Chelsea Leven

The informal education of a childhood among frogs, hardwood forests, and intensely snowy winters of northeast Ohio established Chelsea’s passion for the natural world. Indulging her curiosity about the world through formal education, she added a geology degree from Amherst College, marine ecology courses in New Zealand, and graduate credentials in Natural Resource Conflict Resolution and International Conservation and Development.

The connective thread through her work is a belief that positive global change can occur through promoting engagement with science, outdoor experiences, and commitments to social and environmental justice. Snapshots from her research involvement include scuba diving in Mexico, collecting rat scat in Chile’s Atacama Desert, and warming bags of live bats against her belly in Montana. She has worked as a U.S. National Park ranger, and supported traditionally underrepresented populations in outdoor pursuits, including urban youth, people with disabilities, and women in Afghanistan. Alaska stole her heart when she first arrived as expedition staff in 2008, but she also delights in guiding among Baja Peninsula marine life, roadless rain forest in Central America, cultural wonders in East Asia, wild landscapes of Patagonia and Antarctica, and wherever the world beckons. Chelsea believes in the power of youth to shape the future, and so you will frequently find her facilitating the Global Explorers program as a National Geographic Certified Field Educator.