WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 6, 2025) –– Over the course of a three-year collaboration between the National Geographic Society and The Climate Pledge, 15 National Geographic Explorers made significant achievements documenting solutions to the climate crisis through the Global Storytellers Fund. Since 2022, the two organizations have funded photographers, writers, filmmakers, cartographers and multimedia artists working to illuminate the environmental effects of climate change and its impact on global communities. Their respective work spans across 30 countries. These Explorers have produced 15 films, won 29 awards and were featured 15 times in National Geographic magazine’s “Pictures of the Year” issues, among several other accolades — igniting a sense of wonder among audiences and inspiring others to take action towards a healthier, more sustainable future.

The 15 Explorers supported through this collaboration include:

Asha Stuart (2022 cohort), a documentary photographer and filmmaker whose project focuses on portraying environmental justice themes, including how climate impacts like extreme heat and flooding are disproportionately affecting communities of color. Through interviews, testimonials and documentary footage collected from across the American deep south, Stuart aims to highlight how African American and other communities of color are combatting the impacts of climate change. Stuart’s work has been featured in National Geographic, CNN and TIME magazine.Brent Stirton (2024 cohort), a photographer who examines and photographs intersections of people and the environment to share how the health of humans, animals and habitats are interlinked rivers that constantly affect each other. Most recently, Stirton’s work has taken him to Amboseli National Park in Kenya to document community conservation efforts to protect rare elephants known as “tuskers”, Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to investigate mountain gorilla populations and to locations across the African Parks Network to capture images of rhinos. His photos have been collected into several exhibitions, and will be presented in Los Angeles, Brussels and France in 2025. Iconic images from his related work have been featured in National Geographic magazine’s 2022 and 2023 “Pictures of the Year” issues.Ciril Jazbec (2022 cohort), a documentary photographer and filmmaker who is capturing the melting of glaciers in the Himalayas, the Alps and the Andes, and the stories of the mountain communities who are being confronted by the effects of globalization and climate change. His project culminated in the 2024 film, “Dream to Cure Water,” which examines how these communities have adapted to climate variability for thousands of years through unique and ancient techniques, and are now harnessing modern scientific approaches to revitalise their ancestral solutions. The film was selected for eight film festivals, including the American Documentary and Animation Film Festival and the Indy Shorts Film Festival, and won awards at the Jackson Wild Film Festival and the Santiago Wild Film Festival. “Dream to Cure Water” has also been published as a photo essay in National Geographic magazine.Davide Monteleone (2023 cohort), a visual artist and researcher, who has collaborated with storytellers around the world on a multichapter project analyzing the social, economic, and political implications of a global shift towards renewable energy sources. His recent work focuses on the skyrocketing demand for the critical minerals necessary to facilitate this energy transition: copper, lithium, cobalt and nickel. As part of his project, “Critical Minerals: Geography of Energy,” Monteleone has published a short documentary film, a book, and an interactive StoryMap. His work has earned recognition from numerous prestigious institutions including winning the 2024 Leica Oskar Barnack Award, and being featured in National Geographic magazine’s 2023 and 2024 “Pictures of the Year” issues.Doel Trivedy (2024 cohort), a director and producer who is using film to document northeastern India’s uniquely biodiverse ecosystems, its farmers and the Indigenous communities impacted by climate change. Her current film project “Fields of Gold,” will focus on two farmers in India living at the intersection of agriculture and conservation, and working to help protect their communities and livelihoods against the impacts of a changing climate. The methods employed by the film’s subjects are intrinsically linked to northern India’s ecology, and rely on a connection between human and habitat to produce climate resilient and sustainable crops. Trivedy has won international recognition for her work producing and directing documentary films and series, and her work has aired on networks including Animal Planet and National Geographic.Gab Mejia (2023 cohort), a conservation photographer, environmental storyteller and engineer, who has worked alongside Indigenous elders and community leaders in the Philippines’ Agusan Marshlands to protect sacred sites from rapidly shrinking due to climate change and intense socio-economic activity. As part of their recent project, “Guardians of the Marsh,” Mejia hosted two photography classes for young people, and two community screenings of original short films with over 600 leaders, youth, and local community members in attendance. Their work has been featured in Vogue magazine and National Geographic, and they’ve received several awards and accolades, including being named to the 2024 Prince Albert II de Monaco Foundation Regeneration Future Leaders cohort and a 2023 Art Partner #CreateCOP 28 Global Winner.Kiliii Yüyan (2022 cohort), a photographer, whose project “Guardians of Life,” explores traditional Indigenous methods of conservation land-management and climate change mitigation through photography and storytelling. His work was featured in five stories on Indigenous stewardship from Mongolia to Palau, comprising the July 2024 issue of National Geographic magazine, and will form the basis for a book of essays and images publishing in 2026. Yüyan is the 2023 recipient of the National Geographic Eliza Scidmore Award for Outstanding Storytelling, and his photography has been featured in the 2022 and 2023 National Geographic magazine “Pictures of the Year” issue as well as the 2024 National Geographic magazine “Wildlife Photos of the Year”.Luján Agusti (2022 cohort), a visual storyteller who is giving visibility to the environmental value of peatlands, and the consequences of their extraction. Globally, peatlands serve as the world’s largest