Berit Solstad

Berit grew up on the rocky shores of Marblehead, Massachusetts, where she explored the marine environment through changing tides and seasons, nurturing a love of natural history and marine biology.

While earning her B.Sc. in biology at Bates College, she ignited her passion for ship and field work while working as a whale watch naturalist during summers. She studied coral reefs at a remote field station in the Bahamas and participated in her first oceanographic research expedition during an intensive maritime studies program at Mystic Seaport. While the senior educator at the New England Aquarium, she was also caring for stranded seal pups, feeding penguin chicks, and diving on collecting trips. Anxious to return to sea, she left to work as a scientist and to lead educational trips on traditional sailing ships. At the University of Massachusetts/Boston, she taught oceanographic research techniques on a research vessel, trained science teachers, and also managed a rigorous program to help top students from the city's poorest neighborhoods prepare for college.

Berit is passionate about science, marine biology, and wilderness. In her free time, she races sailboats, hikes, bikes, skis, kayaks, and explores the intertidal. She now lives in Stowe, Vermont with her husband, another sailor. She has been sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm with Lindblad Expeditions guests since 1992.