WINGS Fellows Program

The WINGS Fellows Program is  the heart of our mission and the foundation for all of our educational endeavors.

The Fellows Program was created in 2007 to expand the scope and reach of the extraordinary group of Women of Discovery Awardees. This one of a kind, global network is comprised of all WINGS Women Of Discovery award winners, along with Elected Fellows; outstanding and often already established and recognized women explorers selected by the WINGS Board for their outstanding achievements and contributions to world knowledge. 

The Program's mission is to create a global community of support, inspiration and collaboration for women explorers and a robust braintrust to promote exploration and increase understanding of the challenges that face us all today.

As real life role models, the Fellows' personal stories and vital discoveries inspire young people and adults. Their vision and scholarship provide invaluable insights toward making informed choices for a better tomorrow.

Meet our Fellows...

Isabella A. Abbot, 2006 WOD;  PhD, Botany. Isabella discovered new marine algae on her expeditions in the Pacific and Caribbean.

Liv Arnesen, 2008 WOD; Masters of Management, Masters of Arts.  Former High School teacher, lecturer, educator and explorer.  Liv was the first woman to ski to the South Pole solo and unsupported and, with Ann Bancroft, the first women to ski across Antarctica. 

Rosita Arvigo, 2003 WOD; Doctor of Napropathy and Ethnobotonist. Rosita has preserved the traditional Mayan healing practices and has been on more that 200 expeditions into the jungles of Central America to discover plants once used by ancient Mayan people.

Ann Bancroft, 2008 WOD; BS, Education, Explorer and Educator. First woman to reach the North Pole across ice, 1986, led first team of American woman across Greenland, 1992; led first women's team to the South Pole, becoming first woman to cross the ice of both Poles. 2000-2001, with Liv Arnesen, first women to ski across Anarctica.

Gitanjali Banerjee, 2005 WOD; PhD, Ecology and Conservation Biologist. Expeditions include Assam and Garhwal Himalayas and India researching Indian rhinos.

Selma Huxley Barkham, 2009 Elected Fellow; Historical Geographer
Selma Barkham, a Canadian historian, discovered important Basque sites along coastal Newfoundland & Labrador when she uncovered & analyzed historic manuscripts in Spain. Her research has unveiled key aspects of Basque maritime history in the 16th & 17th centuries & reconstructed an unknown page of Basque-Canadian history.

Elizabeth L. Bennett, 2006 WOD; PhD, Primate Ecology and Wildlife Biologist. Expeditions include the Penninsular Malaysia, Sarawak Malaysia and trips across Southeast Asia and Central Africa to explore the current threats to wildlife.

Janine Benyus, 2006 WOD; BA English Literature, BS Natural Resource Management. As an author, biologist and founder of the Biomimicry Guild, Benyus states, "I am on an expedition every time I step outdoors."

Marilyn Bridges, 2003 WOD; Master of Fine Arts and Aerial photographer: Expeditions include photographic flights over the antiquities of Peru, Egypt, Turkey, Yucatan and Greece to explore ancient markings.

Julianna R. Brush, 2006 WOD; MS, Marine Science; Expeditions include the Florida Keyes and San Salvador, Bahamas, discovering the link between African dust and coral diseases of the Caribbean.

Nathalie A. Cabrol, 2005 WOD; PhD, Planetary Geology and Research Scientist for NASA. Expeditions include the Andes to some of the highest lakes in the world, discovering bacterial life forms.

Constanza Ceruti, 2007 WOD; PhD, Anthropology and High Altitude Archeologist. Expeditions include over 100 ascents to mountain summits above 17,000 feet in the Andes of South America, discovering ancient Incan sites.

Eugenie Clark, 2006 WOD; PhD., Zoology and Ichthyologist. Known as the "Shark Lady" for her breakthrough discoveries about sharks, she has been on over 35 expeditions to the Red Sea, Australia, Japan, Papua New Guiea, Solomon Islands, Malaysia, China and the Caribbean.

Dalia Amor Conde, 2005 WOD;  PhD Candidate, Biology and Economics at Duke University; Jaguar Specialist and Conservation Economist.  Expeditions to Mexican volcanoes, Mayan forests of Belize, Guatemala and Mexico, Melgat tiger reserve in India; and Bostwana, Namibia, Kenya, South Africa and Mozambique. 

