50 People Changing the World You Should Know About

From Mozambique to the Galapágos, meet 12 of The Explorers Club 50, an honorary program of trailblazing explorers, scientists, artists, and activists spanning the globe. These honorees are exploring, inspiring, and creating the future of our planet. Visit The Explorers Club to learn more about all 50 winners.

The Explorers Club is a non-profit world leader in exploration. Since its inception in 1904, members of the Club have traversed the earth, the seas, the skies, and even the moon, on expeditions of exploration.

January 27, 2021

By: The Explorers Club

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Photo By: Ivan Agerton

Photo By: David Chancellor

Photo By: Jenifer Suarez

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Photo By: Natalia Espinoza

Photo By: World Extreme Medicine

Photo By: Thea Boodhoo

Photo By: Deborah L. Preston _ Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission

Photo By: JC Salyer

Photo By: TREE Foundation

Photo By: CG Venkatesh

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The Explorers Club 50 was established to expand the definition and reflect the great diversity of exploration and to help amplify the voices of fifty trailblazing explorers, scientists, artists, and activists. These fifty honorees represent 46 countries of work from 17 countries of residence and are creating the future - the future of the planet, sustainability, of paleontology, of biology, what our communities should look like, and so much more.

Dominique Gonçalves

A Mozambican scientist working on elephant ecology and conservation, Dominique Gonçalves is currently serving as the Manager of the Elephant Ecology Project in Gorongosa National Park, and pursuing her PhD at the University of Kent. She is also a passionate advocate for girls’ education.

Jeneria Lekilelei

Jeneria Lekilelei is the Director of Community Conservation at Ewaso Lions, an organization dedicated to promoting coexistence between people and lions in Kenya. Jeneria has been frequently recognized for his lion conservation work locally and internationally. He continues to inspire men, women and children to take part in lion conservation.

Inti Keith, Ph.D.

Inti Keith leads the Charles Darwin Foundation's Marine Invasive Species and Subtidal Ecological Monitoring Programs in the Galapagos Marine Reserve. Her interests lie in understanding the current health of marine ecosystems in the Eastern Tropical Pacific and evaluating the impacts of human-induced factors in the ecosystem.

Dr. Donald Warne, MD, MPH

Donald Warne is the Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Dr. Warne is a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe from Pine Ridge, SD, and he received his MD from Stanford University and his MPH from Harvard.

Callie Broaddus

Callie Broaddus is the Executive Director of Reserva: The Youth Land Trust, an organization bridging the gap between youth activism and biodiversity conservation, launching an ambitious initiative to create the world’s first entirely youth-funded nature reserve in Ecuador’s Chocó cloud forest. She is a photographer, youth leader, and lifelong conservationist.

Prof. Mark Hannaford

Mark is the founder of World Extreme Medicine, Across the Divide Expeditions, MSc Extreme Medicine (Exeter University) and the world's largest subject matter conference. An innovative and entrepreneurial leader, Mark’s passion is to bring inspirational people together to build networks which improve standards in remote, disaster and humanitarian medicine.

Bolortsetseg Minjin, Ph.D.

Bolortsetseg Minjin is a paleontologist who spearheaded the repatriation of over 40 stolen dinosaur skeletons, for which she received a Polar Star from Mongolia. Her organization drives a mobile museum across rural Mongolia, reaching underserved populations. She is currently leading a project to build a dinosaur museum in Mongolia.

Fawn Sharp

Fawn Sharp is President of the National Congress of American Indians and Quinault Indian Nation. She is the 5th term head of state and CEO of the Quinault Indian Nation. A globally recognized human rights attorney and climate change expert, she is a former judge and intelligence officer.

Paige West, Ph.D.

Paige West, an endowed professor of anthropology, has worked with the Indigenous peoples of Melanesia for twenty-five years to understand their biodiversity-focused traditions and to help them conserve their cultures, languages, and environments. She is the author and editor of numerous books and the co-founder of two conservation-focused NGOs.

Supraja Dharini

A committed advocate for marine conservation, Supraja Dharini, inspired by Dr. Jane Goodall, has displayed extraordinary skill in successfully engaging 222 marginalized fishing communities in Olive Ridley sea turtle conservation. Her NGO, TREE Foundation, protects 1,000km of nesting beaches along the east coast of her native India.

Sateesh Venkatesh

Sateesh Venkatesh is a conservation biologist. His work focuses on how better knowledge of animal behavior can help mitigate human-wildlife conflict around the world, working with various species. Currently, his research focuses on investigating the personalities of semi-wild elephants in Myanmar.

Michel Strogoff

Michel “Goff” Strogoff is a former shark, turtle and sea cucumber fisherman turned environmental filmmaker, photographer and adventurer from Madagascar. His drive is to educate, explore and, where necessary, expose those carrying out environmental crimes.

Next Up

Meet the First 6 Awardees of The Explorers Club Discovery Expedition Grant Program

Today, The Explorers Club, a non-profit world leader in exploration, and Discovery Channel announced the first class of awardees to receive approximately a quarter of a million dollars collectively to fund their expeditions. Let’s meet The Explorers Club Discovery Grant awardees.