Sylvia Earle

Sylvia Earle, called "Her Deepness" by the New Yorker and the first "Hero for the Planet," is an oceanographer, explorer, author, lecturer and scientist. She is executive director for several corporate and nonprofit organizations, including the Aspen Institute, the Conservation Fund, American Rivers, and others. Former chief scientist of NOAA, Earle is founder of the Mission Blue Foundation. She has a B.S., an M.S., Ph.D. and 15 honorary degrees. She has authored more than 150 publications, lectured in over 60 countries, and appeared in hundreds of TV productions. Earle is the author of Sea Change: A Message of the Oceans and co-author of Ocean: An Illustrated Atlas. Earle has led over 60 expeditions and logged more than 6,000 hours underwater, including leading the first team of women aquanauts in 1970. She has a record for solo diving to a depth of 1,000 meters.