Coastal Wonders of Norway, the Faroe Islands and Iceland
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Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
José Calvo
Nicknamed “Indio” (Indian) because of his powers of observation and quiet nature, José has almost two decades of experience working as a naturalist and photography guide; as well as being recognized as an expert birder and nature photographer in Costa Rica. Costa Rica is rich in biodiversity — over 893 bird species have been recorded in the country. Since very young José spent all of his free time in the outdoors in the forest, where he soon fell in love with the birds. He particularly enjoys listening to their calls, and watching their behavior. Oddly enough, another one of Jose’s passions is science and technology, and because of this, he was among the first in Costa Rica to experiment with digital photography. As the technology quickly improved so did his love for it. He truly believes that nature photography is the perfect combination of both of his passions. José has guided extensively in Panama and is a certified naturalist with Costa Rica’s National Learning Institute (INA). Aside from birding, José has led general natural history trips for leading conservation and wildlife organizations, and has recently gained experience leading soft adventure and multi-sport trips for young adults and students. Recently, José particularly enjoyed leading a group of student volunteers working in a rural community. In the off-season, he works as a photographer and pursues his passion for people and wildlife photography. José has also worked as a Photo Instructor in the Galápagos aboard the National Geographic Endeavour , in the Amazon of Peru on the Delfin II , and in the Mediterranean aboard the Sea Cloud . He really looks forward to share the experience that he has gained in Central, South America and the Mediterranean with Lindblad-National Geographic guests, as well.
Naturalist
Carl Erik Kilander
Carl was born in Norway and received a master’s degree in forestry and nature conservation from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences in 1973. His professional experience is mainly connected to environmental issues and natural resource management on the Norway mainland and in Svalbard. A major part of his professional experience comprises planning and management of protected areas, particularly in the southern parts of Norway and Svalbard. During the period 1999-2001 Carl was Head of the Environmental Department at the Governor of Svalbard´s office. He has also been District Manager (southwestern Norway) followed by the position of Senior Environmental Adviser at the Norwegian State Forest Service. During the late part of his career, Carl worked as a Senior Adviser at Norwegian Nature Inspectorate (SNO), mainly dealing with law enforcement, monitoring, and public relation tasks connected to more than 100 protected areas in Vest-Agder County (southernmost Norway). During this period he has also been leading various projects. During one such project, 2011-2014, Carl was involved in the planning and successful eradication of 6,700 “Norwegian” reindeer on South Georgia. This British-Norwegian project was managed by the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (GSGSSI), and Carl had a key role in the preparation phase. During the field operations 2013-2014 he assisted GSGSSI’s Project Manager as liaison and leader of the Norwegian team of reindeer herders and marksmen. Carl characterizes himself as a naturalist with broad interests. He particularly favors bird watching and nature photography. Carl has had annual assignments for Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic since 2003, joining expeditions to Norway’s fjords, Svalbard, Iceland, Greenland, South Georgia, the Falklands, and Antarctica.
Naturalist
Julia Huggins
Julia is an earth-systems scientist who studies how the interactions between living and non-living parts of Earth’s environments can shape ecosystems and global climate. She is based in Squamish, BC, Canada, and through her research collaborations she also works at research laboratories in Europe and spends time on open-ocean scientific research vessels around the world. Julia’s passion for environmental science and education started at a young age when she grew up exploring the mountains of Wyoming and the seacoast of New England. Julia studied biology at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR, and spent several years researching how symbiotic relationships between trees, mushrooms, and soil microbes drive ecosystem-level processes. This work brought her to remote corners of the world, including New Zealand, Patagonia, and Alaska. Julia completed her Ph.D. at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, BC, Canada, where she studied how chemical processes carried out by tiny microorganisms regulate the health of marine environments. For this research, Julia organized oceanography trips in British Columbia and month-long research expeditions in the Pacific Ocean off the coasts of Mexico and Chile. Throughout her research career, Julia has combined her love of the outdoors with her work as a science educator. Julia has worked as a naturalist and backcountry guide for more than 10 years throughout the Pacific Northwest. She is also a co-founder of the BOAT non-profit that supports access to outdoor education, and she helps make science fun and engaging as a co-host of the Nerdy About Nature podcast. She believes deeply in the power of fun, accessible, place-based education; sharing the things that inspire her about the natural world is the root of her motivation for research and science outreach.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Jamie Coleman
Jamie is from England. He grew up in Oxford, about as far from the sea as you can get in the UK, yet somehow decided he would work in marine biology and conservation. Ever since he reached his teens, he has dedicated time to this passion, working and volunteering in various roles on nature reserves and in aquariums. It was no surprise that in 2007, he left home to study marine biology at the University of Newcastle. As much as he loves working with people, he has a habit of ending up in isolated inhospitable havens, far from civilization. Ever since he spent two years on the Farne Islands, UK – an archipelago home to 150,000 seabirds and 5,000 grey seals he has developed an obsession for seabirds and seals. Most recently, he has completed his second stint (total 2 years) living amongst the seals and penguins of South Georgia working for the British Antarctic Survey. His work there mainly focused on long term population and diet monitoring of penguins, albatross and Antarctic fur seals, but he also worked on various tagging projects. He has also lived on an uninhabited island on The Galapagos tagging and monitoring Sea lions. He has successfully used his love for the environment to travel the world and avoid returning to the UK, most noticeably running a jaguar camera trapping project in the Pantanal, Brazil. Other roles include diving and coastal research in the Bahamas and Mexico, where he was researching marine protected areas and sustainable development. Keen to spend as much time at sea as possible, his work has always been interspersed with periods on board vessels in seabird and marine mammal observation roles.
