Global Voices

Stephen Cunha

​Geographer, educator, and author Stephen F. Cunha spent ten years as a national park ranger in Yosemite and Alaska. Now a geography professor at California's Humboldt State University, he studies diverse landscapes around the world. He is the author of National Geographic's Our Fifty States and How to Ace the National Geographic Bee: The Official Study Guide.

Join him aboard the April 16, 2023, departure of Columbia & Snake Rivers Journey.

William Saturno

Archaeologist and storyteller Bill Saturno is best known for his 2001 discovery of a 2000-year-old Mayan mural at San Bartolo in northern Guatemala. A National Geographic Explorer and a former NASA research scientist, he has conducted fieldwork around the globe, both on the ground and from space, to understand the ideological and environmental foundations of how the great Czars, Khans, Emperors, and Ajaws of the past ruled over their societies.

Join him on the May 23, 2023, departure of Mediterranean Gems: Southern Italy and Sicily aboard Sea Cloud.

Arianna Soldati

A Volcanologist and National Geographic Explorer, Arianna's Ph.D. focused on Central American volcanoes, including Arenal and Poas in Costa Rica and Pacaya and Fuego in Guatemala. Currently she is a Professor at North Carolina State University. She was the scientific expert for National Geographic Kids book Absolute Expert: Volcanoes and has written for CNN and Scientific American.

Join her on the Nov. 26 and Dec. 1, 2023, departures of Wild Costa Rica Escape: Exploring Guanacaste’s Natural Wonders.

Ashli Akins

Dr. Ashli Akins is a cultural ecologist, writer, and photographer who is passionate about cultural revitalization and sustainable development. She has experience as a tour guide, a teacher, and Park Naturalist in British Columbia and is currently working with UNESCO on Ecotrust Canada's Indigenous Home-Lands Initiative.

Join her on the May 8, 2023, departure of Treasures of the Inside Passage: Alaska & British Columbia.

Massimo Bassano

Cultural expert and photojournalist Massimo Bassano has worked for National Geographic since 1990, as well as for numerous worldwide publications. He brings with him all the warmth, curiosity, culture, and history that you find in Southern Italy, more specifically from Calabria, where he was born.

Join him on the May 15, 2024, departure of Northern Italy Under Sail: Maritime Heritage and Cultural Treasures aboard Sea Cloud II; the August 14, 2024, departure of Navigating Southern Italy and Coastal Croatia aboard Sea Cloud II; and the August 24, 2024, departure of Coastal Gems of Croatia and Slovenia aboard Sea Cloud II.

Sisse Brimberg

Award-winning photographer Sisse Brimberg has produced and photographed more than 30 stories for National Geographic magazine over the past 40 years. As contributing photographer for National Geographic Traveler, she has shot stories in Amsterdam, Casablanca, Oaxaca, Saint Petersburg, and beyond. She has earned first prize honors from the prestigious Pictures of the Year International (POY), and her images have been exhibited around the world.

Join her aboard the May 9 or May 23, 2023, departures of Circumnavigating the Baltic Sea; the June 6, 2023, departure of North Sea Voyage: Northern Europe and the Normandy Beaches; the June 29, 2023, departure of Legendary Northern Isles: Scotland, Faroes, & Iceland; the July 29, 2023, departure of Iceland & Greenland: Edge of the Arctic; or the January 6 or January 16, 2023, departures of Journey To Antarctica: The White Continent.

Michael Melford

Michael Melford has produced more than 50 stories for National Geographic and National Geographic Traveler magazines over the past 30 years. His work has also been featured in LIFE, Smithsonian, Time, and Coastal Living, among other publications. His assignments have focused on conservation, preservation, and celebrating the beauty of wilderness and national parks around the world. 

Join him aboard the July 11, 2023, departure of A Circumnavigation of Iceland.

Rich Reid

Award-winning photographer and filmmaker Rich Reid has specialized in environmental and adventure photography for over two decades. North American Nature Photography Association elected Rich as a Fellow for his significant contributions to the nature photography industry, and he was a finalist for the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year for his time-lapse video documenting forest fire ecology. 

Join him aboard the September 8, 2023, departure of Galápagos Aboard National Geographic Endeavour II.

