Global Voices

Arianna Soldati

A Volcanologist and National Geographic Explorer, Arianna's Ph.D. focused on Central American volcanoes, including Arenal and Poas in Costa Rica and Pacaya and Fuego in Guatemala. Currently she is a Professor at North Carolina State University. She was the scientific expert for National Geographic Kids book Absolute Expert: Volcanoes and has written for CNN and Scientific American.

Join her on the Nov. 27 and Dec. 2, 2023, departures of Wild Costa Rica Escape: Exploring Guanacaste’s Natural Wonders.

Freija Mendrik

Freija Mendrik is a marine scientist and National Geographic Explorer who is passionate about finding solutions to global environmental issues such as plastic pollution. She was part of the National Geographic River of Plastic project, geared at understating the flow of plastic waste along the Mekong River.

Join her on the January 21 and 26, 2024, departures of Wild Belize Escape: Wildlife, Reefs, and Rivers.

Greg Marshall

Greg Marshall is a marine biologist, filmmaker, and inventor of Crittercam, a system of animal-borne cameras that capture video showing the world through animals' eyes. His work has been featured in numerous films covering more than 70 species.

Join him aboard the Apr. 23, Apr. 27, Oct. 30, or Nov. 3, 2024 departures of Wild California Escape: Channel Islands National Park, or the Dec. 2, 2024 departure of A Southern Migration: From the Channel Islands to Baja California.

William Saturno

Archaeologist and storyteller Bill Saturno is best known for his 2001 discovery of a 2000-year-old Mayan mural at San Bartolo in northern Guatemala. A National Geographic Explorer and a former NASA research scientist, he has conducted fieldwork around the globe, both on the ground and from space, to understand the ideological and environmental foundations of how the great Czars, Khans, Emperors, and Ajaws of the past ruled over their societies.

Join him on the Apr. 25, 2024, departure of Isles of Antiquity: Malta, Sardinia, and the Balearic Sea aboard Sea Cloud.

Lauren Eckert

Lauren Eckert is a conservation scientist, storyteller, and Ph.D. candidate based in British Columbia. Her work engages communities directly in conservation and supports human well-being and rights alongside ecosystem protection.

Join her aboard the Apr. 28, 2024, departure of Treasures of the Inside Passage: Alaska and British Columbia; the Sep. 2, 2024, or Sep. 1, 2025, departure of Voyage to Great Bear Rainforest: Native Culture and Wildlife in the Land of the Spirit Bear; or the Oct. 19, 2024, departure of Columbia and Snake Rivers Journey. 

Massimo Bassano

Cultural expert and photojournalist Massimo Bassano has worked for National Geographic since 1990, as well as for numerous worldwide publications. He brings with him all the warmth, curiosity, culture, and history that you find in Southern Italy, more specifically from Calabria, where he was born.

Join him on the May 15, 2024, departure of Northern Italy Under Sail: Maritime Heritage and Cultural Treasures aboard Sea Cloud II; the Aug. 14, 2024, departure of Navigating Southern Italy and Coastal Croatia aboard Sea Cloud II; and the Aug. 24, 2024, departure of Coastal Gems of Croatia and Slovenia aboard Sea Cloud II.

Michaela Skovranova

Australia-based photographer Michaela Skovranova specializes in nature and underwater photography. Her work has focused on capturing environmental stories in extreme environments—from photographing the Great Barrier Reef and capturing the remote wilderness and diverse wildlife of the Kimberley to documenting the annual humpback whale migration in Tonga and exploring the underwater worlds of Antarctica.

Join her on the Jul. 4, 2024, departure of Kimberley Expedition: Northwest Australia and Indonesia; the Dec. 3, 2024, departure of Southern Odyssey: New Zealand and the Subantarctic Islands; or the Dec. 21, 2024, departure of Roots of the Pacific: Exploring New Zealand and Melanesia.

Wade Davis

An ethnographer, writer, photographer and filmmaker, Wade Davis holds degrees in anthropology and biology and received his Ph.D. in ethnobotany, all from Harvard University. He is Professor of Anthropology and the BC Leadership Chair in Cultures and Ecosystems at Risk at the University of British Columbia. He has been described as, “a rare combination of scientist, scholar, poet, and passionate defender of all of life’s diversity.”

Join him on the Aug. 21, 2024, departure of Gateway to the Northwest Passage: Greenland and Canada. 

Dr. Rosa Vásquez Espinoza

Dr. Rosa Vásquez Espinoza is a chemical biologist, conservationist, National Geographic Explorer, and award-winning artist. With her scientific-based explorative nature, she connects the micro-to-macro worlds to nourish our appreciation for biodiversity in all its magnitudes.

