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 45 results

Alex R. Hearn

Wildlife, Science

Alex Hearn is a marine ecologist who is researching whale shark migrations around the Galapagos Islands. He is a professor at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ) and the Galapagos Science Center. He is also a founding member and Board President of the regional research network, MigraMar, and in 2020 was named co-champion of the Mission Blue Galapagos Hope Spot. Alex's projects use acoustic and satellite telemetry to establish the migratory pathways of sharks at different times of the year in the southern Galapagos and coastal mainland Ecuador. He led a multi-institutional team of biologists to develop a blueprint for improved conservation outside the Galapagos Marine Reserve, which resulted in the creation of the new Hermandad Reserve in 2022. Alex's work has been featured in stand-alone documentaries and in the iconic Blue Planet II and Galapagos documentary series.

Alizé A. Carrère

Wildlife, Climate Change, Science

Alizé Carrère is a scientist and filmmaker researching and documenting human adaptations to climate change. She completed her Ph.D. in ecosystem science and policy at the University of Miami, where she examined the rise of “climatopias,” aspirational architecture and urban planning proposals for climate change. Prior to that, Carrère completed a Bachelor of Arts in environmental science and Master of Science in bioresource engineering at McGill University. During this time, she lived in Panama, Peru, France, and the Middle East, doing fieldwork on a range of human-environment interactions. After receiving a grant from National Geographic Society in 2013 to examine how farmers were unexpectedly adapting to severe deforestation in Madagascar, her work evolved into a broader film project on human resilience in the face of profound environmental change. Supported by additional grants from the National Geographic Society, The Redford Center and PBS, this culminated in a docuseries produced and hosted by Carrère for PBS Digital called ADAPTATION, covering adaptation stories in places such as Bangladesh, Ladakh, Vanuatu, and the United States. Her experiences have afforded her unique insights on the role of collaborative storytelling and the human dimensions of climate change.

Anand A. Varma

Science, Wildlife, Photography

Anand Varma is a National Geographic Explorer and award-winning photographer based in Berkeley, California. He has devoted years of his life to developing innovative techniques—even building some of his own equipment—to create intimate, dramatic and surprising images of nature. He holds a degree in integrative biology from University of California, Berkeley and uses photography to share the story behind the science on topics from honeybee health to hummingbird biomechanics. Varma has photographed numerous stories for National Geographic magazine, including the 2014 cover story, “Mindsuckers.” His accolades include TED speaker, World Press Photo Award, and Rita Allen Civic Science Fellow. Varma's ultimate goal is to spark a sense of wonder about our world. He sees the camera not just as a tool to capture what is visible, but as a way to illuminate the layers of beauty and complexity that are otherwise hidden from the naked eye.

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.

Benjamin H. Mirin

Photography, Culture, Conservationism, Technology, Wildlife

Ben Mirin is the founding director of the Creative Conservation Lab (CCL) in partnership with Cornell University and UNC Chapel Hill. CCL combines biodiversity, art and storytelling to make conservation more inclusive, and is currently seeking collaborators in these spaces to advance their mission. By training, Mirin is an acoustic biologist, storyteller and artist who studies sound in nature and biocultural conservation. He also composes music from his sound recordings and performs live as a “wildlife DJ.” Mirin completed his Ph.D. in 2024 at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, where he studied birdsong and the wildlife trade in Indonesia. Through science, music and media, he combines his passions to engage new audiences in a more inclusive and sustainable future for all life on earth. Mirin is the creator and host of the digital and television series "WILD BEATS" on National Geographic Kids and Nat Geo Wild. He is also a 2016 National Geographic Explorer, Certified Educator, and Speaker with NG Expeditions and Nat Geo Live. Mirin has been a senior fellow at The Safina Center and The Explorers Club, and the first Artist in Residence at the Bronx Zoo with additional residencies at the National Centre for Biological Sciences in Bangalore, India and the Art Institute of Chicago. He is the recipient of Fulbright Hays, Department of Education FLAS, and NSF Graduate Research Fellowships, the Scott Pearlman Field Award in Exploration, and a four-time TED speaker. His online game, BeastBox, has been distributed to over four million students worldwide, and he has written, produced and starred in films about science for National Geographic, bioGraphic, Slate, Smithsonian Magazine, Scientific American Online, Audubon Magazine and others. He lives between Ithaca, New York; Boston; and Washington D.C.