National Geographic Photography Expert
Max Lowe
Photographer and filmmaker Max Lowe was born into traveling shoes. Son of famous alpinist Conrad Anker and writer and artist Jennifer Lowe-Anker, Max was exposed from a young age to the magic in traveling to and observing some of the world’s most remote cultures and environments. Taking up storytelling as his creed, he received a National Geographic Young Explorers grant in 2012, and since then, has shot on and produced for National Geographic Adventure and National Geographic magazines, as well as National Geographic Travel. Max has appeared on The BBC as well as in the internationally released National Parks Adventure IMAX film, and in publications including Science Magazine , Men’s Journal , and Outside Magazine . He has also produced still and film content for brands such as The North Face, Red Bull, Yeti Coolers, and Eddie Bauer. Throughout his career Max has been on shoots taking him up Alaska’s Inside Passage and across Vancouver Island and into Denali National Park, as well as on three separate expeditions to the Antarctic continent by sea. From his backyard in Bozeman, Montana to countless corners across the globe, Max has been witness to extraordinary moments, wildlife encounters, and interactions with people from vastly different walks of life. It is from these experiences that stems his passion and drive to capture stories and bring them to the world around him.
Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
Kelly Coursey Gray
I like to remind people that there are very few big surprises left in life, but if you are out in nature, with an open mind and a lot of time, you never know what you will find. Born and educated in Western Pennsylvania, Kelly always loved the outdoors and all the creatures that roam the beautiful Allegheny Mountains. Always curious and creative, her interests ranged from science to art. Kelly majored in Art History at Allegheny College where she took photography and developed a passion that combined her love of nature, exploring and composition. After college, photography became a focal part of Kelly's life driving her to search for larger mountains and new horizons. While living in Colorado, she journeyed throughout the west, developing her enthusiasm for North American wildlife and the ecosystems that support it. Kelly has served as a Naturalist at sea in Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, Australia, and New Zealand for many years. Using her images and observations of wildlife Kelly crafts engaging presentations to share her knowledge and passion for the creatures she encounters during her travels.
Naturalist
Kelly Ferron
Growing up in Washington, Kelly has always felt connected to nature and the outdoors. With the Puget Sound and Cascade Range in her backyard, it came as no surprise that she decided to study environmental science, graduating from Santa Clara University with a B.Sc. in environmental science and Spanish studies. Her studies led her to a life of science travel, taking natural history courses in Baja and conducting research at a field station in Costa Rica. She later received her master’s degree in coastal and marine resource management from University of California- Santa Barbara where she researched the impacts of ocean acidification on marine protected areas and taught undergraduate biology and ecology courses. After completing her master’s, Kelly was a Lead Science Communication Fellow with the Ocean Exploration Trust and worked aboard the E/V Nautilus , a research vessel that uses remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to explore the deep sea. Through her experience as a sea kayak expedition guide and coastal policymaker working to prevent nutrient pollution and ocean acidification, and her adventures scuba diving and exploring new places, Kelly has found the best way to inspire conservation is by finding ways for people to connect with nature and with each other.