Join her on the October 20 and 27, 2024, departures of Panama and Colombia: Exploring the Caribbean Coast.

Jeff Mauritzen

Jeff Mauritzen's assignments and adventures have immersed him in vivid landscapes on all seven continents and in more than 60 countries around the world. Whether photographing penguin antics in Antarctica or komodo dragons in Indonesia, Jeff’s work expresses an unwavering passion, respect, curiosity, and awe for the natural world.

Join him on the Nov. 30, 2023, departure of Southern Odyssey: New Zealand and the Subantarctic Islands; the Apr. 8, 2024, departure of Polynesian Discovery: Exploring Tahiti, Bora Bora, and the Tuamotus; the Dec. 29, 2024, departure of Journey to Antarctica: The White Continent; and the Feb. 18, 2025, departure of Ancient Polynesia: Tuamotus and Marquesas Islands.

Camille Seaman

Camille Seaman has spent the last two decades documenting the rapidly changing landscapes of Earth's polar regions. Her work has appeared in National Geographic, Outside, TIME, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, and American Photo, among other outlets. She leads photographic workshops all over the globe and enjoys inspiring others to develop a unique visual voice.

Join her on the Dec. 1 & Dec. 11, 2023, and the Feb. 9, 2024, departures of Journey To Antarctica: The White Continent; the Feb. 19, 2024, departure of Antarctica, South Georgia, and the Falklands; the May 20, 2024 departure of Navigating the Atlantic Coast: Brittany, Wales, and England’s Channel Islands; or the Jul. 8, 2024, departure of A Circumnavigation of Iceland.

Rich Reid

Award-winning photographer and filmmaker Rich Reid has specialized in environmental and adventure photography for over two decades. North American Nature Photography Association elected Rich as a Fellow for his significant contributions to the nature photography industry, and he was a finalist for the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year for his time-lapse video documenting forest fire ecology. 

Join him aboard the Dec. 7, 2023, departure of Costa Rica and the Panama Canal; the Aug. 16, 2024, departure of Galápagos Aboard National Geographic Endeavour II; or the Jan. 5 and 17, 2024, departures of Coastal New Zealand: Scenic Fjords, Māori History, and Abundant Wildlife.

Jennifer Hayes and David Doubilet

Underwater photographers David Doubilet and Jennifer Hayes are married partners who work together as a team to produce National Geographic stories from equatorial coral reefs to beneath the polar ice.

Join them on the Dec. 8, 2023, departure of Galápagos Aboard National Geographic Endeavour II; the Mar. 19, 2024, departure of Pearls of the Pacific: A Voyage to the Society and Tuamotu Islands; The Mar. 29, 2024, departure of Polynesian Discovery: Exploring Tahiti, Bora Bora, and the Tuamotus; the Apr. 17, 2024, departure of Egypt, the Greek Isles, and the Suez Canal: Sailing through Antiquity; the Aug. 28, 2024, departure of Fabled Lands Of The North: Greenland To Newfoundland; or the Jan. 11, 2025, departure of Antarctica, South Georgia, and the Falklands.

Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez leads commercial and civil lunar payloads as the Director of Business Development, Commercial and Civil Space, fostering science investigations, technology demonstrations, and media partnerships, at Astrobotic—a space robotics and lunar logistics company providing full service, end-to-end payload delivery to the Moon.

Join her on the the Dec. 17 and 27, 2023, departures of Journey to Antarctica: The White Continent and the Mar. 9, 2024, departure of Pearls of the Pacific: Exploring the Society and Tuamotu Islands.

Krista Rossow

Krista Rossow began her career as a photography editor at National Geographic Traveler magazine. She has shot feature stories as a contributing photographer for Traveler in Japan, South Africa, Morocco, Costa Rica, New Zealand, and various U.S. cities. She regularly judges Instagram contests for @NatGeogTravel and edits photos for National Geographic Books.

Join her on the Dec. 21 or 31, 2023, departures of Journey To Antarctica: The White Continent; the Jan. 26, 2024, departure of Sailing the Caribbean aboard Sea Cloud; the May 8, 2024, departure of Barcelona to Basque Country: Tracing History and Culture on the Iberian Peninsula; the Aug. 1, 2024, departure of Jewels of the Java Sea: An Exploration Between Bali and Singapore; the Oct. 22, 2024, departure of Coastal New Zealand: Scenic Fjords, Maori History, and Abundant Wildlife; or the Nov. 29, 2024, departure of Galápagos Aboard National Geographic Endeavour II.

