Enjoy the the first day of ECAD weekend with symposiums and our famous kick-off party at headquarters.
All programs Friday are held at Club Headquarters
Remembering Forgotten Explorers
9:00am – 10:00am
As we gather for our annual ECAD festivities, the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee invites you to join us to celebrate explorers from the past whose extraordinary accomplishments are either unknown or have not been given the recognition they deserve. These are members of the Society of Forgotten Explorers, overlooked pioneers from the past, with emphasis on indigenous as well as female explorers, and those who were active before The Explorers Club was founded.
DEI Committee Chair J. Robert “J.R.” Harris will host this event to highlight a few remarkable Society members and introduce the present-day explorers who will tell their stories.
Click here to view the speakers.
EC50 Symposium
10:00am – 12:00pm
Start the weekend with updates from our incredible Explorers Club 50 program – explorers who are changing the world, that the world needs to know about. All are welcome!
- Daniel Cáceres Bartra, marine biologist
- Susan Baur, community organizer
- Katy Croff Bell, deep sea explorer
- Roxanne Beltran, open ocean ecologist
- Gonçalo J. Costa, entomologist
- Elodie Freymann, evolutionary anthropologist & storyteller
- Hongxiang Huang, wildlife conservationist & investigator
- Karim Iliya, photographer & filmmaker
- Neal Kelso, ethnobiologist
- Jeffrey Kerby, ecologist & photographer
- Melanie M. Kirby, pollinator steward & educator
- Brad Lidge, game changer
- Serena McCalla, science research educator
- Duda Menegassi, environmental journalist
- Gunjan Menon, conservation filmmaker
- Ulrike Pfreundt, ocean scientist & impact entrepreneur
- Samantha Ramirez-Herrera, documentary filmmaker
- KM Reyes, community organizer & conservationist
- Kate Wawatai, deep sea submersible pilot
- Sharon Wilcox, cultural geographer & conservationist
Grantee Symposium
1:00pm – 3:00pm
Presentations from recipients of The Explorers Club Grant Programs – with emphasis on those who have completed groundbreaking grant expeditions from the past year. All are welcome!
- Joshua Benjamin – The Influence of Anthropogenic Disturbances on Aquatic Biodiversity in Kenya and Tanzania
- Pathfinder Grant 2023
- Letícia Benavalli – Mapping Jaguar Resilience in the Southern Cerrado, Brazil
- Rolex Explorers Club Grant 2024
- Jessica Glass, Ph.D. – Visions from the Deep Arctic: Unknown Behavior and Habitat Use of the Pacific Sleeper Shark
- The Stephenson Exploration Advancement Program 2024
- Shelby Thomas – Coral BRIDGE – ORAI Habitat Reef Coral Outplanting and Monitoring
- The Stephenson Exploration Advancement Program 2024
- Michael Monzon – The Impact of Climate Change on Forensically Important Fly Biodiversity in Arctic Sweden
- The Fjällräven Field Grant 2024
- Bennett Slibeck – Indigenous Ichnology: Tracking Connections Between Dinosaur Footprints & Indigenous Petroglyphs
- Exodus Exploration Without Boundaries Grant 2024
- Hasan Rahman – Exploring the Last Home of the Swamp Tigers: Bangladesh Sundarbans
- The Explorers Club Expedition Grant 2022
- Pamela Elizarraras – Climate Words in the High Arctic
- Adventure Canada Youth Explorers Program 2024
Impact Grantees
- Diego Cardeñosa, Ph.D. – Found and Protected: Critically Endangered Hammerheads in the Colombian Pacific
- Henry Maillet – Rewilding Jaguars in the Iberá Wetlands: A Wildlife Resurrection Story
- Ishika Ramakrishna – Primate Lifeworlds: The Intricacies of Human Relationships with Nonhuman Primate Species in Northeastern India
- Ricardo Nascimento – Myth of a Killer: The Iberian Orca
Read more about the grantees here.
Hosted by Trevor Wallace, FN’13, Vice President for Research and Education.
New Members Reception
5:00pm-6:00pm
For those inducted into the ranks of membership within the last year, this traditional welcome reception is an opportunity to have a drink at headquarters, tour the building, and meet Club leadership.
ECAD Kick-Off Party
6:00pm-10:00pm
Reunite with fellow explorers at the legendary kick-off party at Club Headquarters. Order a Mosquito Mojito, network with explorers, tour HQ, or plan your next expedition. All are welcome!
Dress Code: Cocktail attire
