In our third installment of The Explorers Club 50 Speaker Series, supported by Rolex, we turn towards our oceans with “Wavemakers” on Wednesday, November 2nd at 7pm. Marine biologists, scientists, and engineers from around the globe will come together, share their work, and contribute to a panel discussion moderated by EC 50 2021 Honoree Brand DeCarli about marine life, conservation, what a sustainable future for our ocean looks like, and the role women play in pioneering these goals.
This event is entirely virtual. Streaming live here on explorers.org, our YouTube Channel, and our Facebook Live — Wednesday, November 2nd at 7:00 pm ET.
Emily Hazelwood
Emily Hazelwood, is a marine conservation biologist working to solve the ecological challenges associated with re-purposing offshore oil and gas platforms as artificial reefs through the Rigs to Reefs program. Emily’s research is fundamentally based in creative thinking and she is committed to radically changing the way society thinks about conserving our ocean resources. Emily’s work stretches from the sea surface, using stereo-video technology to examine marine abundance on offshore oil platforms, to the deep oceans, using remotely operated vehicles to study the biodiversity found on subsea pipelines 5,000-feet deep. As a leader and explorer, she is committed to elevating the scientific understanding of our oceans and has led Explorers Club flag research expeditions worldwide, which have resulted in two award-winning documentary films.
Natalie Miaoulis
Natalie Miaoulis holds a Master of Science in International Food and Resource Economics from the University of Florida. Natalie has experience in fisheries economics, specifically research on the viability of a commercial lionfish fishery in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). Natalie was raised in The Bahamas and currently serves as a Fisheries Specialist for The Nature Conservancy’s Northern Caribbean program. During her time with The Conservancy, The Bahamas has received the international Marine Stewardship Council’s certification for sustainability for spiny lobster—a first for The Baha. Natalie has a long family relationship with the sea and is a certified rescue scuba diver and recreational fisher. Natalie is passionate about improving the sustainability of fisheries, and she is proud of how it directly impacts local communities.
Jessica Sandoval
Known as Dr. ROV, Jessica is an avid ocean explorer, engineer, and scientist, with a passion for venturing into the unknown. She explores the depths of the ocean as a pilot of Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs). She pushes to advance technology in the fields of bioinspired robotics and deep-sea exploration, designing new adhesives and grippers for use in subsea manipulations. She has tailored her subsea creations to be used as medical devices. Inspired by her adventures both at sea and in research labs, Jessica writes poetry books for children as a way for her to inspire the curiosity of the next generation of explorers. With her Bachelor’s from MIT, Master’s and PhD from the University of California, San Diego, and postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard, Jessica finds adventure in every aspect of her work, from science to engineering to field expeditions.
Amber Sparks
There comes a time when the useful life of an offshore oil platform comes to an end, at least when it comes to drilling for oil – and that’s when Amber Sparks dives in! As an entrepreneur and explorer, with a background in marine science from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Amber re-purposes offshore oil platforms into artificial reefs. She has led projects around the world and is committed to collaborating with industry to conserve our oceans through her work as co-founder of Blue Latitudes. Amber also works to elevate women in STEM careers as an ambassador for the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a volunteer educator for Nepris, a PADI Ambassadiver, and as a SCUBAPRO Deep Elite Team Member.
