canadian Geographic Society and GLEX- Explorers Club Summit among others. Her topics range from :”Citizen Science to inspire care and action” , “Importance of Risk-taking in a time of Change”, “Leadership’s Final Frontier- Collaboration”, “Coping and thriving through hardship and Isolation “and “Why we all have a mountain to climb”. Sunniva’s goal is to continue to inspire better service to the earth and to each other through a project co-created with Hilde Falun Strom “Hearts in the Ice (HITI).Through HITI they have reached over 100,000 youth globally on subjects all related to climate change with the goal of turning climate despair into hope and action.

Marlis Butcher, FI'16, FRCGS, C.Dir., MBA, CPA-CMA, is an environmental conservationist, author (Park Bagger – Adventures in The Canadian National Parks), speaker, and photographer. She is the first visitor to all 47 national parks. Marlis is a Fellow of the Explorers Club and of Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and an Ambassador for Canadian Geographic Adventures. She is a director on the board of the Royal Botanical Gardens. Marlis served on the board of the Bruce Trail Conservancy, was a Trail Maintenance and Development Director, and still volunteers to protect the Niagara Escarpment, a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve.

David Galbraith, FI'18, FRCGS, Ph.D., is a wildlife and conservation biologist, historian, writer, and artist. David serves as Director of Science at Royal Botanical Gardens (Canada), where he's worked since 1995. He's responsible for research, library and herbarium collections and programs, and cultural and landscape heritage studies. He’s an adjunct prof. at McMaster University, Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and Fellow International of the Explorers Club. He's been honoured to serve as Treasurer for the Canadian Chapter since 2018.

Rogier Gruys currently resides on Haida Gwaii where he manages the visitor program for Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve and Haida Heritage site. Before coming to Haida Gwaii he spent a decade in the Canadian Rockies, creating new infrastructure for visitors to Jasper National Park. Earlier, Rogier lived and worked in Indonesia, Mongolia and Bhutan for a decade, where he worked on international development projects. He is a published nature photographer focusing on remote wilderness locations.

Mark Angelo hails from Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, and is an internationally celebrated river conservationist, speaker, writer, teacher and paddler. He is the founder and Chair of both BC and World Rivers Day, an event now celebrated by millions of people in more than 100 countries. Mark is the Chair Emeritus of the Rivers Institute at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) and was the long time head of BCIT's Fish and Wildlife Program prior to his retirement. Mark has received both the Order of British Columbia and the Order of Canada in recognition of his river conservation efforts over the past five decades. Among his many other awards are the inaugural United Nations Stewardship Award and the National River Conservation Award. As an avid paddler, Mark has traveled on more than 1000 rivers in well over 100 countries, perhaps more than any other. Mark was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Simon Fraser University in 2009 in recognition of his river conservation efforts, both locally and globally. In 2019, he received an Honorary Doctorate from Trent University for his life-long efforts to protect waterways. He also received a special lifetime achievement award from the BCIT Alumni. In 2016, Mark completed the award-winning film, RiverBlue, which chronicled his unprecedented three year around-the-world journey by river, an expedition that documented the extensive freshwater impacts of the global fashion industry. In 2018, Mark led a team down the Tijuana River through both Mexico and California documenting cross border pollution as part of what became an Emmy Award winning news segment for ABC. Mark’s work was also the subject of the acclaimed 2021 feature film, Last Paddle: 1000 Rivers, 1 Life. Mark has played leadership role in numerous river restoration initiatives including the 50 year effort to restore Guichon Creek, the subject of his acclaimed book, The Little Creek That Could. He is also included in the BC Almanac Book of the 100 Greatest British Columbians and was named by Canadian Geographic as one of Canada’s greatest modern-day explorers. Mark continues to mentor river-related and environmental organizations around the world as well as young people with an interest in water related issues.

Jeff Birchall, PhD (FI’18) is an Associate Professor of Local-scale Climate Change Adaptation/ Resilience, in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, where he serves as the Associate Director of the School of Urban and Regional Planning and the Director of the Climate Adaptation and Resilience Lab. Jeff also leads the thematic research network on Local-scale Planning, Climate Change and Resilience, through the University of the Arctic. Jeff has broad research and teaching experience in climate/ environmental change and planning, and specific expertise in local governance and sustainability. Jeff is a registered professional planner (RPP, MCIP) with education in geography, environmental studies and planning, climate change and sustainability. Jeff’s internationally recognized research program is interdisciplinary in scope, and explores localized climate impacts, how these affect critical infrastructure and the built form, how this relates to planning/ policy decisions, and what this means for community well-being and safety.

Over half a century of watching, writing, drawing, listening and living among birds, Rob Butler’s views have transformed from ecology and behaviour of birds to a unifying vision of nature and human culture which he calls Nature Culture. Dr. Rob Butler holds a graduate degree from Simon Fraser University (MSc) and the University of British Columbia (PhD). He is a fellow of The Explorers Club, Royal Canadian Geographic Society, and American Ornithologists Society, an outstanding alumnus of Simon Fraser University and Capilano University, and Signature Member of Artists for Conservation. His research career includes the social behaviour of crows, ecology of herons, and migration of birds. Rob is an adjunct professor of Biological Sciences at Simon Fraser University and has published over 150 works for scientific and popular audiences. He has scores of appearances on television, radio and in newspapers. He wrote and co-produced with Mike McKinlay two films on nature and culture. He has served on many boards including The Nature Trust of British Columbia, the Pacific WildLife Foundation, and Vancouver Bird Advisory Committee and Vancouver International Bird Festival. He is Honorary Director of Nature Kids and Pacific WildLife Foundation that he co-founded.