Karen Kasmauski

Photographer Karen Kasmauski has produced 25 stories for National Geographic magazine on topics ranging from earthquakes in Japan to oil exploration in Alaska. As a senior fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers, she also specializes in looking at how the health of the land affects the communities on it. Karen's book Impact: From the Front Lines of Global Health, published by National Geographic, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. Another book, Nurse: A World of Care, tells stories of dedicated medical professionals—“frontline soldiers” in the war against suffering and disease—from the frozen rivers of Alaska to the slums of Nairobi.

Join her aboard the May 4, 2023, departure of A Remarkable Journey to Alaska, British Columbia & Haida Gwaii; the July 2, 2023, departure of A Circumnavigation of Iceland; and the September 3, 2023, departure of Coastal Japan: Imperial Dynasties & Modern Culture.

Jay Dickman

Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Jay Dickman has covered topics as diverse as the Salvadoran civil war, Olympics and Super Bowls, national political conventions, and the 40th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. He has also published a best-selling guide called Perfect Digital Photography as well as numerous articles for National Geographic, LIFE, Sports Illustrated, Time, and Forbes.

Join him aboard the September 6, 2023, departure of East Greenland: Wild Shores of the High Arctic; the May 17, 2023, departure of Norway's Fjords and Arctic Svalbard; or the November 28, 2023, departure of Journey To Antarctica: The White Continent.

Ken Garrett

In a career spanning 40 years, Ken Garrett has photographed more than 60 feature stories for National Geographic and National Geographic Traveler magazines. His work has also appeared in Smithsonian, Fortune, Time, Life, Audubon, National Wildlife, and Natural History magazines, among others. With an academic background in anthropology, he has documented ancient cultures, archaeological sites, and dramatic landscapes worldwide.

Join him aboard the August 3, 2023, departure of Gateway to the Northwest Passage: Greenland and Canada; the May 17, 2023, departure of Norway's Fjords and Arctic Svalbard; or the November 28, 2023, departure of Journey To Antarctica: The White Continent.

Annie Griffiths

One of the first women photographers to work for National Geographic, Annie Griffiths has photographed in more than a hundred countries during her illustrious career. She has worked on dozens of magazine and book projects for the National Geographic Society, including stories on Lawrence of Arabia, Baja California, Galilee, Petra, Sydney, New Zealand, and Jerusalem.

Join her aboard the August 24, 2023, departure of South Greenland Exploration: Fjords, Waterfalls, and Fishing Villages.

Camille Seaman

Camille Seaman has spent the last two decades documenting the rapidly changing landscapes of Earth's polar regions. Her work has appeared in National Geographic, Outside, TIME, The New York Times Sunday Magazine, and American Photo, among other outlets. She leads photographic workshops all over the globe and enjoys inspiring others to develop a unique visual voice.

Join her on the May 30 and June 6, 2023, departures of Land of the Ice Bears: An In-Depth Exploration of Arctic Svalbard.

Krista Rossow

Krista Rossow began her career as a photography editor at National Geographic Traveler magazine. She has shot feature stories as a contributing photographer for Traveler in Japan, South Africa, Morocco, Costa Rica, New Zealand, and various U.S. cities. She regularly judges Instagram contests for @NatGeogTravel and edits photos for National Geographic Books.

Join her on the May 24, 2023, departure of Ancient Polynesia: Tuamotu and Marquesas Islands; the July 27, 2023, departure of Kimberley Expedition: Australia’s Wild Northwest; the October 24, 2023, departure of Roots of the Pacific: Exploring New Zealand and Melanesia; and the December 21 or 31, 2023, departures of Journey To Antarctica: The White Continent.

View More Experts

More than 30 National Geographic Photography Experts are traveling on Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic voyages in 2023. View the full directory below. 

Peter Hillary

Peter Hillary is the son of Sir Edmund Hillary, who was the first man to reach the summit of Mount Everest with his climbing partner Tenzing Norgay in 1953. He is the first second-generation to climb Mount Everest, he has climbed the Seven Summits (the highest mountain on each of the seven continents), and he has been on more than 40 mountaineering expeditions around the world.

Join him on the July 17, 2023, departure of Kimberley Expedition: Australia's Wild Northwest or the September 6, 2023, departure of East Greenland: Wild Shores of the High Arctic.

Jamling Tenzing Norgay

Jamling Tenzing Norgay, son of the Everest pioneer Tenzing Norgay, is a member of a living dynasty of climbers, with 11 of his relatives summiting Mount Everest. Jamling's spiritual journey has led him to an attachment to the Himalayan region and its majestic jagged 8000-meter peaks.

