Our Experts

Here are just a few of the National Geographic experts — photographers, writers, scientists, and explorers — who you may meet on a Student Summit week.

Ford Cochran

Environmental scientist, writer, and educator Ford Cochran has joined National Geographic research expeditions to Iceland, the Mediterranean, Costa Rica, and the Canadian Rockies. Ford has written for National Geographic magazine, helped launch nationalgeographic.com in 1996, and is now an editorial director and blogger for the website. Ford is a popular expert for National Geographic Student Expeditions, and will introduce Summit groups to National Geographic's storytelling legacy as well as help students to develop their own stories about their D.C. experience.

Alexandra Avakian

Alexandra Avakian has been a National Geographic photographer since 1995. Her assignments have included a cover story on Iran; photographic essays on Gaza, Romania, and Armenia; and intensive photographic projects on Lebanon's Hezbollah and American Muslims. Her photos have also been published in many National Geographic books, including her most recent book, Windows of the Soul: My Journeys in the Muslim World. Alexandra has been published by the majority of mainstream news magazines in the U.S. and Europe since 1984 and has exhibited widely. Student Summit groups will hear about her distinguished career as a photojournalist, see her stunning images, and learn tips about how to approach photography from new angles — which can be applied to faraway destinations and exotic cultures as well as to monuments and landscapes in our own back yards.

Greg Marshall

Greg Marshall is a biologist and filmmaker, and an executive producer for National Geographic Television. Greg invented the CritterCam, a camera that is attached to an animal to capture images of the world through the animal's eyes. The devices have provided valuable insight into the behavior and daily life of more than 40 species, including blue whales, black turtles, and manta rays. The CritterCam has enabled Greg to study and document marine and terrestrial life around the world — from Costa Rica and Kenya to Antarctica. Greg or a member of his team will give Summit groups a behind-the-scenes tour of the CritterCam lab and show new video clips from recent CritterCam deployments. Some groups may have the opportunity to set up cameras in D.C.'s Rock Creek Park to monitor local animal behavior.