Barbara Doran Elected Explorers Club President

Barbara Doran was elected the 47th president of The Explorers Club at its January Board of Directors meeting and will serve for one year  starting in April 2026. Doran, who has served as the Club’s treasurer and served on the board, becomes the third woman to lead the organization in its 122-year history.

“The Explorers Club is built on the spirit of pushing boundaries—in science, in discovery, and in leadership,” said Richard Wiese, outgoing president of The Explorers Club. “Barb Doran embodies that spirit completely. Her strategic vision, financial acumen, and genuine passion for exploration make her the ideal leader for this next chapter. I have complete confidence in her ability to guide the Club forward, and I pledge my full support as president emeritus.”

Doran is the founder and Chief Investment Officer of BD8 Capital Partners, which provides wealth advisory and investment management services for individuals and families. Her 40+year career in investment and financial services includes serving as the Research Investment Officer at Neuberger Berman, a $550b asset management firm. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Beyond her distinguished finance career, Doran is a world-class athlete who competed for the United States National Teams in both field hockey and lacrosse. She remains an active competitor as a member of the U.S. Masters’ Team in Field Hockey, participating in international tournaments worldwide.

Doran served as board chair for MCC Theater and is an emeritus trustee for Penn State, her alma mater, where she serves on the Finance and Academic Affairs Committees and is a member of the Investment Council with direct oversight of the university’s $7billion endowment. She is a frequent guest on CNBC’s Closing Bell, providing expert market commentary, as well as on Bloomberg and other media outlets and podcasts.

“I am deeply honored to lead an organization that has stood at the forefront of human discovery for more than a century,” said Doran. “I want to thank Richard Wiese for his tireless years of service and unwavering dedication to The Explorers Club and to exploration itself and look forward to continuing to work closely together. His vision, energy, and commitment have strengthened our organization immeasurably, and I am grateful to build on the foundation he has laid. Together with our extraordinary members and partners around the world, we will continue to champion exploration of the natural world in its most expansive sense and to inspire the next generation of explorers.”

Doran will assume the presidency during the 122nd Explorers Club Annual Dinner in New York, the longest-running charity event in the city.

Founded in 1904, The Explorers Club is a multidisciplinary, professional society dedicated to the advancement of field research, scientific exploration and resource conservation. Headquartered in New York City with a community of chapters around the world, The Explorers Club has been supporting scientific expeditions of all disciplines, uniting members in the bonds of good fellowship, for more than a century.

Notable club members include Jane Goodall, Kathryn Sullivan, Jeff Bezos, Walter Cronkite, James Cameron, Sylvia Earle, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, the Apollo 11 crew of Neil Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins, the Mount Everest summit team of Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary, the first team to descend to the Mariana Trench—Don Walsh and Jacques Piccard—and the crews of the first expeditions to the North and South Poles.

For more information contact: The Explorers Club, Trevor Hale – Tel: 303-802-0014 – Email: thale@explorers.org