Sylvia Alice Earle

Sylvia Earle, National Geographic’s Rosemary and Roger Enrico Chair for Ocean Exploration, is an oceanographer, founder of Mission Blue, SEAlliance, and Deep Ocean Exploration and Research. Through Mission Blue, more than 150 geographically defined “Hope Spots” are achieving enhanced research and protection with a network of local Champions and communities in more than 60 countries. She is also the council chair of the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, former chief scientist of NOAA, and a founding Ocean Elder. Earle has been called “Her Deepness” by The New York Times and “Living Legend” by the Library of Congress, and was TIME’s first “Hero for the Planet.” She has led over 100 expeditions and logged more than 7,000 hours underwater. She has authored more than 200 publications and lectured in 90 countries.

A graduate of Florida State University with an M.S. and a Ph.D. from Duke University and recipient of 29 honorary doctorates, she serves on various boards and commissions. Her more than 100 honors include the 2013 National Geographic Hubbard Medal, 2009 TED Prize, the Netherlands’ Order of the Golden Ark, and medals from the Explorers Club, the Royal Geographical Society, the Lindbergh Foundation and the Dominican Republic.