“I first learned about the explorer community during a summer job in high school. I was a Production Assistant for an adventure television series called Angry Planet. I got the opportunity to travel to Java, Indonesia, to carry tripods and equipment for two episodes focused on volcanos. I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into. The team was mostly older men and I felt completely underqualified for the job. That summer before college, I climbed active volcanoes on the island of Java, including a hike up Mount Semeru (3,676m / 12,060 ft), which was erupting every 15-minutes, spewing fine ash that made summiting feel like climbing a dust pile. I was the only woman in our group to complete the treacherous hike. That summer climbing volcanoes made me wonder: Where are all the women explorers? 

Since then, I gained an Undergraduate and Master’s degree in Global Affairs and used every opportunity to travel abroad.

I researched in East Africa for six-months, worked at the WWF in Hong Kong to combat the issues of the illegal wildlife trafficking trade, filmed underwater in an investigative report on the invasive lionfish species in the Bahamas, dove 650 feet below the ocean floor in Curaçao in a submarine, and continued climbing volcanoes. 

I found my community of explorers: people working to discover new knowledge about the world, people dedicated to educating the public about science, people inspired to preserve our natural world. And even better, I have managed to build a career in my community. I have been working for a global education nonprofit called Reach the World, which is dedicated to building a more globally informed society by teaching in classrooms across the country.  Teaching students about the impact they can have on the larger world around them is incredibly important to me, in part because I still remember the awe I felt the first time I hiked up that volcano in Java. So, I was thrilled to get the opportunity to become a summer trip leader on the National Geographic Student Expeditions trip in the Alps and take kids up their first mountain. 

All of these experiences have given me a unique perspective that I bring to my volunteer positions on the boards of The Explorers Club and the New York WILD Film Festival. Sometimes I sit in the boardroom, or at a fancy fundraising dinner, and I can’t believe that the young girl who felt so inexperienced to embark on an expedition is now helping create opportunity for a new wave of explorers.

Today, I make it my mission to grow the exploration community to include more girls and women, minority populations, low-income communities, and people who grow up in isolated and remote regions.”