Indigenous rights advocate and environmental activist Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, a member of Chad’s pastoralist Mbororo People, began advocating for Indigenous Peoples’ rights at age 12. She later founded the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (AFPAT). Her work centers Indigenous knowledge, participatory mapping, and community-led approaches to land protection, climate resilience, and biodiversity conservation.

Amy Martin is the founder and executive producer of Threshold, a documentary podcast about our place in the natural world. Under her leadership, Threshold has won a Peabody Award, a national Edward R. Murrow Award, and other honors.

Amy has written for The Guardian and Scientific American, and her radio reporting has been heard on All Things Considered, Reveal, Here and Now, The World, and other programs. In 2016, she was selected for the Scripps Fellowship in Environmental Journalism at the University of Colorado Boulder. Raised on an Iowa farm, Amy currently divides her time between Missoula, Montana and Umeå, Sweden.

National Geographic Explorer at Large, Babak Tafreshi uses night sky photography and visual storytelling to bridge art and science, culture and nature, and conservation and exploration. As the founder of The World at Night program, he directs a team of 40 night sky photographers based in over 20 countries to document the night sky as a shared heritage that transcends cultural, religious, and national boundaries.

A world-renowned primatologist, explorer, and science communicator, Mireya Mayor is National Geographic's first female wildlife correspondent. She has spent her career exploring some of the planet's most remote places while sharing stories that connect science, discovery, and conservation.

Her groundbreaking work includes the co-discovery in Madagascar of Madame Berthe's mouse lemur, the world's smallest primate and a species previously unknown to science. 

Vital Impacts founder Ami Vitale joins fellow photographers Britta Jaschinski and Paolo Verzone for a conversation about creating a stronger grant application.

All three bring years of experience as photographers telling stories that matter. They are also thoughtful and generous teachers of visual storytelling with real environmental impact. They have a rare ability to help photographers clarify their ideas, strengthen their vision, and communicate why a story matters.

Tamara Lackey is a professional photographer, Nikon USA Ambassador, public speaker, and nonprofit leader who uses visual storytelling to inspire connection and meaningful change. She hosts Chasing Frames, a photography and adventure series on PBS North Carolina, and leads workshops around the world. Driven by her passion for conservation and animal welfare, she co-founded and serves as Executive Director of Beautiful Together, a nonprofit that supports children, animals, and communities through education, conservation, and animal welfare initiatives.