Dr. Maureen Clemmons, 2009 Elected Fellows; Ancient Egypt/Pyramid-engineering Expert. Dr. Maureen Clemmons is recognized for her groundbreaking research on the use of wind power to build the Egyptian pyramids. Her work has attracted the attention of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the aeronautics department of the California Institute of Technology.

Aparajita Datta, 2009 Humanity Award; Biologist & Wildlife Scientist (India)
Aparajita Datta, who has discovered new mammal species, is engaged in long-term monitoring of threatened wildlife with local communities in northeast India.  

Sylvia Alice Earle, 2003 WOD; PhD., Botany and Marine Scientist. Known as "Her Deepness" for her more than 100 explorations of the oceans. She is the leading advocate for ocean conservation.

Jill Fredston, 2008 WOD; M.A. Polar Studies/Glaciology, Avalanche Specialist, Author and Motivational Speaker.  Expeditions include over 25,000 miles of rowing along the coasts of Alaska, northern Canada, Greenland, Spitsbergen Island an Norway.

Sveva Gallmann, 2006 WOD; MS Medical Anthropology: Expeditions with camels through East Africa exploring the secrets of life through spiritual and herbal healing.

Marianne Greenwood, 2005 WOD; Author, Photographer. Traveled around the world eight times--on foot and on sail boat.

Grace J. Gobbo, 2007 WOD; Botanist. Grace has discovered plants unknown to science and plants that show promise in helping to fight AIDS.  Expeditions include botanical and Lemur projects in Madagascar, Botanical surveys in East Africa, and Chimp survey in Mahale Mountains, Tanzania.

Jane Goodall, 2007 WOD; PhD., Ethology; Primatologist, environmentalist and conservation education promoter. Expeditions include Olduvai Gorge, Bombe National Park, Tanzania to study wild chimpanzees; Serengeti National Park and Ngorongoro crater to study hyaenas and wild dogs.

Leela Hazzah, 2009 Field Research Award; Wildlife Biologist (Egypt)
Leela Hazzah, is a carnivore conservationist who created and currently directs, Lion Guardians, a community conservation initiative that focuses on training local Maasai warriors in East Africa to monitor lions and mitigate human-wildlife conflict. 

Susan Lee Hendrickson, 2005 WOD; Honorary PhD., University of Chicago and Marine Archeologist. Best known for her discovery of the T-rex "Sue." Her expeditions include dives in the Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Cuba, Egypt, Peru and many others.

Lene Heidi Kielsen Holm, 2008 WOD; M.A., Social Sciences, Director, Environmental and Susatainable Developement Issues and Research.  She created and currently directs the Sila Inuk project gathering and preserving Inuit traditional knowledge.

Aquilina D. Lestenkof, 2006 WOD; Media Specialist and Co-Director, Ecosystem Conservation Office, ALeut Community, St Paul Island.  Expeditions to Bluffs, caves, hills, shores of the Pribilof Islands and the Shetland Islands.

Rosaly Lopes, 2009 Air & Space Awarde; Volcanologist (Brazil)
Rosaly Lopes has led the NASA teams exploring Jupiter's volcanic moon Io, where she has discovered 71 new active volcanoes and become a specialist on the hazards from lava flows, traveling to erupting volcanoes all over the globe.

Dr. Margaret Lowman, 2009 Elected Fellow; Biologist & Canopy Ecologist
Dr. Meg Lowman pioneered the science of canopy ecology. For 30 years, she has designed hot-air balloons and walkways for treetop exploration to solve mysteries in the world’s forests, with special expertise on the links between insect pests and ecosystem health.

Iris Cornelia Love, 2004 WOD; Field archaeologist, photographer and art critic. Expeditions include Samothrace and Cnidus, Greece and Etrusian sites in Italy.

Vera K. Metcalf, 2008 WOD; BA, Rural Development, Cultural Resource Manager.  With elders from her community on St. Lawrence Island, Metcalf assessed the collections of traditional objects of her people at the University of Alaska Museum in Fairbanks and other museums. As Walrus Commissioner, she is monitoring the effects of climate change on the animals of the far north. 

Bolortsetseg Minjin, 2009 Earth Award; Paleontologist (Mongolia)
Bolortsetseg Minjin is one of a handful of young Mongolian paleontologists.  She has been credited with spectacular finds of dinosaur fossils in the Gobi Desert.  

