Shaun Powell

Expedition Leader

Shaun Powell has endeavored to feed his hunger for knowledge of the natural world since his childhood on a family farm in northeast Texas. He studied at the University of Texas in Austin, where he focused on print journalism and evolutionary sciences. After completing his studies in 1997, accident and a bit of good fortune landed him a position on board a small ship in Alaska, where he fell in love with expedition travel. What started with an eight-month contract has turned into a lifetime’s worth of experiences traveling, literally, from pole to pole with like-minded travelers.

After living on-the-go for several years abroad in Europe, South Africa, and Australia he finally settled back in Austin, Texas. While not at home, he spends much of his time in the polar regions working with expedition ships, film teams, and photographers in these remote and uniquely beautiful locales; most recently taking a 12-person film team to South Georgia Island and the Antarctic. During over a dozen years of multi-expedition seasons to both polar regions, he considers himself fortunate to have been able see these wild places from almost all perspectives: from two-person, self-supporting expeditions in the Arctic, to leading a 13-meter sailboat during two-and-a-half months reporting for a National Geographic story on South Georgia. Regardless of the destination, his passion for travel and wildlife has him always on the lookout for the next great journey.

Whether on a rough and tumble expedition into wild parts unknown or an exploration of culture and history, he is ever keen to observe, absorb, and share more.

Alexandra Van Nostrand

Assistant Expedition Leader

Alexandra is happiest when chasing waterfalls, exploring wilderness, or reveling in a good story. Her travels have brought her from Asia, to Central and South America, to the Pacific Islands, and across the United States. Alexandra is thrilled to take her adventures to the sea after many years of hoofing it across various continents. Her day-pack includes local flora and fauna field guides, a blank journal, travel watercolor set, and dark chocolate at all times.

She received her B.A. in Environmental Studies from Emory University with a specialty in field work pertaining to Global Health, Culture and Society.  In her 20’s, she co-founded and served as Director for an educational start-up with a focus on nature connection in the Silicon Valley, followed by a year-long apprenticeship learning wilderness and bushcraft skills in Central New York.  Alexandra is eager to explore the farthest reaches of the Earth with Lindblad-National Geographic in order to promote conservation and awareness of fragile ecosystems.

Caitlyn Webster

Undersea Specialist

Caitlyn grew up entranced by the sea. She first became SCUBA certified while in high school in southern California and found her true passion diving and studying marine life. After graduating from Cal Poly State University: San Luis Obispo with a degree in Biological Sciences and a concentration in Marine Science and Fisheries, she began her career in research diving operations and logistics. Through different universities and various opportunities, Caitlyn has been fortunate enough to travel to particularly remote parts of the world, sharing her enthusiasm for exploring the seas and marine conservation.

Working as a marine biologist, Caitlyn gained experience researching different ecosystems throughout the world and documenting their conditions as an underwater videographer. Diving research has led her to study and document manta rays in Mozambique, great white sharks in South Africa, kelp forest ecosystems in California, coral reef ecosystems throughout South East Asia, crown-of-thorns sea stars in American Samoa, and hydrothermal vents in Iceland. Her love of adventure and the natural world has exposed her to many unique ecosystems and cultures. The more she dives and discovers, the deeper her passion becomes as she strives to share and spread knowledge about these fascinating places and experiences.

Although she is constantly on the go, she considers herself always at home when the sea surrounds her.

Chris Croxson

Naturalist

Following a distinguished business career with Unilever PLC, Chris obtained a master’s degree in marine biology at the National Oceanography Centre (NOCS) at Southampton University in the U.K. and graduated in 2007 with first-class honours. From there he attended a post-graduate certificate of education course and taught high school biology.  

Chris now works full-time on guiding expeditions, cruise lecturing, and surveying marine mammal observations on a worldwide basis. He has significantly contributed to ground-breaking conservation research on great white sharks in South Africa; marine biota in the Galápagos; whale sharks in Western Australia; and fish and coral ecology on the Great Barrier and Ningaloo reefs, Bermuda, the Caribbean, and the Red Sea. On the very rare occasions when he is in the U.K. he sometimes speaks at NOCS.