Join him aboard the September 6, 2023, departure of East Greenland: Wild Shores of the High Arctic. 

Tua Pittman

Internationally acclaimed as a traditional master navigator, Tua Pittman has navigated canoes from the coastlines of Asia through to the shores of the Americas for more than 30 years, without the use of modern instruments. He is a respected chieftain of his island homeland, a dancer, drummer, athlete, and gifted speaker.

Join him on the February 25, 2023, departure of Under the Southern Cross: New Zealand to Melanesia, the March 10, 2023, departure of Rites and Relics: From the Solomon Islands to Fiji, or the March 22, 2023, departure of Tahiti to Fiji: Reefs, Lagoons & Volcanic Isles.

Kike Calvo

Award-winning photographer, journalist, and author Kike Calvo (pronounced Kee-Keh) specializes in culture and environment. His images have been published in National Geographic Magazine, The New York Times, Time, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, New York Magazine, Rolling Stone, and Vanity Fair, among others.

Join him on the September 24, 2023, departure of Wild South America: Trinidad, Guyana, and Brazil; the November 11, 2023, departure of Panama and Colombia: Exploring the Caribbean Coast; the January 29, 2024, departure of Roots of the Pacific: Exploring New Zealand and Melanesia; and the March 2024 departures of Patagonia: Chilean Fjords and Argentina's Staten Island and Best of Chilean Patagonia: From Torres del Paine to Cape Horn.

Richard Vevers

Richard Vevers is the founder and CEO of The Ocean Agency, an ocean conservation non-profit accelerating ocean science and conservation through the power of creativity, and collaboration. He is a fellow of the Explorers Club and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Rhode Island. He is best known for his leading role in the Emmy Award-winning documentary Chasing Coral on Netflix, and his work has been featured in numerous publications and documentaries.

Join him on the May 24, 2023, departure of Ancient Polynesia: Tuamotus and Marquesas Islands.

Joseph Frey

Joseph Frey is Vice President of The Royal Canadian Geographical Society and Chair of its College of Fellows. Fascinated by polar sciences, he has taken part in expeditions to the Antarctic, Greenland, and across the Canadian High Arctic with various organizations including the National Science Foundation, Antarctica New Zealand, and the Meteorological Service of Canada. An accomplished science writer, he has been published in TIME, The Globe and Mail, National Post, Toronto Star, Toronto Sun, and many others.

Join him aboard the August 24, 2023, departure of South Greenland Exploration: Fjords, Waterfalls, and Fishing Villages and the June 20, 2024, departure of Svalbard, Iceland, and Greenland's East Coast.

Mensun Bound

Born in the Falkland Islands, Mensun Bound was the Triton Fellow in Maritime Archaeology at St Peter’s College, Oxford, and the director of the first academic unit for underwater archaeology in England. Known as the "Indiana Jones of the Deep," Bound has conducted wreck surveys and excavations all over the world in a career that spanned 40 years, and was Director of Exploration for the search mission that located the wreck of Ernest Shackleton's ship Endurance. 

Join him aboard the November 18, 2023, departure of Journey to Antarctica: The White Continent. 

Anders Fogh Rasmussen

Anders Fogh Rasmussen has been at the center of Baltic, European, and global politics for three decades, including as the Prime Minister of Denmark and as the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). He is Chairman of geopolitical advisory firm Rasmussen Global, which he founded in 2014, and Chairman of the Alliance of Democracies Foundation, which he founded in 2017. He recently served as advisor to Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy, working with allies to build international security guarantees for Ukraine.

Join him for three days aboard the May 9 or May 23, 2023, departure of Circumnavigating the Baltic Sea.

Eva Aariak

Eva Qamaniq Aariak is a Canadian politician who served as the second Premier of Nunavut from 2008 to 2013 and currently serves as the Commissioner of Nunavut. Her background as Languages Commissioner in Nunavut provides connection and insight into the local language and culture.

Join her aboard the August 3, 2023, departure of Gateway to the Northwest Passage: Greenland and Canada.

Aleqa Hammond

Aleqa Hammond is the former prime minister of Greenland and the first female to hold the position. She has also represented Greenland in the Danish Parliament and served as the commissioner of the Inuit Circumpolar Council.

She will join a portion of the July 29, 2023, departure of Iceland and Greenland: Edge of the Arctic.

