Sylvia Earle is a National Geographic Society Explorer at Large, founder and co-chair of Mission Blue, founder of Deep Ocean Exploration and Research (DOER), a founding member of Ocean Elders, an IUCN Patron of Nature, founding director for the Deep Hope Foundation, chair of the Advisory Council for the Harte Research Institute, advisor for the Earth Observatory of Singapore at NTU, former Chief Scientist of NOAA, and a Rolex Testimonee since 1982. She has authored more than 230 publications, led more than 100 expeditions and has spent years at sea and thousands of hours under the ocean. A Living Legend of the United States Library of Congress, Sylvia is the recipient of more than 150 honors and awards including Time Magazine’s first Hero for the Planet, the Tallberg-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize, the TED Prize, the Harris World Ecology Medal, the National Wildlife Federation Robin Winks Medal, the Royal Geographic Society Patrons Medal, and the National Geographic Society Hubbard Medal. Sylvia’s contributions and research on science-based conservation of species and ecosystems, the ecology and conservation of natural ocean systems, and development of technology for access to the deep sea have greatly influenced the global movement towards ocean protection.
