What is NGEN?

The Next Generation of Exploration Network is a group within The Explorers Club consisting of and highlighting all younger – roughly under 40 years old – members of the Club. Just as with the overall Explorers Club membership, NGEN is a dynamic and innovative collective of emerging explorers, scientists, and adventurers who focus on utilizing cutting-edge technology, interdisciplinary approaches, and sustainable practices to explore and understand the world’s most challenging frontiers. The Next Generation of Exploration Community aims to foster collaboration, mentorship, and education among Club members while promoting the importance of exploration in addressing global challenges. In doing so, this group embodies the Club’s spirit of curiosity, resilience, and commitment to expanding the horizons of human experience.
What is NGEN?

Who is in NGEN?
NGEN is a non-exclusive community within The Explorers Club - any club member can join NGEN, but the purpose of NGEN is to highlight and promote the activities of members under 40 years old.
How can I get involved?
To get involved in the Next Generation of Exploration (NGEN) within The Explorers Club, you can start by getting involved with your local chapter and applying for membership to the Club. Once a member, you can join the NGEN WhatsApp and Facebook communities to connect with fellow members and stay informed about the latest news and opportunities. Additionally, you can apply for NGEN-specific grants and speaking opportunities to support your projects and share your discoveries with a broader audience. For more information or to express your interest in joining the group, reach out to [email protected].
What are some of the opportunities within the Club catered towards NGEN?
Many of The Explorers Club Grants are directed towards individuals who are students or under the age of 35, such as the Rising Explorer Grant, the Rolex Explorers Club Grant, the Adventure Canada Young Explorers Program, and more. To learn more about Explorers Club Grants, check out the Club's grant webpage here. NGEN specific speaking opportunities happen periodically throughout the year and can be organized both at headquarters and on a chapter-by-chapter basis. Applications to speak at these events will be disseminated to the NGEN community within the Club as they arise via email and on the various social media platforms. Each year, a selected group of NGEN members speak at the NGEN Symposium at Club headquarters in NYC during the Explorers Club Annual Dinner (ECAD) weekend. Links to past presentations can be seen below.
Contact Information

Blue Generation at World Oceans Week

Blue Generation is an early career program designed for young professionals with a demonstrated interest in ocean-related career paths. Central topics in years past have included the blue economy, responsible ecotourism, legal protections for the ocean and successful grant writing. We define early career here as within the first 10 years of an ocean-based career.

Blue Generation applications open January each year, with 25-30 early career ocean professionals selected to attend World Oceans Week at The Explorers Club’s New York City headquarters in June. Throughout the program, participants are exposed to multiple career paths in the ocean space by experts in each field, learning from each other and established scientists, artists, and explorers.

Blue Generation is organized by next generation Explorers Club members Christina Janulis, Jane Vinesky, and Grace Cordsen. For more information, you can reach them at [email protected], [email protected], and [email protected].

NGEN

Speaker Series

  • ECAD 2025
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    • Katlin Bowman AdamczykDiscovery Of New Deep-Sea Hydrothermal Vents In The Western Galápagos Spreading Center
    • Sefra Alexandra – Paradise Ground: Protecting Precious Seeds 
    • Paul Clerkin Exploring The Deep-Sea Of The Indian Ocean
    • Hailey Shchepanik – Underwater Archeology: Red Bay Unesco World Heritage Site
    • Monique Sosnowski – Wildlife Crime Uncovered: A Criminological And Forensic Approach To Conservation
    • Maya Zeff – Veins Of An Island: Bridging Science And Culture In Mo’orea, French Polynesia
  • ECAD 2024
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    • Lauren Eckert – Ocean Sentinels: Humpback whales, ocean health, and new worlds beneath the waves
    • Lauren Erland – From the field to the lab: How we can use on the land observations to understand how plants respond to our changing world
    • Madeleine “Mac” Gagné – Know Before You Go: Exciting Tech & Resources for Safe & Resilient Exploring
    • Peter Flo Grinde-Hollevik – Seeing What We Can’t See: The Promise of Geospatial Embeddings for Pollution Prediction
    • Thomas Rowell – Photographing 1% of Argentina
    • Katharine “Kate” Thompson – Voices in the Hunt: Listening to Wildlife Hunters to Understand the Future of Conservation & Humanitarian Aid
  • ECAD 2023
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    • Dr. Angélica Anglés – Mars on Earth: using extreme places on Earth to find extraterrestrial life on Mars
    • Alexandra Climent – Lost Tree Species of the Darién Gap
    • Satya Gontcho A Gontcho, Ph.D. – What can we learn from the largest map ever created by humanity?
    • Francois Malherbe – Curiosity Skilled the Cat
    • Daniel Benjamin Ortega – Rediscovering Our Water World
    • Sophia Rückriegel – Social Activism as a Pathway to Exploration
    • Mateusz Wrazidlo – Gardens of the Lost World: Exploring the Botanical Treasures of the Guiana Highlands
  • ECAD 2022
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    • Cayte Bosler – What is the Wild Worth?
    • Grace Cordsen – Empowering the Next Generation of Women Arctic Leaders
    • Stella Diamant – Discovering one of Africa’s Biggest Whale Shark Population in Remote Madagascar
    • Ami Everett – Exploring the Movement Patterns of Fish on Offshore Oil & Gas Platforms
    • Eric Herrera – Finding the First Alamo- Mapping the San Francisco Solano Mission Complex
    • Rannva Joermundsson – Xunaan-Ha Cave Exploration in the name of Aquifer Conservation
    • Natalie Treadwell – Satellite-Derived Bathymetry and Other Tools for Mapping the Arctic Ocean
    • Callie A. Veelenturf, MSc. – Discovering Endangered Treasures in the Pearl Islands, Panama
    • Russell Wong – Pixel Walking Across Alaska’s Brooks Range
    • Maddy Zietlow – Pixel Walking Across Alaska’s Brooks Range