Sisse Brimberg

Award-winning photographer Sisse Brimberg has produced and photographed more than 30 stories for National Geographic magazine over the past 40 years. As contributing photographer for National Geographic Traveler, she has shot stories in Amsterdam, Casablanca, Oaxaca, Saint Petersburg, and beyond. She has earned first prize honors from the prestigious Pictures of the Year International (POY), and her images have been exhibited around the world.

Join her aboard the Jan. 6 or Jan. 16, 2024, departures of Journey To Antarctica: The White Continent; or the Jun. 9 or Jun. 20, 2024, departures of Ancient Isles: England, Ireland, and Scotland.

Ralph Lee Hopkins

Ralph Lee Hopkins is a popular photo instructor and geologist who also serves as a National Geographic Photography Expert aboard the Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic fleet. His wildlife images have appeared in National Geographic's books, magazines, and online galleries, and are represented in the National Geographic Image Collection.

Join him aboard the Dec. 30, 2024, or Jan. 9, 2025, departures of Journey to Antarctica: The White Continent.

View More Experts

More than 30 National Geographic Photography Experts are traveling on Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic voyages in 2024 and 2025. View the full directory below. 

Kike Calvo

Award-winning photographer, journalist, and author Kike Calvo specializes in culture and environment. His images have been published in National Geographic Magazine, The New York Times, Time, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, New York Magazine, Rolling Stone, and Vanity Fair, among others.

Join him on the Jan. 29, 2024, departure of Roots of the Pacific: Exploring New Zealand and Melanesia; and the Mar. 10, 2024, departure of Patagonia: Chilean Fjords and Argentina's Staten Island.

Tua Pittman

Internationally acclaimed as a traditional master navigator, Tua Pittman has navigated canoes from the coastlines of Asia through to the shores of the Americas for more than 30 years, without the use of modern instruments. He is a respected chieftain of his island homeland, a dancer, drummer, athlete, and gifted speaker.

Join him on the Jan. 14, 2024, departure of Coastal New Zealand: Scenic Fjords, Maori History, and Abundant Wildlife; the Nov. 30, 2023, departure of Southern Odyssey: New Zealand and the Subantarctic Islands; the Jan. 29, 2024, departure of Roots of the Pacific: Exploring New Zealand and Melanesia; the Apr. 12, 2024, departure of Fiji and Tahiti Adventure: Vibrant Reefs and Cultural History; or the Apr. 28, 2024, departure of Fiji and Beyond: Exploring the Rites and Relics of the Pacific.

Mensun Bound

Born in the Falkland Islands, Mensun Bound was the Triton Fellow in Maritime Archaeology at St Peter’s College, Oxford, and the director of the first academic unit for underwater archaeology in England. Known as the "Indiana Jones of the Deep," Bound has conducted wreck surveys and excavations all over the world in a career that spanned 40 years, and was Director of Exploration for the search mission that located the wreck of Ernest Shackleton's ship Endurance. 

Join him aboard the Feb. 26, 2024, departure of South Georgia and the Falklands.

Joseph Frey

Joseph Frey is Vice President of The Royal Canadian Geographical Society and Chair of its College of Fellows. Fascinated by polar sciences, he 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. An accomplished science writer, he has been published in TIME, The Globe and Mail, National Post, Toronto Star, Toronto Sun, and many others.

Join him aboard the Jun. 20, 2024, departure of Svalbard, Iceland, and Greenland's East Coast.

Mary Robinson

Former President of Ireland, chair of The Elders, and the former UN special envoy on climate change, Mary Robinson is one of the world’s most respected advocates for climate justice. Her new book, Climate Justice, has received praise from former world leaders and the environmental and human rights community. 

Join her on the May 2 & May 13, 2025, departures of Ancient Isles: England, Ireland, and Scotland.

Christian Cooper

Christian Cooper is the Host and a Consulting Producer for the upcoming National Geographic series Extraordinary Birder. As a board member of the New York City Audubon Society, he advocates for greater, safer access to green spaces for all, with a focus on outreach to youth in underserved communities. He looks forward to bringing the gospel of birding to ever wider audiences through Extraordinary Birder and his memoir, Better Living Through Birding, forthcoming from Random House.

Join him on the the Dec. 7, 2023, departure of Journey to Antarctica: the White Continent.

Louis Henry Mitchell

As Creative Director of Character Design, Louis directs and oversees most aspects of character art for Sesame Workshop, the non-profit organization behind Sesame Street. As our Artist-in-Residence, he will give talks and sketching lessons to encourage the creation of artistic works inspired by the beauty of the regions we’ll explore.