I am a Canadian aquanaut, analog astronaut, engineer, scientist, diver and researcher based out of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan where I live with my wife Jen and our four-year-old son, Boston. I currently work as the Director of Strategy and Innovation with the Saskatchewan Health Authority. My work is focused on performance measurement and strategic planning in health care. My educational background is in Engineering, where I hold Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering, Master of Biomedical Engineering and Master of Science degrees. As an avid space, sea and exploration enthusiast, I use what free time I have to contribute to the field of Isolated, Confined and Extreme (ICE) environment research. In 2019 and 2023, I completed two 6 day, 5 night underwater, saturation diving, scientific research missions off the coast of Key Largo, Florida. During these missions, we performed neurological tests, sleep and morale studies to further the understanding of what happens to the human body in ICE environments. In 2018, I was part of a 14 day analog astronaut mission at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah. During my time there, I developed and built a waterless dishwasher using ultraviolet light to reduce the water consumption of our crew during our time in simulation. I am ‘Member International’ of the Explorer’s Club and spoke in-person at their New York Headquarters with our team about our underwater mission as part of their “What’s on Tap” series. I am also a Canadian Space Agency ambassador. I have appeared on multiple podcasts and spoken to school classrooms to share my experiences and foster the excitement that I have for space exploration in others.

I graduated from the University of Western Australia with a double major B.Sc in Geology and Biology in 1961. During my working life I have been employed as a biologist, geologist, mining analyst, stock broker and mining company director. Since retiring in 2000 my interests have focused on conservation of natural areas (in particular old-growth forests), monitoring of Bald Eagle nesting on the North Shore of Vancouver, black bear management on the North Shore and my Reconnecting with Nature program through field trips, lectures and publications in both botany and geology. I was a member of scientific expeditions in the 1960s, most notably the 1965 expedition to the Star Mountains of Papua New Guinea, the last major unexplored region of Papua New Guinea. I am a Professional Engineer and a Fellow of the Geological Association of Canada. I am or have been a director or member of many natural history and conservation related organizations in the Vancouver area, British Columbia and Perth, Australia. I have recently, over a seven-year period, completed a biophysical analysis of an approximately 54 ha area of old-growth forest in the District of West Vancouver. The objective of this program has been to record the extent of old-growth forest in West Vancouver and protect it as parkland. My hope is to retrieve some of the respect for our natural environment that has been lost. I have received eleven awards relating to the education and the preservation of natural areas and have written numerous popular and technical articles related to the above.

Full Professor, Dinosaur Palaeobiology (University of Alberta, Edmonton). PhD (McGill 1981), Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (1999), Honorary Doctorate of Laws (University of Calgary, 2008), Honorary Doctorate of Science (University of British Columbia, 2015). Provincial Museum of Alberta (1976-1982), Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology (1982-2005), University of Alberta (2005 to present). Fieldwork connected with his research concentrated in Alberta, Antarctica, the Arctic, Argentina, British Columbia, China and Mongolia. He has published more than 345 scientific articles in peer-reviewed journals, conference volumes and books, 178 popular articles and twenty books. Awards include Explorers Club (Canadian Chapter) Stefansson Medal 2011, Explorers Club Explorer’s Medal 2012, Royal Canadian Geographical Society Gold Medal 2012, Order of the Polar Star (Mongolia, 2013), Meritorious Service Cross (Governor General of Canada, 2016) and Elizabeth (Betsy) Nicholls Award for Excellence in Palaeontology (2019). Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum opened in 2015 near Grande Prairie. Since 1986, he has supervised more than 35 graduate students. In 2012 helped develop University of Alberta’s first Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) called DINO 101 (more than 100,000 students from all over the world have taken this course). He has given more than 1000 lectures in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Mexico, Mongolia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Sweden and the United States, and the venues include the American Museum of Natural History (New York), the Explorer's Club (New York) and the National Geographic Society (Washington). To date, over 50,000 people have attended his lectures. He has given more than 1200 newspaper, magazine, radio, film and television interviews for articles and programs, including Discover, National Geographic Magazine, New York Times, Time, and the Today Show.

Dr. J. Marc Foggin is a conservation biologist with nearly three decades of experience in the high mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and Central Asia. He is an Honorary Research Associate in the School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, as well as the founder and director of the Canadian NGO Plateau Perspectives. Marc’s professional affiliations include the IUCN’s World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), the Society for Conservation Biology, Canadian Mountain Network, and ICCA Consortium. Additionally, he occasionally serves as a consultant for UNDP, IUCN, WWF, and others. His work and personal interests have given him ample opportunity to explore and research biocultural landscapes of remote mountain regions in countries including China and Tibet, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, and more. His newest project seeks to strengthen co-management in Yagnob National Park, Tajikistan, through collaborative snow leopard surveys and community ecotourism.

Joseph Frey, CD, FRCGS, FI’ 02 is a former Director and Vice-President of The Explorers Club and Chair of the Club’s Canadian Chapter. He is a Governor of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. Joseph was a RCGS member of the Parks Canada-led expedition which discovered Sir John Franklin’s flagship HMS Erebus in the North West Passage. Some of the other expeditions he has actively participated in include the US National Parks Service’s search for the Spanish slave ship Guerrero off Key Largo, Florida and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Battle of the Atlantic marine archaeology survey of the German submarine U-576 off North Carolina's Outer Banks. Joseph co-led an Explorers Club coral reef biodiversity mapping expedition in the Bahamas’ Peterson Cay National Park and engaged in another with the University of Havana in Cuba’s Punta Francis National Park. With a passion for archaeology, an important focus of Joseph’s is on 17th Century Huron-Wendat sites. He was an archaeologist on Ontario’s first winter archaeological excavation which searched for Fort Frontenac. Fascinated by polar sciences, Joseph has taken part in expeditions to the Antarctic, Greenland and across the Canadian High Arctic with various organizations including the National Science Foundation, Antarctica New Zealand and the Meteorological Service of Canada. He was one of only seven international journalists chosen to report from the Antarctic on field sciences during the 2001-2002 research season. An accomplished science writer, he has been published in the United States, Canada, Britain, Germany and New Zealand in TIME, The Globe and Mail, National Post, Toronto Star, Toronto Sun, Geographical, Canadian Geographic, Medical Post and DIVER to name a few. Joseph has contributed to five books on exploration and polar topics, including the Canadian best seller Franklin’s Lost Ship: The Historic Discovery Of HMS Erebus.

