Talk to an Expedition Specialist
1.800.EXPEDITION (1.800.397.3348)
Our team is the key to your incredible adventure
Explore the Arctic in the company of top experts. Benefit from their expertise—marine and terrestrial biology, botany, geology, and more—and benefit from their passion to share the wonder of this incredible region. Enjoy their company; you’ll find our Arctic expedition team highly engaging and fun to share a drink or dinner with, as well as a hike.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Brent Stephenson was born in New Zealand and has been a birder since childhood, and in 2005 completed his Ph.D., studying the breeding biology of Australasian gannets in New Zealand. In 2003, along with Sav Saville, co-owner of their bird-guiding business, he rediscovered the “extinct” New Zealand storm-petrel, a bird known previously from only three museum specimens collected during the 1800s. With support from National Geographic, he led a team conducting further research on this enigmatic seabird.
Undersea Specialist
Colin grew up scuba diving with his family, and fell in love with the ocean at an early age. He has been fortunate to dive in many exotic corners of the world, and to work on a number of undersea research projects studying whale sharks and several deep water fish species. After graduating from the University of Vermont, he began working in various capacities aboard expedition ships. During his travels he photographed and shared his adventures as a way of making remote areas and cultures more accessible. It was in Santa Barbara, California that he learned how to photograph underwater, and combined two of his great passions, photography and the sea. Exploring and documenting the vast richness, diversity, and beauty of the underwater world continues to be a lifelong endeavor.
Naturalist
Conor Ryan is a congenital ecologist. His career began in the late 1980s, when he developed a keen interest in intertidal ecology, undertaking almost daily field trips to the seashore across from his home in Cobh, Ireland. Though he logged significant hours searching beneath barnacle-studded rocks for eels, his publication record on this seminal research was sorely lacking because he was five years old. As he grew, so too did the size of the marine creatures that he was preoccupied with.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Travel and adventure were an integral part of Doug’s upbringing in a small town on the south shore of Long Island, New York. Growing up on the Great South Bay, his family claims Doug learned to sail before he learned to walk. Whether it was camping, sailing, birding, traveling across country or spending most of fifth grade living in Europe, Doug’s formative years left him with a love of wildlife, the outdoors, and a desire to keep moving.
Naturalist
Edward Shaw has travelled widely as a naturalist and guide. For the past 29 years he has lived with his family in northwestern Patagonia, initially working as a teacher and subsequently working in community projects before returning to expedition ships. Edward is deeply committed to the principles behind sustainable development. He is happily married and the father of five children.
Naturalist
Elise’s passion for travel and interpretation is evident when you learn about the places she has chosen to live, work and travel. A degree in environmental studies introduced her to the world of interpreting nature, which has evolved into both a passion and profession.
Naturalist/Expedition Diver
Emmett developed his love of nature and the environment from growing up in the heart of the Sperrin Mountains in Northern Ireland. His passion for the ocean came from time spent on family trips to the wild Atlantic coastlines of County Donegal.After studying for his Bachelor of Science in Marine Zoology, Emmett completed a Masters in Ecological Management and Conservation Biology, and a PhD in Marine Ecology. He was given the Bright Sparks Award by the Irish Marine Institute, allowing him to undertake his doctoral research out at sea, studying the ecology of macroalgae and the connectivity of marine communities in the Northeast Atlantic.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Eric began work with Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic in 2006 as a means to see the world, work with great photographers and engage his environmental studies degree beyond the classroom. His initial years with the company were spent working the waters of Southeast Alaska and Baja California. His move to the National Geographic Explorer in 2008 helped earn him the experience and knowledge needed to establish himself as a trusted boat handler, naturalist and respected photographer in nearly all the environments Lindblad-National Geographic travels.
National Geographic Photographer
For more than a decade, Erika Larsen has used photography to learn intimately about and document cultures that maintain strong connections with nature. She has been working with National Geographic magazine since 2011, and is currently a National Geographic Society Fellow and Explorer. Among her assignments, she followed Sami reindeer herders in the Scandinavian arctic and explored the significance of the horse in Native American culture. Erika was part of the multi-photographer team that produced the magazine’s 2016 single topic Yellowstone Issue, and she contributed to Yellowstone: A Journey Through America’s Wild Heart, published by National Geographic Books. She is also one of the featured photographers in Women of Vision: National Geographic Photographers on Assignment, which profiles the lives and work of important photojournalists and goes behind the lens of their individual assignments.
Assistant Expedition Leader
Johanna grew up landlocked in a small town in Southern Germany. She realized at an early age that she wanted to see more of the world than the foot of the Swabian Alps and every year, she would beg her parents to spend the summers near the sea.