Climate Conversations

Cynthia Doumbia is the Director of International Traveling Exhibitions for the National Geographic Society. She is responsible for the placement and promotion of National Geographic exhibitions to venues outside of the United States. In her 15 years at National Geographic, Cynthia has helped place exhibitions in more than 40 countries, which have been viewed by millions of visitors. 

The National Geographic Society is a global nonprofit organization that uses the power of science, exploration, education and storytelling to illuminate and protect the wonder of our world. Since 1888, National Geographic has pushed the boundaries of exploration, investing in bold people and transformative ideas, providing more than 14,000 grants for work across all seven continents, reaching 3 million students each year through education offerings, and engaging audiences around the globe through signature experiences, stories and content.

(Photographer and National Geographic Explorer)

Mandy Barker is a photographer whose work investigates marine plastic debris. Collaborating with scientists, she aims to raise awareness around plastic pollution in the world’s oceans and highlight current research studying the effects this has on marine life and ultimately ourselves. Barker’s work has been published in over 40 countries as she seeks to engage broader audiences in the environmental movement. She is shortlisted for the Prix Pictet Award SPACE 2017, and nominated for The Deutsche Börse Foundation Photography Prize 2018 and Magnum Foundation Fund. She is a recipient of the 2018 National Geographic Society Grant for Research and Exploration.

(Senior Researcher at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences’ Research Centre for Oceanography and National Geographic Explorer)

Intan Suci Nurhati is a paleoclimate scientist and paleoceanographer at the Research Center for Oceanography of the Indonesian Institute of Sciences (LIPI). She earned her B.A. from Wesleyan University and Ph.D. from Georgia Institute of Technology. Her research unlocks changes in the tropical climate and oceans over the past centuries by studying the geochemical composition of reef-building corals. Nurhati has received multiple awards including UN IOC-WESTPAC Best Young Scientist Award (2014) and LIPI Young Scientist Award (2018). She is involved in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change as a lead author in the Sixth Assessment Report.

(Professor of Conservation Science, Technology and Policy in the Department of Biological Sciences, and Director of the Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions at National University of Singapore)

Lian Pin Koh is prominent researcher in the field of sustainability and environmental science and Founding Director of ConservationDrones.org. He obtained a PhD from the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University in 2008. His research focusses on developing innovative science and science-based decision support tools to help reconcile humanity’s needs with environmental protection. Professor Koh has received awards including the Australian Research Council Future Fellowship in 2014, the Swiss National Science Foundation Professorship in 2011, the ETH Fellowship in 2008. He was named a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader in 2013.

(President of Nature Society Singapore and Senior Lecturer, Asian School of the Environment at Nanyang Technological University)

Shawn Kaihekulani Yamauchi Lum is a tropical rainforest ecologist and the current President of the Nature Society (Singapore). Upon completion of his PhD at the University of California, Berkeley, he joined National Institute of Education before moving to the Asian School of the Environment at Nanyang Technological University in 2016. Dr Lum’s teaching and academic work centres around forest ecology, plant diversity and conservation. He is an advocate of conservation biology and environmental education, and regularly interacts fellow researchers, naturalists, students and educators. He is a recipient of the President’s Award for the Environment 2017 and Public Service Medal 2020.