Friend of the Club .Cody Friesen grew up in Revelstoke, British Columbia and currently resides in Calgary, Alberta. The passion for the outdoors and adrenaline-induced adventure has always sparked an interest for him. Over the past 9 years, Cody has been climbing, hiking, canyoning and exploring the most that the province of Alberta has to offer. In 2020, Cody began a new goal of filming and documenting every hike and adventure he embarked on, no matter the size, from start to finish. Fast forward three summers and Cody has now documented and filmed 144 unique hikes throughout Alberta, including several peaks no one has fully documented before. To put that into perspective, the distance and gains Cody has conquered in three summers has been 1,453km with elevation gains of 109,395m. In December 2022, Cody will complete his Divemaster certification with hopes to move from documenting mountain peaks to undocumented mountain lakes for Summer 2023.

Joe is an award-winning science educator, communicator, and explorer. He's positioned at the intersection of science, education, outreach, and technology. He founded the non-profit Exploring by the Seat of Your Pants (EBTSOYP), with the goal to inspire the next generation of scientists and explorers. EBTSOYP does this by bringing those on the frontlines of science, exploration, conservation, and adventure live into classrooms through virtual guest speakers and field trips. Since 2015, EBTSOYP hosted 3,500+ live events connecting over a million students with leading scientists and explorers from 100 countries. In 2017, he was selected as a National Geographic Emerging Explorer and shortly after was named National Geographic’s first Education Fellow, founding their Explorer Classroom program. Joe's a top 50 finalist for the Global Teacher Prize and is a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and the Ocean Exploration Trust. A fellow of the Explorers Club since 2018, he was recently elected to the board of directors and was just named one of the 20 to watch in the education technology space by the International Society for Technology in Education. ​ Joe's an experienced scuba diver, exploring cold Canadian waters, and around the world in places like Australia, Fiji, Dubai, Cozumel, the US, and the Galapagos - from German U-boats to the Great Barrier Reef.

Helen is an Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology, Trent University, and is based on their Durham GTA campus. As part of her research, which focuses on the development and sustainability of ancient states, Helen leads archaeological expeditions in Belize, Central America. Centred around the ancient Maya city of Ka’kabish, Helen’s work looks at issues of ancient socio-economic and political interactions, diet and health of ancient populations, urbanism and settlement patterns and their effects on ancient and modern environments. She also is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London, UK, from where she obtained her Ph.D., and a Research Associate at the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto. Along with her work in Belize, she has participated in excavations in Oaxaca, Mexico, Tiwanaku, Bolivia, Xi’an, China, and in her home province of Ontario, Canada, where she is a licensed CRM archaeologist. She is an avid diver and traveller and has dived the two longest barrier reefs in the world and has travelled to six of the seven continents.

JILL HEINERTH FN'10 is an underwater explorer, writer, photographer, speaker, and filmmaker. Jill was a lead diver on a ground-breaking US Deep Caving Team project piloting the first accurate, 3D cave mapping device - technology bound for space. A pioneer of technical rebreather diving, she led the first dives into underwater caves inside Antarctica's massive B-15 iceberg. From desert oases of the Sahara to Baffin Bay's cold waters, Jill Heinerth becomes the hands and eyes for climatologists, archaeologists, and engineers. Jill is the first Explorer-in-Residence of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and a presenter on radio and TV broadcasts worldwide. Her memoir, INTO THE PLANET, has been lauded by the Wall Street Journal, Oprah Magazine, and the New York Times. Her children’s book THE AQUANAUT is a Blue Ribbon Selection for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Jill is a Fellow of the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame, Underwater Academy of Arts and Sciences, Women Divers Hall of Fame and the Explorers Club, which awarded her with the William Beebe Award. Jill is the 2021 recipient of the Explorer’s Club Canadian Chapter’s Stefannson Medal for her lifetime work in exploration.

Jon Higgins is an architectural technologist, photographer, and heritage resource conservationist based in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Passionate about heritage resources, he is focused on sustainable design and technology and its use in tandem with heritage resource conservation and indigenous archaeological preservation in Southern Alberta. Jon is currently a board member of the Heritage Resources Working Group in Medicine Hat and the South Eastern Alberta Archaeological Society. He has had the opportunity to visit over 30 UNESCO World Heritage Sites with plans to visit many more.

Gabe Hrynick is an archaeologist and associate professor of anthropology at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, where he also resides. His work focuses on hunter-gatherers who lived in coastal temperate to arctic environments, especially in terms of settlement and subsistence change in response to environmental and cultural variables. He primarily conducts this work through an active field survey and excavation program in New England and Atlantic Canada under the auspices of the Northeastern Archaeological survey, an interdisciplinary research group. In his free time, he enjoys peak bagging and hiking, especially in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. He recently co-authored The Archaeology of the Atlantic Northeast and he co-hosts the New Brunswick Archaeology podcast. He’s looking forward to learning and exploring with the TEC Canadian chapter!

Ray Hyland, MI'12, FRCGS, ITC-3, former Canadian Chapter Chair, is passionate about global overland exploration travel. Given that his job has him spending most days in a helicopter, on his days off he tries to keep his feet on the ground. In addition to helping organize and lead expeditions, he also hosts the popular Overland Rallies, a series of exploration and expedition festivals where he teaches attendees the skills they need to safely explore the more remote areas of the word, while being respectful of the environment and cultures they come across.

Joanna Kafarowski FI’21 is a human geographer and independent scholar who holds an interdisciplinary PhD in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies from the University of Northern British Columbia. She has worked on natural resource issues including contaminants, fisheries and wildlife conservation with Indigenous women in the Arctic for over two decades and also participated in a Last Degree North Pole Expedition. She is the author of “The Polar Adventures of a Rich American Dame A Life of Louise Arner Boyd” (Dundurn, 2017) - the first comprehensive biography of a female Arctic explorer and “Antarctic Pioneer The Trailblazing Life of Jackie Ronne” (Dundurn, 2022) - the first biography of a female Antarctic explorer. She edited “Gender, Culture and Northern Fisheries” (University of Alberta, 2009). She is currently writing a book for Princeton University Press tentatively titled, “Where Bold Women Go: Gender, Exploration and Climate Change” which chronicles women’s exploration of Greenland, both historically and in the modern day, and conveys a portrait of a nation undergoing climate change as revealed by these women. She has lectured and consulted extensively with organizations including the Arctic Council and Pauktuutit Women of Canada as well as for cruise ships including Poseidon Expeditions. She is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a Member of the Society of Woman Geographers.