Join him on the Dec. 18, 2023, departure of Southern Odyssey: New Zealand and the Subantarctic Islands.

Jacob Edgar

Jacob Edgar is an ethnomusicologist, world music tastemaker, and global explorer with an insatiable curiosity for the diverse ways in which people express themselves through music. Jacob’s adventures have taken him to dozens of countries, and hundreds of the world’s greatest international music festivals, showcases and performance venues in search of exceptional musical talents. Since 1998, Jacob has been the main music researcher for the acclaimed world music compilations label Putumayo World Music, contributing songs and liner notes to over 300 Putumayo collections that combined have sold over 15 million copies.

Join him on the Mar. 25, 2024, departure of Exploring East Africa and Madagascar: Wildlife and Wonders.

Ray Isle

Ray Isle is the Executive Wine Editor for Food and Wine magazine. He has been writing about wine, spirits, and cocktails for 20 years, regularly appears on national television and in other media, and speaks at wine and food events around the globe. His book The World in a Wineglass: The Insider's Guide to Artisinal, Sustainable, Extraordinary Wines is forthcoming in November 2023 from Scribner Books.

Join him on the inaugural voyage of our Food & Wine Presents the Columbia & Snake Rivers Journey voyage on Mar. 31, 2024.

Joy Harjo

Award-winning poet and author Joy Harjo of Muscogee (Creek) Nation served as the 23rd Poet Laureate for the United States from 2019 to 2022. She was the first Native American to hold the position and only the second person to serve three terms in the role. She has published nine books of poetry and two memoirs. She will share perspectives on indigenous groups of the Pacific Northwest with guests.

Join her on the Apr. 7, 2024, departure of Columbia and Snake Rivers Journey.

Ian W. Toll

Ian W. Toll is a writer and independent scholar. He is the author of several highly-regarded works of military history: Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the US Navy, and The Pacific War Trilogy, a three-volume history of the war in the Pacific.

Join him on the Oct. 9, 2024, departure of Roots of the Pacific: Exploring New Zealand and Melanesia.

David Allen Sibley

David Allen Sibley is the author and illustrator of the series of successful guides to nature that bear his name, including the New York Times bestseller The Sibley Guide to Birds. He has contributed art and articles to numerous publications and wrote and illustrated a syndicated column for The New York Times. 

Join him aboard the Nov. 29, 2024, departure of Journey to Antarctica: The White Continent.

Nicholas Kristof

Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nicholas Kristof has contributed to The New York Times for nearly four decades—as a reporter and a columnist—covering topics ranging from presidential politics to human rights issues. As a speaker, Kristof captivates with his moving storytelling and unique insights into the events that shape our world. 

Join him on the Apr. 2, 2025, departure of Islands of the Azores: Basalt Peaks to Volcanic Vineyards.

Dr. Robert Bindschadler

Dr. Bindschadler’s career spanned more than 30 years at NASA where he retired in 2010 as the Chief Scientist of NASA’s Hydrospheric and Biospheric Sciences Laboratory and a Senior Fellow of the Goddard Space Flight Center. He is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, a past President of the International Glaciological Society, and is currently both a NASA Emeritus Scientist and a Senior Research Scientist at Morgan State University. He maintains an active interest in glaciers and ice sheets and has led 16 Antarctic field expeditions to study dynamics of the West Antarctic ice sheet.

Join him aboard the Nov. 27, 2023, departure of Journey to Antarctica: The White Continent.

Andrew Revkin

Andrew Revkin is an environmental journalist and Founding Director of the Initiative on Communication and Sustainability at The Earth Institute of Columbia University, Throughout his 40 years on the sustainability beat, including more than 20 years with The New York Times, he became one of the world’s most innovative and lauded climate reporters.

Join him on the Jan. 29, 2024, departure of Roots of the Pacific: Exploring New Zealand and Melanesia.

Valerie Taylor

Valerie Taylor is a pioneering figure in the realm of marine conservation and cinematography. Together with her late husband Ron, she played a pivotal role in the early days of marine conservation in Australia.

Join her on the May 8, 2024, departure of Exploring Indonesia: Bali, Raja Ampat, and Papua New Guinea.

Minik Rosing

A Greenlander by birth and geology professor in Denmark, Minik Rosing has led more than 20 geologic field expeditions across Greenland. He is a visiting fellow at Harvard University and a visiting scholar and a Cox visiting professor at Stanford University. He is also the chairman of the working group for the sustainable exploitation of mineral resources in Greenland at the University of Greenland (Ilisimatusarfik) and the University of Copenhagen.

Join him aboard the Aug. 8, 2024, departure of Iceland and Greenland: Edge of the Arctic.