Speakers Bureau

Inspire, Challenge, Motivate

National Geographic Speakers Bureau represents the world’s boldest Explorers, scientists, photographers and storytellers. These tailor-made experiences inspire, challenge and motivate audiences — from dynamic corporate keynotes to unforgettable gala evenings. Contact us today to bring the world to your private event.

Available Speakers

Showing 9 of 38 results

Aliyah Griffith

Resilience, Science, Teamwork, Leadership, Climate Change, Adventure

Dr. Aliyah Griffith is a marine scientist passionate about marine science communication and inclusivity. Focusing on coral reef resilience and management, her research experiences have taken her from the reefs of Moorea, French Polynesia, to the Caribbean coastlines of Barbados. In 2022, she became the first African-American to earn a graduate degree in marine science from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. In 2025, she became the first African American to receive a PhD from the same department. As the Founder of Mahogany Mermaids, a nonprofit dedicated to inspiring children of color to engage in aquatic sciences, she has reached hundreds of children nationally with virtual and in-person events and resources. Passionate about inspiring future generations, she has authored a children’s book, My Secret Mermaid, showcasing careers in marine science and ocean exploration.

Anastasia Taylor-Lind

Photography, Resilience, Storytelling, Teamwork, Adventure, Culture, Health

Anastasia Taylor-Lind is a British-Swedish photojournalist who has contributed to National Geographic magazine and other leading editorial publications. She is also an author, poet, TED Fellow and 2016 Harvard Nieman Fellow. Taylor-Lind has worked in Ukraine for over a decade, covering issues relating to women, war and violence. Her first book, "MAIDAN - Portraits from the Black Square," documents the 2014 Euromaidan Revolution and was published by GOST Books the same year. Her poetry focuses on contemporary conflicts and the experiences she cannot photograph. In 2022, her first collection, "One Language," was published in the U.K. by Smith|Doorstop. In 2023, she received the Canon Female Photojournalist Award for her long-term reporting from eastern Ukraine, and over 100,000 people visited her exhibition 'Ukraine: Photographs from the Frontline' at the Imperial War Museum.

Andy Mann

Storytelling, Photography, Wildlife, Climate Change, Adventure

Andy Mann is an experienced climber, diver, and filmmaker whose imagery helps tell the story of our rapidly changing planet, documenting scientific expeditions on all seven continents. He is the co-founder and director at 3 Strings Productions and is a founding member of the Sea Legacy Collective with Paul Nicklen and Cristina Mittermeier. He now spends more than 100 days each year at sea documenting cutting-edge marine science.

Ariel Waldman

Adventure, Climate Change, Leadership, Science, Space, Storytelling

Ariel Waldman is a National Geographic Explorer and filmmaker. Her expeditions take her from tallgrass prairies and deep-sea canyons to the icy realms of Antarctica. In these remarkable places, she films otherworldly life beneath the surface, including the extraordinary lives of microscopic animals. Waldman is the creator and host of "UNEARTHED," an ongoing series on PBS that breaks open the boundaries of nature documentaries, exploring everything from microscopic creatures to the planet's most iconic animals—and even the possibilities of life beyond Earth. Waldman is also a TED speaker and author. For over a decade, she has served as an advisor to NASA on astrobiology, human spaceflight and advanced technologies. In 2013, she was honored by the Obama White House as a "Champion of Change" for her work in citizen science. She lives in San Francisco, California, and enjoys collaborating with researchers to illuminate the unseen corners of our world.

