Mark Angelo is an internationally celebrated river conservationist, writer, speaker, teacher and paddler from Burnaby, British Columbia. He is the founder and chair of both BC Rivers Day and World Rivers Day, an event now embraced by millions of people in countries around the world. Mark has been involved in river conservation and restoration initiatives across the globe and as a paddler, has traveled on more than 1000 rivers in over 100 countries, perhaps more than any other. His work has also been the subject of several feature length films, including the award-winning documentary, RiverBlue, and the upcoming film, Last Paddle;1000 Rivers, One Life. Mark has received the Order of British Columbia and the Order of Canada (his country’s highest honour) among other accolades in recognition of his global river conservation efforts over the past five decades.

Jon Bowermaster is a writer, filmmaker, adventurer, and six-time grantee of the National Geographic Expeditions Council. He has written eleven books and produced/directed more than thirty documentary films. His feature documentaries include ‘Dear President Obama,’ ‘Antarctica, on the Edge,’ ‘After the Spill’ and ‘Ghost Fleet.’ His Oceans 8 project took him and his teams around the world by sea kayak over the course of ten years (1999-2008), bringing back stories from the Aleutian Islands to French Polynesia, Gabon to Tasmania, and more, reporting on how the planet’s one ocean and its various coastlines are faring in today’s busy world. Bowermaster also sits on the Leadership Council of Riverkeeper, and recently produced the film ‘A Living River.’

Eric Taylor is a professor of Zoology and Director of the Fish Collection at the Beaty Biodiversity Museumwhere he also served as museum Director from 2013-2020. He studies the patterns, and processes promoting the origins and persistence of biodiversity and the application of such knowledge to conservation, especially in fishes. He graduated with a PhD in Zoology from UBC in 1989, spent two years as a postdoctoral fellow at Dalhousie University, then 1.5 years as a visiting research fellow at the Pacific Biological Station before retuning to UBC in 1993. Between 2000 and 2018, he was involved with, or a member of, COSEWIC (the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada) and its Chair between 2014 and 2018. In 2016, he was elected as a Fellow of The Royal Canadian Geographical Society. Autumn 2021 will see the release of his book Rivers Run Through Us: A Natural and Human History of Great Rivers of North America (Rocky Mountain Books).

Dr. Jennifer R. (Jenny) Pournelle, PhD., Distinguished Professor Emerita, University of South Carolina School of Earth, Ocean, and Environment, uses aerial and satellite imagery, archaeological survey, ethnography, and environmental data to study the relationships between ancient cities and their natural environments. Especially concerned with interactions that affect urban sustainability over thousands of years, her work concentrates on the origins and lifespans of Mesopotamian cities in the lower Tigris-Euphrates-Karkeh-Karun delta of southern Iraq. There, where the world’s oldest-known, longest-lived cities were founded in what became ancient Sumer, urban life has flourished continuously for over six thousand years.

Stefan Lovgren is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker with over 25 years of international reporting experience. He is a frequent contributor to National Geographic, often writing about rivers, lakes and wetlands around the world and producing multimedia stories about the Mekong region in Southeast Asia. A Swedish native, he holds a master’s degree in international affairs and journalism from Columbia University in New York.