A very experienced marine biologist cruise lecturer/guide, Chris has contributed to more than 130 voyages in the last nine years around all seven continents. More than half of those have been in the polar and sub-polar regions and he has lectured on the Antarctic Peninsula; the Ross Sea; the sub-Antarctic islands of Svalbard, Iceland, Greenland, and Labrador/Newfoundland; the Northwest Passage, Alaska; and Kamchatka in the Russian Far East.

Chris’s talks, which focus on the region’s marine fauna, along with associated ecosystems and oceanographic features, are primarily intended to enthral and entertain, with the secondary aim of informing through science. Chris has the overriding objective to enhance expedition guests’ enjoyment by creating a greater awareness and appreciation of the marine world that surrounds them.

Conor Ryan

Naturalist

Hailing from Cobh in the south of Ireland, Conor Ryan grew up on the shores of Cork Harbour where his fascination with the sea led him to study zoology at University College Cork. He continued his studies in marine biology in Galway, where he completed his Ph.D. thesis on the diet and population structure of baleen whales in the Celtic Sea using stable isotope analysis. His research also brought him to Cape Verde in search of the breeding grounds of humpback whales that frequent the coasts of Ireland. However these whales have not yet given up their secret!

With over 30 published scientific papers Conor is a renowned expert in baleen whales and small cetaceans. He left his academic path behind to work for non-government organizations where he applies scientific knowledge to the conservation and management of marine mammals. Conor is an independent cetacean researcher working for a variety of NGOs and universities in the UK and Ireland. He is a scientific advisor for the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust and a research associate on the research vessel Song of the Whale. When not on board Lindblad vessels, Conor regularly conducts field-based whale research from the tropics to the Arctic.

Conor enjoys island-life in the Hebrides in western Scotland, where he lives on the remote Isle of Mull. His favorite things in life are sea-watching, expeditioning by sea kayak, free-diving, and foraging wild foods such as mushrooms and seaweeds.

Doug Gould

Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor

Travel and adventure were an integral part of Doug’s upbringing in a small town on the south shore of Long Island, New York. Growing up on the Great South Bay, his family claims Doug learned to sail before he learned to walk. Whether it was camping, sailing, birding, traveling across country or spending most of fifth grade living in Europe, Doug’s formative years left him with a love of wildlife, the outdoors, and a desire to keep moving. 

After receiving a B.A. in dramatic arts from the University of California, Santa Barbara, Doug mixed a short career in the film and TV industry with two summers working for the Catalina Island Harbor Patrol, which led to his owning the third largest private marine rescue company in California. Doug sat on the Board of Directors of the Vessel Assist Association of America for three years and has lectured extensively to the marine assistance industry about safety and risk management.

In 2003, he volunteered to work for Oceanites as a member of their Antarctic Site Inventory wildlife census team (aka: a penguin counter). This opportunity included numerous trips to the Antarctic Peninsula over the span of three seasons. The Antarctic Site Inventory focused on gathering data about the impact of tourism on Antarctic wildlife, and helped to develop some of the Antarctic Treaty recommendations that govern tourism today.

Since 2011, Doug has worked full time as a naturalist, photographer and expedition leader, working primarily in the polar regions. In 2015 he joined Lindblad Expeditions, and continues to share his enthusiasm for travel and adventure as an expedition leader and certified photo instructor.

Eric Pohlman

Naturalist

Having grown up in the wilds of Northern Minnesota, Eric’s lifelong love of nature and a desire to explore was a forgone conclusion. His childhood summers were spent canoeing the lakes of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area and his winters were spent exploring those frozen lakes on skis. It was no surprise when he decided to spend his summers working in Alaska’s fishing industry on a four-person commercial salmon fishing boat in Prince William Sound while attending the University of Minnesota. He did take a break to study abroad for a year in Helsinki, Finland.

At the age of 22, Eric began working at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Research Station for the United States Antarctic Program. This once-in-a-lifetime experience started a 20 year career working in Antarctica. Eric worked at all three of the USAP’s permanent science research stations and research icebreakers. Eric was awarded the United States Antarctica Service Medal, including all three possible ‘winter-over’ bars awarded for extended winter service in Antarctica. He earned his last winter-over bar as the Station Manager at Palmer Station.

