Michelle studied Sonoran desert ecosystems at the University of Arizona, graduating with a B.S. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in 1990. From the desert Southwest, Michelle moved to the temperate rainforest of Southeast Alaska, living in the small coastal community of Haines for several years and working as an interpretive naturalist, guide and educator.  Michelle has been part of the Lindblad expedition staff since 1998, as a naturalist, Undersea Specialist and Expedition Leader. In 2006, Michelle earned an M.S. in Marine Biology at San Francisco State University, completing her thesis on the effects of changing ocean climate on the kelp forest fish community off Santa Cruz Island, California. Michelle and her husband Mark live aboard their Morgan 38, and sail whenever possible. Since 2001, they’ve explored the Pacific Northwest, San Francisco Bay, Southern California and the Gulf of California.

It was a desire to tell some of these stories, along with a life-long love of photography that led him to the business of film. At the Seattle Film Institute he participated in an intensive film-immersion program. Soon he was at work as the director of photography on a feature-length documentary about sustainable living. That film, ‘Mama Earth’, has gone on to screen in numerous festivals around the country and was included in a nationally syndicated PBS TV series.

Starting in 2005 David specialized in films for parks and public lands with the Seattle firm Camera One. Shooting assignments have taken him around the country filming everything from wolves and grizzly bears in Alaska’s Denali National Park to rare birds and nesting sea turtles on South Carolina’s barrier Islands to the stoic, red-stone monuments of Utah’s Arches National Park. He is an experienced editor and script-writer and is also skilled in video graphics and special-effects.

Owning and managing a parrot-breeding facility, Alberto focused on the conservation of these endangered birds. For six years he bred macaws and parrots using domestic chickens as incubators and dedicating his time to hand-raise the chicks during the breeding season. After working on a master’s degree in wildlife management, in Xalapa, Veracruz, Alberto was only further inspired to continue his work as a naturalist.

At age 21, Alberto joined Lindblad Expeditions and became a naturalist in Baja California. Helping inspire others on the art of loving and understanding nature has become a very important aspect in Alberto’s career as a naturalist. In 2005, he broadened his expertise by becoming a certified diver and working as Undersea Specialist. He learned about the secrets of the world beneath the tides, and gradually improved his abilities as an underwater videographer. In 2006, while working in the Gulf of California, Alberto met his wife, Sara, who shared the same passion for the natural world and worked as a video chronicler for Lindblad. The same year, Alberto became an Expedition Leader and lead expeditions through Baja California for Lindblad.

During the early spring of 2008, Sara and Alberto decided to load their truck with as many of their belongings that could fit, and move to "some place in Alaska". That place randomly turned out to be Haines, at the Northern end of Lynn Canal. Haines, Alaska or "The Valley of the Eagles" became home, and since then, bears, eagles, moose and the secrets of the temperate rain forest have become part of their everyday life. During the summer, Alberto shares his passion for the pristine environments of Southeast Alaska and migrates with the birds in winter to Baja California with Lindblad Expeditions.

When not on the ships, Alberto and his wife work on educational wildlife documentaries and enjoy gardening, carving wooden jewelry, kayaking, cooking and reading together by the woodstove.

William has taught mammalogy at the University since 1974. William has published more than 42 scientific papers and a book on mammals of Mexican Islands. He has also devoted much of his time to researching the flora of the Americas. And no matter where he travels he enjoys teaching (and learning ever more!) about how local foods have shaped cultures and civilizations. William has worked as a naturalist with Lindblad Expeditions in Alaska, Baja, Brazil, Western Europe, Costa Rica, Central America, and the Mediterranean.

As a fifth generation artist Sharon is driven by the power of creative images. Photography gives voice and interpretation to her experience of the world. Spending many years of her life with Native peoples of the Inland and Pacific Northwest of the United States and Canada has dramatically affected her attitude towards how and what she sees. She recognized, through these experiences the diversity of peoples, shapes and colors within North America and her home. This began a life long curiosity about the variety of ways in which different cultures relate to each other and this planet.

Sharon has expanded this life view through extensive travel. Camera in hand, she has explored this world, its inhabitants and biospheres. From Asia to Eastern and Western Europe, from Africa to the Americas, she has immersed herself in vastly different cultures, at times briefly, often for longer spans of time. She has spent extensive time with the Seri Indians of the Gulf of California and the Tarahumara or Rarámuri of Copper Canyon in Northwestern Mexico, finding in both these groups, as with many indigenous groups a connectedness between land and people. Against a backdrop of magnificent natural beauty that is found in these two diverse areas of Mexico, one easily understands the richness and drama that is deeply woven into the daily lives of its Native peoples, who consider their land and territory part of their community. Their land ethic makes this earth a neighbor.

Sharon currently lives on Lummi Island in the San Juan Islands of Washington State. From this home base Sharon continues to pursue her life long interests in photography, ethnobotany and herbal medicine. Her travels with Lindblad take her to Western and Eastern Europe, the Arctic, Scandinavia the Baltic, British Columbia, Alaska and part of each winter she spends in the Mexican states of Southern Baja, Sonora, Sinaloa and Chihuahua.