The Explorers 50

The Explorers Club 50 (EC50) may well be the most important initiative our Club has ever undertaken. I do not make this statement lightly. For 118 years now, we have promoted exploration by all means, and as important as it is to get the history right, it is even more important to build on that foundation for the future. Our Club was founded and built in the image of the great European and American explorers of the Heroic Age. Today however, we recognize that many of the greatest contributions to exploration are coming from all parts of the world - places where we have historically failed to focus on. The EC50 program amplifies explorers from around the globe and across a wide field of disciplines that push the boundaries of exploration. Naming these global exploration leaders to the EC50 shines a bright light on their extraordinary work and provides the recognition they so deserve. Indeed, many in the EC50 inaugural class have found their careers uplifted soon after being named an EC50 awardee and having their work celebrated by The Explorers Club, and this year’s EC50 class is every bit as exciting as last year's! I cannot wait to share their stories, attend their lectures, and welcome them at ECAD and at the Global Exploration Summit (GLEX) in the Azores this July. But mostly, I can't wait to see the great ways they will help lead the Club, and the world, in the field of exploration.

making the world a better place

the spirit of collaboration

The Explorers 50

an extraordinary cohort

FLORENCE AGHOMO • PRIMATOLOGIST

ELLA AL-SHAMAHI • PALAEOANTHROPOLOGIST & EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGIST

MUFFADAL S. ALIBHAI • AQUATIC CONSERVATIONIST

REEM ALMEALLA • MARINE BIOLOGIST

SIRACHAI “SHIN” ARUNRUGSTICHAI • PHOTOJOURNALIST

ARZUCAN “ZUZU” ASKIN • CONSERVATION SCIENTIST & UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHER

CARLOS AYA • MAMMALOGIST

IMANI BLACK • AQUACULTURIST

ALBERTO BORGES • CONSERVATIONIST & ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATOR

BJÖRK BRYNJARSDÓTTIR • SYSTEMS DESIGNER & ENVIRONMENTAL ENTREPRENEUR

ANDREW BUDZIAK • FILMMAKER

EMMA CAMP • CORAL REEF ECOLOGIST & BIOGEOCHEMIST

ELIO J. CHALLITA • MECHANICAL ENGINEER & BIOENGINEER

BAYARMAA CHULUUNBAT • WILDLIFE ECOLOGIST

BRANDON CLIFFORD

KERLLEN COSTA • ETHNOBIOLOGIST & ENVIRONMENTAL ANTHROPOLOGIST

HUGUES DE KERDREL • OCEAN CONSERVATIONIST

ANDREW DIGBY • CONSERVATION BIOLOGIST

GILES DULEY • PORTRAIT & DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHER

LOLA FATOYINBO • SPACE ECOLOGIST

MERT GÖKALP • MARINE BIOLOGIST & UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHER

SERSMAA GONCHIGDORJ • GEOLOGIST & BIOSTRATIGRAPHER

JUSTIN GRUBB • FILMMAKER & NATURALIST

ANDREAS B. HEIDE • EXPEDITION SAILOR & MARINE BIOLOGIST

GREER JARRETT • MARITIME ARCHAEOLOGIST

VERA KNOOK • RIVER CONSERVATIONIST & ENGINEER

TOMAS KOECK • FILMMAKER, JOURNALIST, & PHOTOGRAPHER

TSHIRING LHAMU LAMA • SNOW LEOPARD CONSERVATIONIST

KELSEY LEONARD • INDIGENOUS WATER-JUSTICE ADVOCATE

IAN MACNAIRN • ETHNOGRAPHER-PHYSICIAN

PAIGE MARONI • POLAR AND DEEP-SEA BIOLOGIST

MOREANGELS MBIZAH • CONSERVATION BIOLOGIST

ESHADI MENDIS • ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATOR

LEN NECEFER • FILMMAKER

GABRIELA OCHOA • MARINE BIOLOGIST & SHARK CONSERVATIONIST

RAQUEL PEIXOTO • CORAL MICROBIOLOGIST

ALEJANDRO PÉREZ-MATUS • MARINE ECOLOGIST & SCIENTIFIC DIVER

MARIUSZ POTOCKI • GLACIOCHEMIST

NINA PURVIS • AEROSPACE PHYSIOLOGIST

TRICIA REILLY KOCH • CONSERVATION LEADER &...