During his required breaks from “the ice,” one is only allowed to work in Antarctica for 14 months at a time, Eric indulged his passion for travel. An avid cyclist, he cycle-toured in New Zealand, across Australia, across all contiguous countries of Scandinavia, and around Lake Superior. He has also traveled in Africa, Asia, and South America with just a backpack and a guidebook. He explored all seven continents before he was 25 and marked the occasion with a hike up Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Eric moved to Denver, Colorado to work at the USAP headquarters planning the field season for science expeditions. Although Eric enjoys Colorado’s 300 days of sunshine per year, the words of Sir Ernest Shackleton, “What the ice gets, the ice keeps” ring true.

Macduff Everton

National Geographic Photographer

Macduff Everton is a contributing editor at National Geographic Traveler, where he has photographed more than 20 stories from Paris to Beijing to Big Sur. His other editorial clients include Condé Nast Traveler, Life, LA Times Magazine, NY Times Magazine, Outside, and Smithsonian.

Macduff’s photography focuses on sense of place, whether portraits of individuals or portraits of a landscape. His work is in the collections of many public and private institutions, including the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, the British Museum in London, the International Center of Photography in New York, the Museo de Arte Moderno in Mexico City, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Macduff lives in Santa Barbara, California, and has taught workshops nationally as well as in Mexico and Tuscany.

Mark Coger

Video Chronicler

Growing up in a military family, Mark Coger has been traveling most of his life.  While living in Japan, he developed his passion for videography.  He began his venture in the field of video production by filming numerous events for a local high school and the military community before moving to Southern California, where he obtained his degree in filmmaking at California State University Northridge.  From there, he went on to produce and direct his first major short film, An American Journalist which was screened at the Method Film Festival.

After nearly two years working for a highly reputable post production house in Los Angeles, Mark ventured off for several years to work as a videographer in the cruise industry.  During that period he spent most of his time traveling back and forth between the Caribbean and Europe having the chance to visit over thirty different countries.  His passion for filmmaking inspires him to write and one day create films based on his own travel experiences and share them with the rest of the world.

Peter Wilson

Historian

Peter comes from the town of Cobh, County Cork, on the south coast of Ireland. He is both a working archaeologist and a naturalist.  Growing up and living next to the sea, he developed a fascination with whales and dolphins, along with birds and the broader natural world. Ever varied in his interests, he studied English at University College Cork and went on to complete a master’s degree in Old English.

A desire for more hands-on, outdoor work led him to a slight change of course, into the study of archaeology.  After combining his twin loves of the humanities and nature, Peter’s main areas of research at present are archaeozoology and maritime archaeology. He has a particular interest in the archaeology of marine mammal exploitation and the archaeology of extreme environments.  Along with his research, Peter also works for the commercial sector as a field archaeologist throughout the south of England.

While he very much considers himself to be an outdoor person, Peter still has a great love of the fruits of human culture. He has a deep interest in everything from art history and visual culture, to the history of food and drink.  He brews beer and wine when he has the time, and also considers himself to be quite a serious musician.

Robert Alexander

Naturalist/Expedition Diver

Robert Alexander has quenched his thirst for exploring the world’s flora and fauna by captaining, interpreting natural history, and conducting research aboard ships.  He particularly developed a passion for the marine life below the water’s surface while attending the University of Oregon and becoming involved with their diving program.  The rich waters of the Pacific Northwest led Robert to change career paths, and locales, as a SCUBA Instructor based primarily out of Maui.  Utilizing any means of floating vessel, from kayaks and catamarans to small passenger boats and Zodiacs, Robert became a captain as he explored the behavioral patterns of the captivating marine megafauna throughout the world.  In between being a captain and naturalist, he strives to conserve and preserve all forms of life- be it our very own species as a firefighter and EMT, assisting in shark-tagging projects for NOAA, or researching hawksbill turtle populations with the Hawaii Wildlife Fund.

After years of daily field observations, he joined the Lindblad team in 2007 and reached even more regions of the world via the sea, traveling throughout each of the seven continents as well as the world’s oceans.  Constantly at the ready for adventure and exploration, Robert was called back to the Pacific North West to his current residence in Bend, Oregon, where he is soaking up the terrestrial side of flourishing wildlife within its mountainous forests.