Adventure Science

Cedar is a nature lover to the core. On top of being a founding member of Canadian Women for Nature, fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society and member of the Explorers Club, Cedar is the CEO of Adventure Canada; An expedition company founded by her father that specializes in ship-based arctic cruises as well as land-based trips. The company operates tours around the globe with a focus on connecting people with nature as well as local communities. Cedar has grown up surrounded by the world’s foremost adventurers and explorers, she believes that fostering connections to people and land is critical to the longevity of conservation work, and is dedicated to cultivating meaningful relationships that strengthen our ties to nature and each other.

Dr. Kirsten Johnson is a Canadian physician and researcher specializing in Emergency Medicine, Esthetic Medicine, and Family Medicine at McGill University. She has extensively researched conflict related topics for over a decade including genocide, child combatants, and conflict-related mental
health disorders. She is the founder and CEO of Humanitarian U, which is a unique organization dedicated to training and equipping humanitarian aidworkers with the knowledge and skills required to do their job effectively and efficiently. She is a Fellow of the Explorers Club.

Natalie is a passionate explorer with a focus on the stars. An engineer currently on the team designing a Mars rover for the ESA 2020 ExoMars rover program. Natalie’s pursuits have earned her membership in The Explorers Club and she is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society. A prominent champion of the women in STEM movement in Canada, Natalie has received accolades from the Women’s Executive Network, and recently Forbes magazine. Growing up in the Canadian Rockies fuelled her desire to spend her days exploring and pushing the boundaries of technology. She has visited many remote locations in Canada and abroad to feed her desire to explore and lives by the mantra “dare to achieve the impossible”. Learn more about Natalie at www.thepanekroom.com

Matthias Breiter is an internationally renowned author, Emmy nominated cinematographer and wildlife photographer. He has spent most of the last 30 years studying bears and is considered one of the greatest authorities on bears. Holding an advanced degree in biology, he is presently completing his doctorate on brown bears in Alaska. The author of nearly twenty books, he has appeared as a guest lecturer at the Smithsonian Institution. Matthias Breiter’s award-winning nature photographs have appeared in National Geographic, GEO, BBC Wildlife, Terre Sauvage and numerous other publications worldwide. He is a fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographic Society and a fellow of the prestigious Explorer’s Club, both in recognition of his contribution to our scientific knowledge of bears and the Arctic. Matthias is also a founding member of the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP), and remains deeply involved with conservation efforts involving the American and Canadian Arctic and Subarctic. He resides in Kenora ON when he’s not walking with bears.

Tom Fitz: Tom is a multiple Emmy award-winning documentary cameraman whose work has been broadcast by

PBS, BBC, National Geographic, Discovery, ABC and others. He has been working behind a camera for over 30 years and has travelled the planet pursing his passion for capturing wildlife in natural settings. In 2008, Tom

co-founded Schoolyard Films as a way to introduce students K-12 to natural history and environmental films which he shoots, produces, and distributes for free, along with study guides. Tom speaks candidly about his thoughts on working with captive animals, being stung and nearly killed by a stingray, and entering and surviving the fast paced and competitive world of photography/videography. Learn more about Tom and his work at www.fitzpro.tv, or www.schoolyardfilms.org.