Barrington Irving

Adventure, Leadership

Barrington Irving is very good at rising above obstacles. Literally. Raised in Miami's inner city, surrounded by crime, poverty, and failing schools, he beat the odds to become the youngest person and only African American ever to fly solo around the world. He built a plane himself, made his historic flight, graduated magna cum laude from an aeronautical science program, and founded a dynamic educational nonprofit. Then he turned 28. His message for kids: "The only thing that separates you from CEOs in corner offices or scientists in labs is determination, hard work, and a passion for what you want to achieve. The only person who can stop you from doing something great is you. Even if no one believes in your dream, you have to pursue it." The secret, he believes, is having a dream in the first place, and that starts with powerful learning experiences that inspire kids to pursue careers—particularly in science, technology, engineering, and math. The moment of inspiration for Irving came at age 15 while he was working in his parents' bookstore. One of their customers, a Jamaican-born professional pilot, asked Irving if he'd ever thought about becoming a pilot. "I told him I didn't think I was smart enough; but the next day he gave me the chance to sit in the cockpit of the commercial airplane he flew, and just like that I was hooked. There are probably millions of kids out there like me who find science and exploration amazing, but lack the confidence or opportunity to take the next step." To follow his dream, Irving turned down a full football scholarship to the University of Florida. He washed airplanes to earn money for flight school and increased his flying skills by practicing at home on a $40 flight simulator video game. Then another dream took hold: flying solo around the world. He faced more than 50 rejections for sponsorship before convincing several manufacturers to donate individual aircraft components. He took off with no weather radar, no de-icing system, and just $30 in his pocket. "I like to do things people say I can't do." After 97 days, 26 stops, and dozens of thunderstorms, monsoons, snowstorms, and sandstorms, he touched down to a roaring crowd in Miami. "Stepping from the plane, it wasn't all the fanfare that changed my life. It was seeing so many young people watching and listening. I had no money, but I was determined to give back with my time, knowledge, and experience." He's been doing it ever since. Irving's nonprofit organization, Experience Aviation, aims to boost the numbers of youth in aviation and other science- and math-related careers. Middle and high school students attend summer and after-school programs tackling hands-on robotics projects, flight simulator challenges, and field trips to major industries and corporations. In his Build and Soar program, 60 students from failing schools built an airplane from scratch in just ten weeks and then watched Irving pilot it into the clouds. "We want to create a one-of-a-kind opportunity for students to take ownership and accomplish something amazing," he notes. "Meaningful, real-world learning experiences fire up the neurons in kids' minds. If you don't do that, you've lost them. Purposeful, inspiring activities increase the chance they'll stay on that learning and career path. We've had one young lady receive a full scholarship to Duke University as a math major, and several young men are now pilots, engineers, and aircraft mechanics." "It's great to reach a few hundred kids every year," he says, "but I also wanted to find a way to inspire on a larger scale." How about millions of kids? Irving's next endeavor will transform a jet into a flying classroom that will circle the globe sharing science, technology, engineering, math, geography, culture, and history. "This isn't just an aircraft; it's an exploration vehicle for learning that will teach millions of kids in ways they've never been taught before—making them part of the expedition and research." A web-based experience will make it easy for kids to participate at home and school, voting on everything from where Irving should make a fuel stop to what local food he should sample. He plans to call classrooms from the cockpit; broadcast live video from 45,000 feet; blog with students; collect atmospheric data; communicate with the International Space Station; and wear a NASA body suit that transmits his heart rate, blood pressure, and other vital signs. Along the way, kids will have a virtual window on about 75 ground expeditions, including Machu Picchu, the Galápagos Islands, the Pyramids, the Serengeti Plains, the Roman Coliseum, the Taj Mahal, and the Great Wall of China. Cameras will provide 360-degree panoramic views of destinations from ancient archaeological sites to Hong Kong skyscrapers. Apps will track adventures such as shark tagging, giving students ongoing location and water temperature data. A steady stream of challenges will let kids compete to solve problems ranging from evacuating populations after tsunamis to collecting trash in space. "We also want to create a forum where kids, parents, and teachers can speak to astronauts, scientists, and other specialists." This "Journey for Knowledge" flight is scheduled to depart in 2013 and will make Irving the youngest person ever to fly to all seven continents. Perhaps Irving's most compelling educational tool is the example his own life provides. After landing his record-breaking flight at age 23, he smiled out at the airfield crowd and said, "Everyone told me what I couldn't do. They said I was too young, that I didn't have enough money, experience, strength, or knowledge. They told me it would take forever and I'd never come home. Well ... guess what?"

Barton Seaver

Adventure, Climate Change, Culture, Health, Resilience, Storytelling, Sustainability

Barton Seaver is a chef who has dedicated his career to restoring the relationship we have with our ocean. It is his belief that the choices we are making for dinner are directly impacting the ocean and its fragile ecosystems. Seaver has manned the helm of some of Washington, D.C.’s most acclaimed restaurants. In doing so, he brought the idea of sustainable seafood to the nation’s capitol while earning Esquire magazine’s 2009 “Chef of the Year” status from acclaimed food writer John Mariani. A graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, Seaver has cooked in cities all over America and the world. Having been bitten by the travel bug, Seaver found work in southern Spain at a small family restaurant. Their casual, ingredient-based cooking style would prove to be an important influence in his perception of food as an essential part of community. When the off-season arrived, Seaver hopped on a boat to Morocco and landed in the small seaside village of Essaouira. There, he took part in generations-old fishing methods, becoming a part of a community whose survival was directly linked to the oceans. This had a huge impact on his belief that sustainability is, at its root, not only an ecological matter, but also a humanitarian one. While sustainability has largely been assigned to seafood and agriculture, Barton’s work expands far beyond the dining table to encompass socio-economic and cultural issues. Locally, he pursues solutions to these problems through D.C. Central Kitchen, an organization fighting hunger not with food, but with personal empowerment, job training, and life skills. Barton has been lauded as a leader in sustainability by the Seafood Choices Alliance and was named a fellow with the Blue Ocean Institute. Barton has joined the board of Harvard Medical School's Center for Health and the Global Environment. Together with National Geographic, the Center is partnering with hospitals and health care providers in the Greater Boston area to educate them about healthier and more sustainable food service opportunities. He is the author of For Cod And Country (Sterling, Spring 2011), a book of recipes that inspires ocean conservation through the experience that we all share—dinner. In addition, Barton is working on television and online shows that will engage consumers by telling stories everyone can relate to, whether they are preparing a meal or preparing to eat it.