terrestrial carbon stock, making them critical in the fight against climate change. Through photography and documentary film, Luján is documenting how relevant peatlands are to the planet’s future, and is working to create a new and positive image for these important landscapes. In total, her work will showcase the unassuming beauty of five significant peatlands in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Northern Europe. Images from Agusti’s expansive multi-year project have been featured in National Geographic and other acclaimed publications, and exhibited around the world.Lynsey Addario (2023 cohort), a Pulitzer prize-winning photojournalist working to educate people about the effects of climate change, specifically how the lives and livelihoods of women and children are adversely affected in countries around the world through climate-related impacts such as malnutrition, forced migration, lack of shelter and drought. Her photography documenting the conditions faced by migrants in Colombia’s Darién Gap was featured in The Atlantic, and won the 2025 ASME Award for Best News and Documentary Photography. Addario has also traveled to the Amazon, Afghanistan, and Mexico to capture the challenges and consequences of climate change on vulnerable populations. Her work on this project has been presented in three short films, publications including National Geographic magazine and the New York Times, international exhibitions, and an interactive multimedia digital experience.Malin Fezehai (2023 cohort), a photographer, filmmaker and visual reporter examining the challenges and adaptations of the nearly three million people in communities permanently living on the water, as they develop solutions for resilience in the face of a rapidly-changing climate. Her project, “Life on Water,” has taken her to Bangladesh, Benin, the Netherlands and Peru, where she documents both traditional and modern ways of water-based living, highlighting the lessons we can learn from these communities. Fezehai has spoken about her work on stages around the world, including National Geographic’s 2024 Storytellers Summit, the SX Sustainability Expo 2024 in Bangkok, the Chautauqua Institution, and Climate Pledge Week.M’hammed Kilito (2024 cohort), a photographer using photography to showcase the diversity of West Asia and North Africa’s oases and their inhabitants by shedding light on the overlooked issues of oasis degradation. Kilito aims to highlight the challenges that local communities face in protecting these fragile environments from the effects of climate change, while also exploring sustainable development practices. Photos from his ongoing project, “Kafila,” have been featured in the 2024 National Geographic magazine “Pictures of the Year”, highlighted at the International Photography Festival (Xposure) 2025, and presented in international exhibitions.Miora Rajaonary (2022 cohort), a documentary photographer, whose work highlights the people and organizations that are striving to implement innovative agriculture solutions to withstand drought and increase soil fertility, and the challenges that they are facing in light of climate change. Through her project, Rajaonary aims to spark awareness of and solutions to Southern Madagascar’s “Kéré,” or period of hunger. Rajaonary was selected to participate in the 2023-2024 Magnum Foundation Heat Fellowship, which supports photography that expands public discourse about heat and climate crisis. Her project, “The Common Ground,” has been featured in an exhibit at the Magnum Foundation’s museum in Jordan, shortlisted for the 2025 Belfast Photo Festival, and highlighted by National Geographic.Nichole Sobecki (2024 cohort), a photographer and filmmaker, who is investigating how climate change has transformed women’s reproductive lives and the nature of motherhood across a web of women’s stories from the Sahara to the Arctic. Her ongoing project, “Natura,” will culminate with a photography series and documentary film that aims to capture the evolution of motherhood in an era of unprecedented ecological change. This work has taken Sobecki to locations across the globe, including the climate-vulnerable marshlands of southern Iraq, and Germany, where a growing number of women are opting out of motherhood due to insecurity about our planet’s future.Pablo Albarenga (2023 cohort), a visual storyteller sharing stories of resilience and connection to territory among the land defenders, Indigenous leaders and environmentalists of the Amazon. “Seeds of Resistance” seeks to explore the bond between these individuals and the places they inhabit, as they work to protect their communities from the threats of mining and agri-business encroachment. Albarenga’s work on this project has been recognized by the World Photography Organization, the Pulitzer Center, Newsweek and National Geographic, and has been exhibited in countries around the world, including the United States, India, Brazil and Uruguay.Paolo Verzone (2024 cohort), a photographer and filmmaker, whose ongoing project “Unlocking the Power of Stars,” harnesses the artistry of photography and mapping to document the potential promise of emissions-free energy becoming a reality through advancements in nuclear fusion. Images from Verzone’s exploration of this enigmatic power source were featured in an article for National Geographic magazine.

“We are incredibly grateful for The Climate Pledge’s collaboration who share the Society’s belief that storytelling is essential in raising awareness about and inspiring action around the challenges that define our era,” said Kaitlin Yarnall, the Society’s Chief Storytelling Officer. “Together, we equipped climate change storytellers with the tools they need to tell stories of hope, bring unique perspectives to the planet’s most pressing issues and provide solutions to protect our communities from the dangers of climate change. These 15 National Geographic Explorers prove that science and storytelling can create long-lasting change that illuminates the wonder of our world.”

“The Climate Pledge is tremendously proud to have collaborated with the National Geographic Society for the past three years, and it has been delightful to see the work of these Explorers come to life with the resources we’ve provided,” said Kara Hurst, Amazon Vice President of Worldwide Sustainability. “Through the transformative work of The Climate Pledge, we are devoted to raising awareness of critical issues while encouraging empathy and understanding, and these 15 storytellers proved that together we can inspire global communities to act urgently.”