Christina Thompson

Author of Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia, which won the 2020 Australian Prime Minister’s Literary Award and Victorian Premier’s Literary Award, Christina Thompson has worked at Harvard University since 2000, where she edits the literary journal Harvard Review and teaches in the Writing Program at Harvard University Extension. Her first book, Come on Shore and We Will Kill and Eat You All: A New Zealand Story, was a finalist for the 2009 NSW Premier’s Literary Award and the 2010 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing.

Join her on the April 5, 2023, departure of Easter Island to Tahiti: Tales of the Pacific. 

Ian W. Toll

Ian W. Toll is the author of Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the US Navy, and The Pacific War Trilogy, a three-volume history of the war in the Pacific. Six Frigates was the 2007 recipient of the Samuel Eliot Morison Award for Naval Literature and the William E. Colby Military Writers Award. Toll has been widely published in newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, and the Boston Globe. 

Join him on the March 10, 2023, departure of Rites and Relics: From the Solomon Islands to Fiji.

Joy Harjo

Award-winning poet and author Joy Harjo of Muscogee (Creek) Nation served as the 23rd Poet Laureate for the United States from 2019 to 2022. She was the first Native American to hold the position and only the second person to serve three terms in the role. She has published nine books of poetry and two memoirs. She will share perspectives on indigenous groups of the Pacific Northwest with guests.

Join her on the April 7, 2024, departure of Columbia and Snake Rivers Journey.

Jacob Edgar

Jacob Edgar is an ethnomusicologist, world music tastemaker, and global explorer with an insatiable curiosity for the diverse ways in which people express themselves through music. Jacob’s adventures have taken him to dozens of countries, and hundreds of the world’s greatest international music festivals, showcases and performance venues in search of exceptional musical talents. Since 1998, Jacob has been the main music researcher for the acclaimed world music compilations label Putumayo World Music, contributing songs and liner notes to over 300 Putumayo collections that combined have sold over 15 million copies.

Join him on the May 9, 2023, departure of Circumnavigating the Baltic Sea; the June 6, 2023, departure of North Sea Voyage: Northern Europe and the Normandy Beaches; the August and September 2023 departures of The Canadian Maritimes and Newfoundland; and the September 24, 2023, departure of Wild South America: Trinidad, Guyana, and Brazil.

Christian Cooper

Christian Cooper is the Host and a Consulting Producer for the upcoming National Geographic series Extraordinary Birder. As a board member of the New York City Audubon Society, he advocates for greater, safer access to green spaces for all, with a focus on outreach to youth in underserved communities. He looks forward to bringing the gospel of birding to ever wider audiences through Extraordinary Birder and his memoir, Better Living Through Birding, forthcoming from Random House.

Join him on the the December 7, 2023, departure of Journey to Antarctica: the White Continent.

Dan Myers

Dan Myers, Senior Director of Public Affairs for Pristine Seas, manages a team of global experts to support the creation, expansion and sustainable management of marine reserves around the world. Myers has an extensive background in environmental policy and communications. Prior to National Geographic, he served as assistant director of communications for former United States Vice President Al Gore in support of his efforts to build awareness and promote solutions to the global climate crisis.

Join him aboard the February 25, 2023, departure of Under the Southern Cross: New Zealand to Melanesia. 

Steve Croft

Dr. Steve Croft is an astrophysicist and educator at the University of California, Berkeley, where he is Project Scientist for an observational program on the world's largest steerable telescope to search for signs of intelligent life beyond Earth. He is the Director of Undergraduate Research at the UC Berkeley SETI Research Center, leading an award-winning program in cutting-edge astronomy research.

Join him on the October 11, 2023, departure of Journey Across the Remote Pacific.

Dr. Robert Bindschadler

Dr. Bindschadler’s career spanned more than 30 years at NASA where he retired in 2010 as the Chief Scientist of NASA’s Hydrospheric and Biospheric Sciences Laboratory and a Senior Fellow of the Goddard Space Flight Center. He is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, a past President of the International Glaciological Society, and is currently both a NASA Emeritus Scientist and a Senior Research Scientist at Morgan State University. He maintains an active interest in glaciers and ice sheets and has led 16 Antarctic field expeditions to study dynamics of the West Antarctic ice sheet.

Join him aboard the November 27, 2023, departure of Journey to Antarctica: The White Continent.