Irina Nikolaeva, 2008 WOD; Ph.D., Linguistics and 2008 WOD.  Expeditions to Siberia-from the Urals in the West to the Kolyma in the East and from the Polar Circle in the North to the Ussuri taiga in the South. Her work is making a profound contribution to documenting disappearing languages of Siberia.

Katy Payne, 2004 WOD; BA, Music and Acoustic Biologist. Expeditions include Argentina, Revillagigedos Islands, Kenya, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Central African Republic researching the infrasonic communication of elephants and humpback whales.

Erin Pettit, 2007 WOD;  PhD. Geophysics and Glaciologist and Educator. Expeditions include Antartica, Alaska, Washington, USA, British Columbia researching the flow of glaciers.

Ana Cristina Pinto Llona, 2005 WOD; PhD., Archeology. Expeditions include Spain, South Africa and Tanzania researching Neanderthals and later early modern humans.

Jane Poynter, 2009 Elected Fellow; Biospherian & Co-founder of Paragon Space Development Corp. Jane Poynter is one of only eight people to live sealed in an artificial world for two years in the Biosphere 2. She is now President of Paragon Space Development Corporation and Chief Scientist for Carbon Sequestration for the Seawater Foundation.

Anna Curtenius Roosevelt, 2003 WOD; PhD., Anthropology and Archeologist and Professor. Expeditions include Venezuela, Brazil.

Vera Rubin, 2004 WOD; PhD, Astronomy.  Discovered that most matter in the universe is "dark matter."  Expeditions into space using telescopes in the USA and Chile.  Also, visited astronomers and telescopes at the South Pole.

Birgit Sattler, 2008 WOD; Ph.D. Microbiology and Liminology. Made the discovery that the atmosphere is a microbial ecosystem.  Expeditions to the Antarctic; Dry Valleys; South Pole; Patriot Hills; Pecora Escarpment; Antarctic Peninsula and Svalbard, Norway.

Stephanie Jutta Schwabe, 2004 WOD;  PhD., Biogeochemistry, JD Law. Expeditions include diving into the Bahamian Black Holes and Blue Holes where she discovered new bacterial life forms. 

Susan Shaw, 2009 Elected Fellow, Ph.D., EnvironmentalToxicologist & Founder, Marine Environmental Research Institute. Dr. Susan Shaw is recognized for her landmark research documenting the effects of hundreds of man-made toxic chemicals in marine mammals along the North American Pacific and Atlantic coasts. Named Gulf of Maine Visionary, her discovery of the biomagnification of brominated flame retardant chemicals in the northwest Atlantic marine food web has influenced legislation in the US and internationally.

Sabriye Tenberken, 2005 WOD; Program Director, Braille Without Borders. Explored Tibet, created Braille Without Braille script for the Tibetan language and founded the first school for the blind in Tibet.  Led an expedition to Everest for blind children which was documented in the movie "Blindsight."

Cindy Lee Van Dover: 2009 Elected Fellow; Deep-sea Oceanographer
Dr. Cindy Lee Van Dover is a deep-sea biologist with an interest in ocean exploration and the ecology of chemosynthetic ecosystems. Her current research focuses primarily on the study of biodiversity and biogeography of invertebrates from chemosynthetic ecosystems and invertebrate functional anatomy.

Marie Tharp, 2004 WOD; BA English, MA Geology, Oceanographer and Cartographer. Expeditions at sea include Eastward to North Atlantic & Caribbean, Thomas Washington to the Pacific, Eltanin to the South Pacific and Vema to the Western Pacific. Discovered the Mid-Oceanic Ridge Rift Valley.

Maya Tolstoy, 2009 Sea Award; Acoustical Geophysicist (United States)
Maya Tolstoy is a marine geophysicist at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, who researches mid-ocean ridge earthquakes and their impacts on life forms.

Meenakshi Wadhwa, 2003 WOD; PhD., Earth and Planetary Sciences. Expeditions include hunting for meteorites in Antarctica.

Edie Widder, 2006 WOD; PhD., Neurobiology and research scientist in deep sea biology. Expeditions include more than 50 research cruises and over 250 dives in research submersibles.

Terrie Williams, 2007 WOD; PhD., Environmental and Exercise Physiology. Expeditions include McMurdo Sound, Antartica; Aleutian Islands and Prince Williams Sound, Alaska; Namibia; awaiian Islands and Bahamas and California.