Benjamin R. Edwards

Adventure, Climate Change, Science, Sustainability

Ben Edwards is a professor of earth sciences and the Walter E. Beach Chair in Sustainability at Dickinson College, in Carlisle PA. His research interests are focused on fire and ice, literally exploring ice covered volcanoes while they are erupting. The majority of his work tries to use volcanic deposits formed from glaciovolcanism to reconstruct Earth’s past climate history, although he has recently begun taking students into the Arctic to show them how to measure the impact of climate change on glaciers, too. He has a B.A. in Geology from Carleton College, a M.S. in Geology from the University of Wyoming, and a Ph.D. in physical and chemical volcanology from the University of British Columbia. Edwards has helped to write more than 50 scientific papers and co-wrote the first book on volcano-ice interactions, Glaciovolcanism on Earth and Mars. Most of these papers examine the structures and histories of specific volcanoes in British Columbia, Canada, in Peru, and in Iceland, as well as erupting volcanoes in Kamchatka, Russia, in Chile, and in Iceland. He has also co-authored papers on glaciers response to climate change, including a chapter in the 2014 Global Land Ice Measurements from Space volume. His work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, the Michigan NASA Space Grant Consortium, Dickinson College, and National Geographic. His most recent NatGeo research on the 2015 eruption of Villarrica volcano is currently being completed with collaborators in Chile.

Bob Poole

Adventure, Conservationism, Photography, Science, Storytelling, Wildlife, Resilience

Bob Poole is an Emmy Award winning Director of Photography, Television Presenter and Speaker. He has an extensive credit list with BBC, PBS NATURE, NOVA, Discovery Networks, and an additional 50 plus films for National Geographic. Growing up in East Africa, Bob experienced an extraordinary childhood exploring the wilderness and wildlife that thrived there in the 1960’s and 1970’s. His unique upbringing gave him an appreciation and curiosity of the natural world, a highly adventurous spirit, and a strong sense of self-reliance. Poole’s career began in his teens on a film about elephants for National Geographic. He is a Fellow with the Explorers Club and has spoken in over 50 venues across the US, Canada and Australia, filling concert halls including Benaroya in Seattle and the Sydney Opera House. His recent work has taken him to one of Africa’s harshest climates to film desert elephants in Namibia for a four-part series by James Cameron, narrated by Natalie Portman, for National Geographic called Secrets of the Elephants, currently streaming on Disney+.Bob’s most film as Director of Photography is Tusker: The Brotherhood of Elephants has just premiered on PBS Nature, YouTube, Hulu and AppleTV. He is currently speaking in venues across the US.

Brian J. Buma

Adventure, Climate Change, Conservationism, Science, Technology

Brian Buma is a climate scientist and published author. His work focuses on dynamic change in ecosystems—from wildfires to landslides to the ordinary migration of species in response to changing climates. He utilizes a range of methods, from field expeditions to satellite imagery, to gain a unique perspective on regional and global questions. Buma led an expedition to the back of Glacier Bay, Alaska, to rediscover the oldest running permanent plot network in the world. These sites, monitored consistently since 1916, were lost in the late 1980s. He is also leading the field documenting the effects of snow loss on forests around the world, running studies in the boreal of Alaska and high country of Colorado and chairing international sessions on the topic. In 2019, Buma led an expedition to southern Chile to document the furthest-south trees in the world, found in the wild ocean islands of Cape Horn. His latest work explored the northernmost land on the planet, off the north coast of Greenland. A senior climate scientist with the Environmental Defense Fund and associated research professor at the University of Colorado Denver (and affiliate professor at the University of Alaska), Buma’s findings have been featured in National Geographic, the New York Times, Northwest Native News, High Country News, and international peer-reviewed journals.

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