Dr. Dean Karalekas, FI’21 is a research fellow at the Centre of Austronesian Studies at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) in Preston, England, having earned his PhD at Taiwan’s National Chengchi University (NCCU). He also holds a B.Ed. from McGill University, and a Master’s in Taiwan Studies from NCCU. He is the author of The Men in No Man’s Land: A Journey Into Bir Tawil and Civil-Military Relations in Taiwan: Identity and Transformation. He is co-founder and Editor-at-Large of the journal Strategic Vision, published jointly by the Taiwan Center for Security Studies and the ROC National Defense University, and has served as editor and co-editor of several academic books. Dean is also an avid ethnographic and narrative filmmaker, having produced, written and directed several award-winning films on a diversity of subjects, from the Canadian experience in World War II to indigenous mythology. His current research involves an examination of congruences in the nearly ubiquitous Little People myths found throughout the Pacific and the implications these have for our understanding of the process of Austronesianisation. By conceptualizing a “Primordial Little People Tale-Type,” this research seeks to trace the spread of the voyagers’ cultural package during the Austronesian Expansion, carrying myths that served as an infinitely malleable and customizable heuristic template to mythologically explain each new set of initial conditions on each new island locale. His other research interests include Military Sociology, Asia-Pacific History, Emergency Management, Indigenous Power-Sharing, and Social Development in Asia. He has a particular interest in Taiwan’s unique international situation—a line of inquiry that has seen him travel to a number of under-recognized states and potential flashpoints such as North Korea, Mindanao, Kosovo, Transnistria, and Iraqi Kurdistan.

Dr. Kirsten Johnson MD, MPH, CCFP-EM FI'07 spent most of her career as an Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at McGill University before moving to the University of Toronto where she works as an attending staff at the Toronto General and Western Hospitals. She also practices medicine in rural Newfoundland at the Brookfield Hospital and in the Cree and Inuit communities of Nunavik in Canada’s far North. She is the immediate past-President of the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians. She is a consultant for the World Health Organization, UK Med’s Emergency Medical Response Team and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research. She was the Health Advisor for the Canadian Red Cross’ Health in Emergencies Program during the COVID pandemic. She is the Director of Humanitarian U, an NGO that has trained over 50,000 humanitarians globally. Dr. Johnson has worked in emergency and disaster medicine, disaster risk reduction, humanitarian response, coordination and health sector capacity building throughout the world. Her research has focused on genocide, child combatants, sexual gender-based violence and conflict-related health, mental health and psychosocial support. She has worked extensively on the development of technical guidance and toolkits, briefings, publications, and book chapters across the emergency management cycle in fragile, conflict-affected and vulnerable settings including Humanitarian U’s Assessment of the Impact of eLearning on Humanitarian Aid work (2019), UNFPA’s State of the World Population Report (2015), Global Humanitarian Medicine and Disaster Relief in Auerbach’s Wilderness Medicine (2015) and Médecins Sans Frontiers book on Professionalizing Humanitarian Action (2012).

I'm a global explorer, adventurer and storm chaser. Here you will find many unique images of my incredible journeys from all 7 continents and 75 countries. I've spent years photographing some of Mother Nature's most elusive and dangerous phenomena. I've chased tornadoes, giant hail, dust storms, hurricanes, avalanches, volcanoes and lightning among other things. This site contains a variety of photographs and video images of these encounters with wild weather and other forces of nature.

Michel has an intense passion for underwater photography and storytelling. His work as a photojournalist focuses on wildlife, conservation and ocean protection. His attention to detail and commitment to getting the shot in the most extreme conditions have allowed him to quickly gain the respect of industry leaders. His photos and articles are internationally published in several magazines and has published a coffee-table book. Michel shares his time between land and underwater photography. He has a very extensive library of stock photography available for purchase but can also be hired for specific images. As a drone pilot, Michel is able to capture unique views and images that capture the imagination. Michel is a frequent guest speaker, a seasoned dive instructor and in 2016, he was named a PADI Ambassador. In 2016, he was named Fellow of the Explorers Club and received the honorary title of Associate Member of the Boston Sea Rovers, the oldest dive club in the US. In 2018, following the two scientific missions he co-organized to Clipperton atoll that contributed to the creation of a marine protected area, he was awarded the Explorers Club Citation of Merit, in recognition of "exemplary accomplishments in Field Science and Conservation". Twice he was granted the honor of carrying the Explorers Club flag during these expeditions. In 2021, he co-launched Anticosti Ecotours, a land & underwater tour company based and operating on the remote island of Anticosti, Quebec.

Nathalie Lasselin is a multi award winning underwater cinematographer and documentary producer. Aqua Incognita: Made in China has been produce by her film company Pixnat. She took her camera underwater for feature films, tv shows and documentaries in more than 50 countries. As a technical diver, she was the first to dive deep wrecks in the challenging strong current in the Saint Lawrence river in Quebec, explored and filmed caves in 10 countries taking part in many expedition team. For the past years, She spend the spring guiding iceberg diving in the arctic between teaching technical, cave and rebreather course.

Mayo has traveled to some of the most remote parts of 96 countries studying endangered human cultures and collecting artifacts which are well documented with original information obtained from elders as well as from in-depth personal research. His collections are contained in many museums. Mayo is an internationally recognized artist and a Signature Member of Artists for Conservation https://www.artistsforconservation.org/programs/art-for-conservation Much of Mayo’s artwork portrays endangered or threatened species and/or environments. You may view his work on his website at: https://tonymayoart.com

Ontario-based Ken McGoogan (Fl’15) is a globe-trotting, history-chasing storyteller who survived shipwreck off Dar es Salaam, tracked the ghost of Jane Lady Franklin from Russell Square to Van Diemen’s Land, and placed a John Rae memorial plaque in the High Arctic. Ken has published fifteen books, among them five bestsellers about Arctic exploration, and won such prizes as the Pierre Berton Award for History and the UBC Medal for Canadian Biography. Ken is an ambassador for the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, sails with Adventure Canada as a resource historian, and writes for leading magazines and newspapers. In autumn 2023, he will publish a book about Sir John Franklin.