Beth Shapiro

Wildlife, Science

Beth Shapiro travels through time—observing mammoths, dodos, and other extinct animals; witnessing the last ice age and arrival of humans in North America; watching genetic diversity shrink in one species while blossoming in another. Her journey is made possible by ancient DNA samples and statistical models that give science a whole new view of our tumultuous past. This very new field uses genetic information gleaned from ancient animals and plants to discover how evolution happens over time and territory. By analyzing DNA samples from species at not just one, but many moments in time, researchers can trace changes in populations, and overlay those changes with concurrent environmental events. The precision this allows is unprecedented.

Brian J. Skerry

Wildlife, Photography, Conservationism, Science, Adventure, Climate Change, Leadership, Resilience, Storytelling, Sustainability, Teamwork

Brian Skerry is a film producer/director and veteran photojournalist specializing in marine wildlife and underwater realms. His recent documentary film credits include "Secrets of the Whales" and "Return of the White Shark," both currently streaming on Disney+. In 2021, Skerry received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary as a producer of "Secrets of the Whales." Since 1998, Skerry has been a contributing photographer for National Geographic magazine, where he has created and photographed more than 30 feature stories, including seven cover stories. His work has also been featured in publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Paris Match, Esquire, and Audubon. In 2014 he was named as a National Geographic Society Photography Fellow and then named a National Geographic Society Storytelling Fellow in 2017 - the same year he was awarded the title of Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year. In 2016, he received the National Geographic magazine's Photographer’s Photographer Award, a recognition bestowed by his colleagues, other National Geographic magazine photographers. Skerry was named the 2025 Nature Photographer of the Year by the North American Nature Photographers Association. Skerry is the author of 12 books including the acclaimed monographs "Ocean Soul," "SHARK" and "Secrets of the Whales."

Caitlin E. O'Connell-Rodwell

Wildlife, Science, Photography, Storytelling, Conservationism

Caitlin O’Connell-Rodwell is a behavioral ecologist who has studied elephant society within Etosha National Park, Namibia, for over 30 years. Her National Geographic Society-funded project started in 2002, when she began measurements of the seismic properties of elephant low frequency vocalizations and the elephants’ ability to detect these vibrations as signals. The scope of her work expanded beyond acoustic and seismic studies to a broad look at how an elephant society is organized in an arid environment. O’Connell-Rodwell's journey as a scientist began as an undergraduate majoring in biology, which led to a master’s degree in animal communication, studying the role communication plays in species isolation mechanisms in the Hawaiian Islands. From there, she traveled through southern Africa for a year and accepted a three-year contract with the Namibian Government, working with farmers in rural Zambezi to help them manage the elephant/human interface in the region, along with studying elephant ecology and behavior and particularly their vocal communication. That work formed the basis of her dissertation research at University of California, Davis, where she obtained a Ph.D. in ecology. O’Connell-Rodwell then took on a postdoc at Stanford University in the Center for Conservation Biology to study ivory trade policy based in China, realizing her passion lay in studying African elephants in the wild. O’Connell-Rodwell and her husband co-founded a nonprofit organization, Utopia Scientific, in 2002. She has published numerous books and scientific and popular feature articles about her research, including features in Scientific American, National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine and Aeon Magazine. She has given two TED talks and many public lectures around the world, including several countries in Europe, as well as China, Australia and Africa. She was voted Distinguished Young Alumna at UC Davis, and won the Sibert and Horn Book Honors for her co-authored book, "The Elephant Scientist." O’Connell-Rodwell is currently working on several documentaries, storytelling and speaking engagements to help further instill an awe of nature in budding scientists and nature lovers.

Christopher John Schell

Wildlife, Culture

Dr. Christopher J. Schell is an urban ecologist, professor, Afrofuturist, father, and published author. Schell’s research sits at the intersection of animal behavior, physiology, urban biodiversity conservation, environmental justice, and One Health to investigate how carnivores—namely coyotes, foxes, and raccoons—adapt to life in cities. In addition, Schell’s lab integrates critical discourses on how structural oppression (e.g., redlining, pollution burden, and socioeconomic disparities) directly shape the very urban features associated with human-wildlife interactions, conflict, and adaptation. This transdisciplinary work aims to disentangle how environmental injustices have structured our urban ecosystems and how we can harness those lessons to build more just, biodiverse, and resilient cities. Schell is a Grist Fixer, Cal Academy Fellow and board member, and affiliate faculty with the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, with his work featured in The Atlantic, The New York Times, Vox’s Explained, and various NPR and PBS outlets. Since 2021, he has served on the faculty in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (ESPM) at the University of California, Berkeley. A born-and-raised Los Angelean now firmly planted in the Bay Area, Schell weaves his lived experiences as a Black man and Californian to coproduce justice- and equity-centered research programs with local communities that regenerate urban nature, bolster environmental health, and break barriers to access for all peoples.

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