|
EXPEDITION VOYAGE: Hosted by Dr. Brent Stephenson, Ornithologist
Building a career from a lifelong passion for birding keeps Dr. Stephenson busy. As does his bird guiding business, which he co-owns. He and his business partner also teamed up and rediscovered the seemingly extinct New Zealand storm petrel, a bird, whose existence has not been documented since the 1800s.
When he is not researching the ecology or mysterious birds for National Geographic, he treks across the globe, utilizing his vast birding knowledge to lecture aboard expedition ships. He has birded all over, from the Arctic to the Antarctic, the Americas, the South Pacific and Africa.
Dr. Stephenson is also an active conservationist and skilled photographer. His wildlife photographs have been published in books, a variety of periodicals, as well as the web.
EXPEDITION VOYAGE: Hosted by Dr. Susan Langley, Historian
As the State Underwater Archeologist, Dr. Langley has spent the past 14 years directing the Maryland Maritime Archaeology Program, where her experience as a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer is quite the asset. Previous to this position, the Canadian spent some time in Thailand teaching underwater archeology.
Dr. Langley designed and teaches the pilot Maritime Archaeology online course for Goucher College and teaches traditional archeology at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
Always the over-achiever, she earned a doctorate, master’s and undergraduate degree in archeology; an additional bachelor’s for fine arts; and a second master’s for law. She is also certified in Heritage Resource Management through the Faculty of Environmental Design at Calgary.
EXPEDITION VOYAGE: Hosted by Nancy Mann, Ecologist
Getting out of the classroom and into the real world, while still being able to share her considerable knowledge is a passion and a lifestyle for this intrepid explorer. The 27-year veteran biology teacher has taught college courses in biology, ecology, natural history and marine mammal biology.
Not the type to sit idly by and get set in her ways, Ms. Mann is always up for a new challenge or adventure. She has worked as a park naturalist, museum curator, and cruise naturalists in the Arctic, Russian Far East, Aleutians, Antarctica, and Polynesia. Plus, she utilized her expertise and experience to consult on the subject of marine mammals for the Kaufman Field Guide to North American Mammals.
Ms. Mann has trekked across all seven continents sharing, with fellow travellers, her enthusiasm, passion, and talent for understanding the natural world. And she’s enjoyed every minute of it. Ms. Mann holds undergraduate and master’s degrees in biology and zoology.
EXPEDITION VOYAGE: Hosted by Claudia Holgate, Environmental Lecturer
Dr. Holgate has an uncanny knack to view the world, and all that is in it, as her personal project grounds. She is dedicated, to the point of what can only be explained as an inherent moral commitment, toward making our planet the best it can be.
As an environmental management professional with a background in project management, she runs a consultancy in South Africa. She also teaches a myriad of courses on the subject and serves as an honorary research associate in geosciences at Monash University in Australia.
Dr. Holgate holds a master’s degree in environmental science and is completing her doctorate on climate change. The South African resident is also pursuing a second master’s degree in wildlife management. Additional credentials include: work at all levels of government; a variety of environmental projects for the United Nations and the World Conservation Union of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Always finding time for life’s most important activities, Dr. Holgate trains underprivileged children as bird field guides; works as a volunteer paramedic; and is actively involved in Soroptimists International (an international philanthropic organization of successful women who provide guidance and support to other women and girls).
EXPEDITION VOYAGE: Hosted by Juan Carlos Restrepo, Geologist/Naturalist
Spending half of the year in Antarctic and the other in the Arctic might make Mr. Restrepo seem a little “bi-polar”, but only in the most literal sense. With a geology degree from the Universidad de Caldas in Columbia, and a thesis relating to coastal geomorphology (the study of land and rock characteristics, configurations and their evolution), it is no wonder he is an avid traveller.
As a matter of fact, traversing the globe is pretty much a lifestyle for this Columbian native. Once he left the coffee-growing town of Manizales in the Columbian Andes, he was initiated into the boating world and never looked back. In addition to his polar expeditions, his travels via sailing vessels and motorcycle have transported him to the West Indies, the Mayan Caribbean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.
|