Join the Explorers Club, on May 12th, for a special spotlight on the EC50 Class of 2025, fifty people changing the world that the world needs to know about. Featuring three class of 2025 honorees: filmmaker, Brendan Hall, vegan chef and forager, Chrissy Tracey, and planetary scientist, Luju Ojha.
Each honoree will speak about their work, followed by a panel discussion moderated by Natalie Cash.
About the Explorers Club 50: The EC50 annually recognizes 50 extraordinary people who are doing remarkable work to promote science and exploration. The program was established to reflect the great diversity of individuals on the cutting edge of exploration around the world and to help amplify the voices of these changemakers. The EC50 class of 2025 can be seen here.
This in-person event at the Explorers Club Headquarters will include an audience Q&A.
RESERVATIONS
This will be an in-person lecture at Explorers Club Headquarters.
In-person tickets are $20 for Members, and $35 for the General Public.
Check-in will begin at 6:00 pm, with a beer and wine reception from 6:00 – 7:00 pm
Brendan Hall
Brendan Hall is a filmmaker sharing stories in the natural world and beyond. He’s a director, cinematographer and editor, who has spent the past decade leading projects around the world about our human connection to land, space, and sea.
Through his work, Brendan is committed to sharing awe and empathy on our planet in hopes that we may be inspired to preserve it for future generations. It’s a spirit he brought to his debut feature-length documentary, Out There: A National Parks Story. The award-winning film follows Brendan and a childhood friend road-tripping across 10,000 miles of the U.S. national parks to reveal a profound tapestry of stories from the people they meet along the way. Brendan Hall is an EC50 honoree in the Class of 2025.
Chrissy Tracey
Chrissy Tracey, a first-generation Jamaican American vegan chef, forager, and author, is devoted to making plant-based cuisine accessible while inspiring people to reconnect with the land through foraging. Her work bridges sustainability and community, encouraging meaningful connections to nature and food. Raised in Connecticut by parents who embraced vegetarianism, Chrissy’s upbringing fostered a deep respect for sustainable living and ethical eating, values she now shares through her culinary innovations.
Her book, Forage & Feast: Recipes for Bringing Mushrooms & Wild Plants to Your Table, invites readers to explore the world of foraging and incorporate wild ingredients into plant-based meals.
As Bon Appétit’s first vegan Test Kitchen host, Chrissy broke barriers in food media, sharing creative recipes with a global audience. Grounded in her Jamaican heritage and inspired by Ital principles, she champions environmental stewardship while addressing food insecurity through the power of foraging. Chrissy Tracey is an EC50 honoree in the Class of 2025.
Luju Ojha
Lujendra (Luju) Ojha PhD is a professor of planetary science at Rutgers University. Luju studies the planets of the solar system and exoplanets and was previously recognized as Forbes 30under30 in Science and Georgia Tech’s 40under40. Born and raised in the footsteps of the Himalayas of Nepal, Luju started exploring at an early age when he would join his father for month-long geological expeditions to the Himalayas. In his work, Luju uses a variety of remote sensing techniques, computer modeling, and fieldwork to understand planetary evolution and their potential habitability. Outside of science, Luju is also an amateur beard model and a guitarist. Together with his wife, also an educator, Luju’s next big adventure is establishing a non-profit organization aimed at introducing planetary sciences and astronomy to school students in the remote Himalayas of Nepal. Luju Ojha is an EC50 honoree in the Class of 2025.