Canadian artist David McEown has used the medium of watercolour for the past 30 years to explore and express many of this earth’s wilderness areas. His paintings from Antarctica to the North Pole are represented in collections worldwide. David is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design and an elected member of the Canadian Society of Painters in Watercolour, which in 2005 and 2018 awarded him the society’s prestigious A.J. Casson Medal. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and a member of the Explorers Club. A sought after teacher, David has conducted workshops and multimedia presentations for numerous art societies and museums sharing his reverence for nature and passion for the creative act of painting.

Todd is an accomplished Explorer and international award-winning underwater photographer from Canada that has dove under the Arctic ice and icebergs and, nearly been run over by a Bowhead whales and Grizzly bears. He is a Fellow of the Explorers Club and the Royal Canadian Geographic Society. He is also a member of the Ocean Artists Society. He has been awarded Best of Show in the internationally prestigious Nature's Best-Smithsonian-Oceans Views competition. His images have been part of two exhibits in the Smithsonian Natural History Museum in Washington DC. In addition they have been featured on the exhibit hall banners and promotions throughout the Smithsonian. Other award highlights include being selected part of the International Conservation Photograph Awards exhibit in conjunction with the Burke Museum in Seattle and, part of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Canadian Museum of History, Canadian Nature Museum, and Saskatchewan Science Center collection. Todd has also completed two solo exhibits of his work at the Saskatchewan Science Center and Kramer IMAX Theatre in 2015 and 2017 with over 45 pieces on exhibit. (His exhibit was extended due to popular demand.) His work continues to be published in numerous media throughout the world including Canadian Geographic and the Magic School Bus series.

Before specializing in imagery, Julie worked as a marketing and public relations specialist for large companies such as Bell and Bombardier. As such, she is well-equipped to capture images that convey a message. Her profound passion for scuba diving and the underwater world has allowed her to develop superior skills in underwater imaging. As an expedition videographer, she has become accustomed to working in remote locations and in sometimes harsh conditions. In the past five years alone, she has filmed and produced over 50 corporate and promotional videos and 20 creative/documentary short films screened and honored in film festivals throughout Europe and North America. She is a member of the Ocean Artists Society, an inductee in the Women Divers Hall of Fame and an Associate Member of the Boston Sea Rovers. She co-organized two scientific missions to Clipperton atoll that contributed to the creation of a marine protected area and was, in 2018, awarded the Explorers Club Citation of Merit, in recognition of "exemplary accomplishments in Field Science and Conservation". She has twice been granted the honor of carrying the Explorers Club flag during the Clipperton expeditions. Julie is a seasoned dive educator, speaker and field guide with a passion for exploration. In 2021, she co-launched Anticosti Ecotours, a land & underwater tour company based and operating on the remote island of Anticosti, Quebec.

Dr. Shawna Pandya (FI'19, EC50'22) is a physician, aquanaut, scientist-astronaut candidate with the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences (IIAS), skydiver, pilot-in-training, VP Immersive Medicine with Luxsonic Technologies, Medical advisor at Orbital Assembly Corporation and Fellow of the Explorers Club. She is Director of IIAS’ Space Medicine Group, Chief Instructor for IIAS’ Operational Space Medicine course, a host with the World Extreme Medicine’s podcast series, Primary Investigator for the Shad Canada-Blue Origin student microgravity competition, member of the AIAA ASCEND Guiding Coalition, and sessional lecturer for “Technology and the Future of Medicine,” at the University of Alberta. Dr. Pandya was on the first crew to test a commercial spacesuit in zero-gravity in 2015. She earned her aquanaut designation on the 2019 NEPTUNE (Nautical Experiments in Physiology, Technology and Underwater Exploration) mission. Her expeditions have been previously captured in the 2019 Land Rover short, 'Another World,' released with the Apollo 11: First Steps film, and in the 2022 FIGS Space Navy and Mauve space medicine themed campaign. She interned at ESA’s European Astronaut Center and NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Her publications include a book chapter on psychological resilience in long-duration spaceflight. In 2021, she was granted an Honorary Fellowship in Extreme and Wilderness Medicine and named to the Canadian Women’s Executive Network’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women. Her work is permanently exhibited at the Ontario Science Center alongside Dr. Roberta Bondar, the first Canadian woman in space. In 2022, Dr. Pandya was named to the Explorers' Club's “50 Explorers Changing the World."

Jessica Lindsay Phillips is an adventurer who mixes culture, history, artifacts with a touch of glam.

Mario Rigby was born in Turks & Caicos Islands and spent his childhood in Germany, before moving to Toronto, Canada at the age of 16. He has always had a tremendous drive to push the limits in athletics, exploration and anything else he puts his mind to. Starting with a love for track and field in his early days, competing for his national team. While Mario’s entrepreneurial spirit and athleticism led him to open a business in the fitness industry upon his arrival to Toronto, he desired a grander challenge that led him to transition out of his career to pursue an explorative adventure that would allow him to better connect with the world around him. Thus, the Crossing Africa expedition was born. In 2018, Mario completed his crossing Africa journey, a two-year trek walking and kayaking from Cape Town, South Africa to Cairo, Egypt. This expedition allowed him to connect with communities and share their message and stories with the world with a mission of bridging the gap between humanity. His goal was to inspire people locally and globally to get out, be brave, and see the world. Mario is an advocate for the inclusion of diversity in the outdoors and encourages people to explore the outdoors through sustainable forms of travel. Mario’s stories are gripping and thought-provoking as he learns about humanity and overcoming fear. In a world that’s rapidly changing, Mario believes his life lessons are worth sharing and hopes to inspire others to have more courage and address global issues that affect us all. Currently, Mario is preparing for his next big adventure.

Peter Rowe is an author, filmmaker and artist. Several of his books are available on Amazon and other digital booksellers. His latest, Out There - The Batshit Antics of the World's Great Explorers will be released on October 24, 2023. He produced and directed the series Angry Planet, shot on all 7 continents, and now available on YouTube. He is also a fellow of the Royal Geographic Society and the Royal Canadian Geographic Society, which once listed him as one of the “100 Greatest Explorers.” He was a winner of the Explorers Club Canadian Chapter’s Stefansson Medal.

Natalie is an empathetic ecologist, conservation geneticist, and documentary presenter (Discovery, Nat Geo Wild), deeply passionate about protecting biodiversity using hard science, public education, and community empowerment. Studying elusive, endangered species, like snow leopard and Antarctic whales, she has empowered grass-roots conservation, and enabled policy education and management improvement at various scales, including that of the International Whaling Commission. Natalie is developing a portable leading-edge technology to detect DNA from biological samples in real time, at low cost and easy-to-use. She leads an extremely skilled, synergic team of geneticists, conservationists, communicators, business partners, and institutions to develop this technology. WildTechDNA will categorically revolutionize the way how customs, law-enforcement, field monitoring practices, citizen science, and locally based conservation are conducted around the world.

Jason Schoonover FRCGS FE’86 is a multi-disciplinary explorer, Stefansson Medalist, Citation of Merit recipient, on the Honour Roll and a recipient of the RCGS recommended Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal. He began his adventurous life in the forest bordering his small Saskatchewan hometown of Carrot River. Following Simon Fraser University (BA, 1970, English & History) and while a radio announcer and producer, he wrote a column for Westworld Magazine, entertained with taped music, freelanced for CBC Radio, produced stage productions—and invested in real estate. With financial base established, he broke free to travel writing, falling in love with South and Southeast Asia. As one of the Club’s biggest contributors, 2004-14 he was the Chapter’s first communications director, working as wingman to Joe Frey who took this moribund chapter from 42 to 240 members, and the most vibrant in the Club. The same decade he ran at his expense TEC promotion booth at the Banff Mountain book and Film Festival. Since 1976 he has been team leader on almost 50 often 20-person expeditions from anthropology, paleontology, archaeology to geology, frequently with noted explorers as his field leaders. He’s carried 10 Flags. His Asian ethnographic collections fill international museums, and his archaeological work along Thailand’s River Kwai led to the formation of the Hintok Camp Museum. His books, both fiction and non-fiction, are in the adventure field. They include ADVENTUROUS DREAMS, ADVENTUROUS LIVES, featuring contributions from 120 members; THE MANILA GALLEON, an adventure-thriller whose protagonist is a member with action starting and ending in the Trophy Room; and AN ADVENTURER’S SEVEN POINT GUIDE TO LIVING AN INTERESTING LIFE, in which one chapter encourages joining the Club to meet the most interesting people in the world. He fixed Les Stroud’s shoot THE DEVIL DANCERS OF SRI LANKA for Beyond Survival, and authored THE VANISHING DEVIL DANCERS OF SRI LANKA for the Explorers Journal. Chosen as an influencer by President Lori Karnath to wear Eddie Bauer. Facilitated reciprocity with the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand. Participated in the mentorship program. ECAD silent auction contributor. Delivered Capt. Norman Baker’s eulogy. Profiled in Jerry’s Hopkins’ BANGKOK BABYLON: THE REAL-LIFE EXPLOITS OF BANGKOK’S LEGENDARY EXPATRIATES IS OFTEN STRANGER THAN FICTION; featured in Maryann Karinch’s BUSINESS LESSONS FROM THE EDGE: LEARN HOW EXTREME ATHLETES USE INTELLIGENT RISK TAKING TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS; Nicola Levell’s BODIES OF ENCHANTMENT; and is listed in CANADIAN WHO’S WHO. He and Su Hattori FRCGS divide their time between Saskatoon; Bangkok; and the rest of the world.

Denis A. St-Onge, O.C. began his career at the University of Manitoba where, through the Collège de St-Boniface, he received a BA degree in 1951. In 1957 he obtained a L.Sc. from l’université de Louvain, Belgium and, in 1958, joined the Geographical Branch of the Department of Mines and Technical Surveys. He was a member of the original group of the Polar Continental Shelf Project which took him to Ellef Ringnes Island where he carried out geomorphological surveys during the summers of 1959 to 1961. He was awarded his D.Sc. by l’université de Louvain in 1962 and, in 1965, joined the Geological Survey of Canada. St-Onge was also a Professor at the University of Ottawa where he held a series of positions, among them Chair of the Department of Geography and Vice-dean of the School of Graduate Studies and Research. At the Geological Survey he was Director of the Terrain Sciences Division and Scientific advisor to the Polar Continental Shelf Project. St-Onge has also been active in many national and international bodies. Although he has carried research in many parts of Canada most of his work was concentrated in the Arctic particularly in the Coppermine River – Bluenose Lake regions of the tundra, his environment of predilection. Among the honours St-Onge has received in recognition for his scientific research are Honorary Membership in the Société géographique de Belgique: the commenmorative medal of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, in 1979, the medal of l’université de Liège in 1980; Honorary Doctorate in Science from the University of Manitoba in 1990, médaille André Cailleux from the Association Québécoise for studies in the Quaternary and, election as Honorary Life Member by the General Assembly of INQUA in 1991. The Arctic Institute of North America made him a Fellow in 1994. Also, in 1994 he was awarded The Geographical Medal by The Royal Scottish Geographical Society. His induction as an Officer of the Order of Canada in May 1996 was in recognition of his long and distinguished career. In June 2000 the Canadian Association of Geographers presented him its Award for service and in May 2001 the Geological Association of Canada awarded him its Ambrose medal for ‘Sustained distinguished service to the Earth Sciences in Canada’. In 2002 he was presented the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal. In 2005 the Royal Canadian Geographical Society awarded him the Camsel Medal for exceptional service to the Society. In 2012 he was given the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Medal. In 2016 the RCGS gave him its prestigious Gold medal. In 2017 the Canadian chapter of The Explorers club honoured him with its Stefansson Medal and in 2023 he received the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee medal.

Andreea Radulescu is an Explorer, Analog Astronaut, Mars One 100 astronaut candidate, Citizen Scientist Astronaut Candidate, pilot in training (PPL), Enterprise Architect, Analyst and the first Canadian-Romanian-Hungarian woman to descend and zip line across an active volcano (Masaya volcano in Nicaragua). Andreea holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics with a minor in Computer Science and a Master’s Degree in Space Science at the International Space University. During her studies, she had the opportunity to work at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California, USA, within the Life detection and sample handling technologies department where her project earned her the NASA Space Act Award for significant scientific and technical contributions. She has participated in space mission analogs such as Mars analog research rotation at MDRS (Mars Desert Research Station) in USA and Lunar analog at Lunares in Poland pursuing research on human performance, crew composition and dynamics, wearable technologies (tracking body health metrics via Hexoskin shirt) and using virtual reality as a means of potential stress reliever on long duration spaceflights. In 2012 she has completed the FAA approved Scientist Astronaut Training Program at the National Aerospace Training and Research Center (NASTAR) focusing on Aerospace Environment, Space Vehicles & Flight, Acceleration Forces, G-LOC Characteristics and Prevention, Anti-G Straining Maneuvers, Space Experience, Physiological and Psychological Effects, G Protection, Space Safety and Emergency Procedures, G-Tolerance Flights and Simulated Space Flights in Phoenix Centrifuge, Hypobaric Training - Altitude Chamber Flight simulation. Her name has been added to the National Air and Space Museum's Wall of Honor at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

An adventurer and passionate outdoor enthusiast, Cedar believes in the importance of connections to nature in one’s daily life. The CEO of Adventure Canada—as well as an expedition planner, leader, and guide—Cedar’s work engages, entertains, and educates by connecting people to each other and the land through innovative travel experiences. By focusing on travel to Arctic and sub-Arctic environments, Cedar is actively involved in exploring new northern routes, documenting new discoveries, and monitoring existing sites of historic and cultural importance. Cedar is driven by the challenges of forging a new path forward for our planet. She is guided by the desire to learn and share, to experience the thrills of collective energy, and the power of collective action. Cedar believes that healthy relationships with the earth and each other are the critical first steps to building regenerative ecosystems and economies. Cedar has grown up surrounded by the world’s foremost adventurers and explorers. She is a founding member of Canadian Women for Nature, a fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, a member of the Explorers Club and the International Women's Forum, and sits on the board of directors for both ArcticNet and Project North. In 2018, Cedar was named one of Canadian Traveller’s Top 40 Under 40 travel professionals. In 2020 Cedar was awarded the Citation Of Merit from The Explorers Club Canadian Chapter.

Mark Terry, PhD, is a member of the Order of Vaughan, and a Fellow of The Explorers Club, the Royal Society of Canada, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, and the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research. He is also an Adjunct Professor in the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change at York University in Toronto and in the Faculty of Arts at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo. He has worked throughout the Circumpolar Arctic serving as the Scientist-in-Residence on a circumnavigational expedition of Iceland (2018), making the first documented film of a crossing of the Northwest Passage, The Polar Explorer (2011), and teaching at Arctic universities in St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia. He has also worked in Antarctica with the British Antarctic Survey and the National Antarctic Scientific Center of Ukraine documenting this research in the film The Antarctica Challenge: A Global Warning (2009). In 2021, the third installment in his trilogy of polar documentary feature films, The Changing Face of Iceland premiered at the United Nations climate summit, COP26, in Glasgow, Scotland. He has been decorated by Queen Elizabeth for this work with her Diamond Jubilee Medal and by The Explorers Club with its Stefansson Medal, the Canadian chapter’s highest honour. In 2015, Canadian Geographic Magazine named him one of Canada’s Top 100 Greatest Explorers of all time. Mark has worked with the United Nations since 2011 on the Youth Climate Report, providing films of global scientific research to its annual climate summits known as the COP conferences. His pioneering work in documentary remediation for the UN earned him the Humanitarian Award from the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. His current work with GIS mapping was recently recognized by the UN with a Sustainability Development Goals Action Award. In the past two years, he has published the academic books The Geo-Doc: Geomedia, Documentary Film, and Social Change; The Emerging Role of Geomedia in the Environmental Humanities; Speaking Youth to Power: Influencing Climate Policy at the United Nations; and contributed a chapter to the book Communicating in the Anthropocene.

Michelle is an award-winning Canadian wildlife photographer who has been telling stories with her camera for more than 35 years. She has traveled to all continents in search of adventure and photographic opportunities. She is particularly celebrated for her passion for Canada and the Arctic. She is a Nikon Ambassador and her images appear on magazine covers, in numerous publications, exhibitions and embassies worldwide. Her iconic images appear on a Royal Canadian Mint coin and on Canada Post stamps. Michelle received the Louise Kamookak Medal from the RCGS in 2019, she also won the Julia Margaret Cameron Award for Women Photographers in 2021 and was a gold medalist at the World Photographic Cup in Rome 2022. Michelle’s work extends beyond photography. In 2009, she founded Project North, a not-for-profit organization committed to delivering education and sport-based opportunities to youth in Canada’s Arctic. Since its inception, $1,500,000 in new sports equipment has been delivered to more than 35 northern communities in Canada. Michelle is the first Canadian Geographic Photographer-in-Residence and she has published 4 books. Michelle is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society and was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2022.

As an explorer, writer, architect and a happily-married father of two, Kevin Vallely embodies a clear balance in life. Kevin has organized and lead extreme expeditions around the world and has garnered a powerful understanding of leadership, resilience, and perspective in unpredictable and fast-changing environments. He has translated this knowledge into a business acumen that activates and amplifies leadership instincts. Kevin is a member of the esteemed Explorer’s Club and was an Explorer’s Club Flag recipient when attempting the first single-season, human powered traverse of the Northwest Passage in 2013. Among his many expeditions, he has skied the length of Alaska’s 1180-mile Iditarod Trail in the dead of winter, has retraced the infamous Sandakan Death March through the jungles of Borneo for the first time since WWII and in 2009 broke the world record for the fastest unsupported trek from the edge of the Antarctic to the Geographic South Pole. Kevin’s unique background as an explorer and business professional allows him to engage the hearts and minds of any team, inspiring and motivating them to realize their full potential. He understands the critical importance of leadership and collaboration and how psychological trust is fundamental for a team to operate at their peak performance. Kevin is an author of two books with his most recent, Wild Success: 7 Key Lessons Business Leaders Can Learn from Extreme Adventurers, being published by McGraw-Hill in March 2020. Kevin Vallely is also a registered architect in British Columbia and is a member of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. His company, Vallely Architecture, provides personalized service in the design of distinctive buildings with a unique architectural character-driven by environmental stewardship and the subtleties of place.