Naturalist
Zoey Greenberg
Zoey grew up in Bellingham, Washington, where the Salish Sea and temperate rainforest were powerful catalysts in sparking her love of the coast. Her studies took her to tall ships in the eastern U.S. where she taught kids how to haul sail, sing sea shanties with gusto, and notice the ocean. Next, she moved to Pennsylvania where vultures stole her heart and set her on a scavenger-loving path. She worked for Penn State’s nature center as an environmental educator and vulture trainer, and later underwent extensive training in raptor conservation at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary where she created a curriculum on the importance of vultures and piloted a science outreach position. She later worked as a migration counter along a golden eagle flyway in the Appalachian Mountains. When the Pacific Ocean tugged her home, she spent four summers living in the San Juan Islands as a whale watch naturalist teaching guests about the marvelous lives of humpback and killer whales. Zoey has a B.A in human ecology from College of the Atlantic in Maine and an M.S. in environmental studies from the University of Montana, where she wrote a thesis of prose poems critiquing conservation ethics. On land she is the science writer for the Journal of Raptor Research , the raptor ecology specialist for HDOnTap, and a communications specialist and facilitator for boat-based writing workshops with Freeflow Institute. She is also a North American compiler for the IUCN’s biannual newsletter on global vulture research and conservation. Zoey enjoys volleyball, ultimate frisbee, dance, and the color turquoise. She splits her time between the Pacific Northwest, Hawaii, the Galapagos, and her Toyota Tacoma.
Historian
Karin Murray-Bergquist
Karin Murray-Bergquist is a folklore PhD student at Memorial University of Newfoundland, focusing on nautical folklore and ghost ship legends around the province, as well as interactions between the natural and the supernatural, particularly with regard to fantastical geographies. The most recent iteration of her research is a digital map of these legends which is an ongoing project. Previously, Karin studied social anthropology at Dalhousie University, and obtained an MA in Viking and Medieval Norse Studies at the University of Iceland, with a focus on the role of sea mammals in medieval literature. A writer, actor, stained glass and watercolor artist, and SCUBA diver, Karin's interests tend to be eclectic. The endeavors in which she is currently engaged include an ocean history and folklore podcast, The Deeps, as well as Terra Precognita, a map of original poems.
Cultural Specialist
Claudia Hossbach
Claudia grew up near the Harz Mountains in Germany but has also lived in Sweden and Finland. She studied Scandinavian, British and American Studies at university and has acquired a deep knowledge of these regions through both the academic lense and extensive travel. She holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge, where her research focused on medieval Icelandic literature and the Vikings. Claudia is delighted to share her passion for the vibrant cultures that thrive in the cold and invites audiences to explore a region through its past. The combination of history, language, archaeology, and literature allows us to create vivid images of what life was like centuries ago. As a tour guide since 2017, Claudia has introduced travelers to the culture of various regions, including Scandinavia, the British Isles, southern Italy, and the Azores - on foot, by bike and in kayaks. While cultural exploration is her specialty, she has a strong taste for adventure and the great outdoors.
Naturalist
Jeffrey Grover
Born and raised in southern California, Jeff’s first introduction to the science of geology came from his grandfather’s extensive mineral collection and vivid stories of work in the mines of Aspen Colorado. From this informal beginning, Jeff earned degrees in geology from the University of Southern California (B.S.) and the University of Arizona (M.S.) where he focused on tectonics and structural geology. He has worked as a petroleum geologist, and as an engineering geologist engaged in landslide and earthquake-hazard mitigation. Jeff has worked as a shipboard naturalist with Lindblad Expeditions since 2002. For over thirty-five years, Jeff has taught geology and physical science at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo, California. Focusing on introductory courses in California Geology, Physical and Historical Geology, he has also organized and led numerous field seminars to Yosemite, the eastern Sierra Nevada, Death Valley, and the Grand Canyon. He was awarded the “Peter and M ’May Diffley award for Faculty excellence in 2016. Jeff has also worked as a volunteer ranger in Grand Canyon National Park and volunteers as a guest speaker-field trip leader for community environmental groups. An avid surfer, Jeff has surfed and explored the South Pacific, Asia, Europe, Iceland, Mexico, Central America, and Alaska. He enjoys reading, gardening, cooking and social dance. He is married and has three children: daughter Ashlyn, and stepsons Michael, and Joey.
Video Chronicler
Eric Wehrmeister
Eric began his life on the far western edge of Chicago, where the concrete meets the cornfields. His inspiration has always drawn from the expansive beauty of the natural world, as well as the endless forms that populate it. Eric found his niche behind a camera lens and his lust for adventure at a young age. Eric has always been enthralled and at ease with the unpredictable situations and wonders of exploration. Much of his early life was spent camping and traveling across the U.S. In 2006, Eric spent three months living and working in Yellowstone National Park where he produced videos, shot photos for magazines, and maintained backcountry trails. Later, Eric studied cinematography at Columbia College in Chicago. There, he gained a wealth of experience working on over eighty film and video productions and spending time in the college’s Advanced Camera Facility. Eric graduated with a bachelor’s degree in film and video. His passion for observing, learning and appreciating the universe around him, as well as his passion for sustainability, drew Eric to Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic.