Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic Society announce 2021 fellowship class

In February 2020, 50 exemplary educators were selected for the Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship, a field-based professional development opportunity made possible by a partnership between The National Geographic Society and Lindblad Expeditions.

A month after the cohort was notified of their selection, the Covid-19 pandemic changed the world and travel was put on hold — along with their fellowship experience. For nearly a year, the 2021 Fellows have patiently kept the exciting news of their acceptance to themselves, but now their wait is over.

In recognition of their commitment to geographic education, Lindblad Expeditions and The National Geographic Society have announced the 2021 Grosvenor Teacher Fellows. The 2021 cohort is the largest and most diverse in the program’s history, reflecting a range of teaching environments, subject expertise, geographies, and ethnicities. These fellows join an alumni community of 315 educators.

They were selected from a competitive applicant pool of pre-K–12 educators from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada, and Department of Defense Education Activity schools for this life-changing professional development opportunity. The formal and informal educators were chosen for their impactful work to further students’ understanding of the planet and its people, empowering them to generate solutions for a healthier and more sustainable future.

Their work focuses on inspiring youth to become environmental stewards, mentoring and amplifying student leaders, and tackling complex global issues, such as climate change. As part of their Fellowship, members of the 2021 cohort take on a two-year leadership commitment and serve as program ambassadors, fostering connections and collaboration with other educators in the National Geographic community and beyond.

Travel is still on hold, but once conditions allow, each Fellow will embark on a one- to three-week voyage aboard a Lindblad Expeditions ship. Fellows will travel in small groups to some of the world’s most remote and extraordinary environments — regions such as the High Arctic, Southeast Alaska, Central America, Antarctica, or the Galápagos Islands. Throughout their journey, they will encounter wildlife and explore breathtaking landscapes while accompanied by a team of Lindblad Expeditions naturalists, including marine biologists, geologists, historians, undersea specialists and National Geographic photographers. Each will return home with an experience they will translate into reimagined curricula that inspire their students, colleagues and communities to care more deeply about the planet and take action on global issues.

The fellowship was named in honor of Gilbert M. Grosvenor, chairman emeritus of the National Geographic Society, in recognition of his decades-long work supporting pre-K–12 teachers and promoting geography education. The expeditions were donated in perpetuity by Sven Lindblad and Lindblad Expeditions in 2006 to mark Grosvenor’s 75th birthday and honor his service to the enhancement and advancement of geographic education.

The 2021 Grosvenor Teacher Fellows are (in alphabetical order):