Jason van Bruggen is a Canadian photographer, filmmaker and entrepreneur. He has traveled and worked in over 100 countries, including some of the most remote and austere locations on the planet. His images capture the vulnerability of ecosystems and the people within; illuminating a tension between the strength and fragility of people and land and the age-old resolve to survive. van Bruggen’s immersive storytelling historically focused on climate change and culture change in the High Arctic, and has more recently considered how climate change affects densely populated and highly developed geographies at mid-latitudes. Jason’s commercial interests include being the co-founder and owner of a native tree business and ecological consultancy, Wilder Climate Solutions, and the co-founder and owner of a marketing and storytelling boutique. Jason holds a Masters Degree in History from Queen’s University. He is a fellow International of the Explorers Club and a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society. He is a TEDx 2021 speaker. In addition to numerous international editorial and commercial publications, his work as a visual artist has been profiled by National Geographic, Outside Magazine, Monster Children, Mountain Life Annual, The Explorers Journal and by numerous brands including Patagonia, Best Made Co., Destination Canada and Arc'teryx. His work has been featured and awarded in PDN, Applied Arts, Communication Arts, ADCC, Shoots and various international award shows. His film work has aired on networks around the world including CNN, BBC, PBS, CBS, CBC, and SRF1, and has been shown at some of North America’s s most prestigious film festivals, European Parliament, COP25, Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council. It is included in school curricula from Newfoundland to Bavaria to New Zealand.

Julian Victor is a wildlife filmmaker and educator from Toronto, Ontario. He has worked on projects for National Geographic, Smithsonian and PBS. Victor has worked alongside legendary wildlife filmmakers (Explorers In Residence) Dereck and Beverly Joubert, and serves on the board of directors for the “Planet in Focus International Environmental Film Festival.” Currently, Victor hosts a monthly segment “On the Wild Side” for Canada’s top morning show, Breakfast Television, discussing the biodiversity of Toronto and urban environments around the globe.

Director, producer and conservationist Nicole is from Vancouver, and grew up in the Kootenay region of Castlegar BC. Nicole is passionate about sustainable solutions, fluent in French, majored in fine arts, and holds an Executive MBA in Sustainable Business. She is the founder of the 'econic earth foundation' a California based 501(c)(3) dedicated to environmental and wildlife conservation through solar power initiatives for students and communities living off-grid. Having lived, worked and explored in 42 countries and counting, Nicole shares her time between her non-profit program work and production of factual content in the film industry where she’s worked in different aspects for over 20 years. Within the scope of her NGO work, Nicole develops programs for students who don’t have electricity access, empowering them with renewable energy solutions and then reports on the unexpected impacts these solutions have. She has worked on programs in India and Kenya and is currently expanding the programs within Sub Saharan Africa.

David Welch is a marine biologist and oceanographer living in Nanaimo, BC. He specializes in studying the ocean life of Pacific salmon, with a particular focus on how global warming affects survival at sea and how that may be distorting broader resource management initiatives. In 1990 David founded Kintama Research, addressing many of the key biological research questions of the coming decades concerning the survival of salmon at sea. In addition to his research, David is a passionate technical diver, using a tri-mix closed circuit rebreather to dive deep ocean wrecks and reefs around the world. His next goal is to dive with his ancestors, namely the deep ocean coelacanths living off the west coast of Africa.

Meteorologist | Journalist | Storm chaser | Explorer | International Fellow of The Explorers Club Jaclyn Whittal has been forecasting and reporting on the most extreme weather across North America for 12 years. She has stood in front of the world’s largest ever recorded tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma, has been in the centre of 10 hurricanes, and reported on countless blizzards, wildfires and floods across the U.S. and Canada. She has been featured in magazines such as FLARE, Real Clear Life, Popular Science and on TV networks such as BBC, CNN, CTV, CBC National, and several podcasts around the world. She has been a severe weather expert on Cottage Life network’s show ‘Mutant Weather’, Discovery network’s show ‘After The Storm’, ‘The Weather Files’ on Smithsonian Channel and a host of “Stormhunters” on The Weather Network for 7 seasons. Jaclyn is an elected fellow of The Royal Canadian Geographic Society. In 2023, Jaclyn has been elected an International Fellow of The Explorers Club. In a world where climate change is impacting our daily lives, Jaclyn has the real-life experience to speak to it with passion and energy coming right from the eye of the storm!

Hailey Shchepanik, MSc and EC Student Member, is a Marine Ecologist, Field Research Technician, and Expedition Diver/Naturalist with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Lindblad Expeditions. Her curiosity and desire to gain a global perspective on the biodiversity and ecology of the world's oceans have taken her to the far reaches of the globe. Hailey began as a scientific diver in the Canadian Maritimes and Belize (researching sustainable fisheries and aquaculture) and as a graduate student in the Red Sea. In 2022, she was selected as the National Park Service Dive Research Intern with Our World Underwater Scholarship Society, joining dive teams across the US, from Florida and Oregon to Hawaii and American Samoa for numerous natural and cultural resource monitoring projects. She is also a recipient of the 2022 Women Divers Hall of Fame Advanced Dive Training Grants, which she is currently using to complete her Dive Master on beautiful Vancouver Island. After several years as a graduate student researching marine invasive species in Saudi Arabia, she now looks forward to changing gears and exploring the polar regions, as an Undersea educator, sharing the knowledge, skills, and tools needed to continue to explore and advocate for our oceans.