Celebrate the Women Blazing Paths in the Name of Exploration

Join The Explorers Club as they celebrate the first class of women explorers! The Pathfinders symposium, co-chaired by Milbry Polk & Elizabeth Weidner alongside Honorary Chair Faanya Rose, is the culmination of a year-long effort highlighting incredible women in exploration – past, present, and future. This two-day symposium will feature 10 panels highlighting the work and achievements of Explorers Club women carving the path in exploration and discovery.

Stream the whole symposium from home and catch them live on explorers.org, The Explorers Club YouTube Channel, and Facebook Live! - All Day Friday, November 5th and Saturday, November 6th.

November 04, 2021

By: The Explorers Club

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Photo By: NASA

Photo By: Alastair Firkin

Photo By: Chris Ladoulis

Photo By: Jeremy La Zelle

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Photo By: Josh Newman

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Pathfinders Movie

Friday, November 5th

9:15 AM — 10:15 AM

An inside look at the early history of the first women to become members of The Explorers Club. Legendary marine biologist Sylvia Earle guides us into the deep ocean; archaeologist Anna Roosevelt shares new discoveries about human evolution in Amazonia and the Congo Basin; photojournalist Carol Beckwith illustrates the marvels of Africa’s diverse cultures; and astronaut/oceanographer Kathryn Sullivan (pictured above) shows us the world from outer space and from the deepest point on Earth, the Mariana Trench. Following the screening, there will be a live Q&A with:

Devon Chivvis — Host
Kristin Gates
Carol Beckwith
Anna Roosevelt

Footprints: Our Human Story

Friday, November 5th

10:30 AM — 12:00 PM

From our ancient ancestors to the next generation, meet women who are exploring what it was, is, and will be to be human. Our journey to follow the footprints of our human story begins in the ancient world where archaeology can pull back the veil of time to understand where we came from. Photography, ethnography and anthropology shed light on the modern day, and our diverse, changing world. Finally we look ahead, considering the patterns of history and where we can go from here.

Denéa Buckingham — Host
Alegra Ally
Michele Westmorland (pictured)
Alicia Stevens
Varvara Busova

Disappearances

Friday, November 5th

12:30 PM — 2:00 PM

From Alpine skiers to WWII battleships, even the most advanced tools and seasoned explorers are vulnerable to the inherent dangers of exploration. What happens when planes meant to fly miles above the ground end up on the bottom of the seafloor? When natural disasters strand adventurers in the harsh wilderness? What becomes of these people and vessels when they disappear from the grid completely? Where did they go and what are their stories? Join our panel Disappearances to meet the incredible women who, by seeking out what is lost, solve the mysteries of people, planes, and boats that have vanished from plain sight. Tune in to find out how their work has deepened our understanding of science, history, and what drives us to explore in the first place.

Elizabeth Weidner — Host
Valerie Moore
Susan Purvis (pictured)
Synnøve Marie Kvam Strømsvåg

In Danger! Places Worth Preserving

Friday, November 5th

2:30 PM — 4:00 PM

Session 4: In Danger! Places Worth Preserving Our world is changing faster than it has ever before. Melting glaciers, habitat destruction, sea levels rising and rivers vanishing, future generations will inhabit a world very different from today’s. Meet the explorers preserving and documenting the world as we know it, and discover places that may be gone tomorrow.

Brianna Rowe — Host
Alison M. Jones
Ulyana Nadia Horodyskyj
Meg Lowman (pictured)
Bethan John

Far Reaches

Saturday, November 6th

9:30 AM — 11:00 AM

Embedded in the definition of exploration is the will to push ourselves to the far reaches of this planet, and to the far reaches of our capabilities and imagination. In this panel, four women embody this intertwined concept of exploration through their journeys across mountain ranges, over ice-ridden sea routes, down into active volcanoes and deep into underground lakes

Latonia Hartery — Host
Kristin Gates (pictured)
Ulla Lohmann
Vickie Siegel

Women of the Deep

Saturday, November 6th

11:30 AM — 1:00 PM

Women of the Explorers Club who are exploring the ocean from top to bottom, and shore to shore, will share their stories about their lives researching our blue planet and what they have discovered about the sea around us, and themselves, as women in ocean exploration.

Martha Shaw — Host
Aulani Wilhelm (pictured)
Meaghan Brosnan
Mara G. Haseltine
Elizabeth Weidner
Cynthia Matzke

Where the Wild Things Are

Saturday, November 6th

1:30 PM – 3:00 PM

Our search for aliveness leads us time again to animals, to the wild, to our origins in nature. As our natural places are extinguished, as our kin suffer, our own sense of rootedness and wholeness has diminished. More than ever, we must turn to animals and the wild, to find our way back through strength, integrity and courage to the mystery of being one species among millions, acting in accord with the land. We must ask ourselves: how can we protect the wild and what is wild within us? Meet explorers who have worked bravely to rewild the earth, to care for wildlife, to engage and embolden youth as protectors, who have investigated what it means to belong with the wild defending it as one would their beloved. What makes them successful in their endeavors? How have they persevered amid the sorrow of so much loss of nature?

Cayte Bosler — Host
Kris Tompkins
Gabriela Zoneshine
Callie Broaduss (pictured)

Sacred Journeys

Saturday, November 6th

3:30 PM — 5:00 PM

Everything has the potential to become sacred — a temple, a stone, the night sky, a towering tree — and opportunities abound to experience their mystery and power. Meet explorers who have investigated centuries-old oracles, shamans and traditional healers, cliffside shrines, mystical ceremonies, and miracles at the water’s edge. What made their journeys sacred, and how are their discoveries impacting their own lives and our world?

Catherine Nixon Cooke — Host
Amy Greeson (pictured)
Susan Grimaldi
Phyllis Hischier
Deana Weibel

Creatively Healing the Planet

Saturday, November 6th

5:15 PM — 6:45 PM

From climate change, to extreme storms and water shortages, we earth beings face an epic challenge to come together to push for new stories and technologies to heal our planet. From a media celebrity using education to reach the next generation about the wonder of our ocean sea life, to a Seed Huntress saving our plant heritage, to a pioneer saving our most ancient forests, to scaling investment in locally grown food to a medical doctor with innovation in modern medicine, our panel seeks to paint a broad landscape of ways we can come together to creatively heal our shared Mother Earth

Jenifer Austin — Host
Sharon Kwok (pictured)
Joan Maloof
Dr. Kirsten Johnson
Sefra Alexandra
Brandi Decarli