Cristina Mittermeier

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Cristina & Paul on NatGeo's PHOTOGRAPHER

Cristina Mittermeier on Using Emotion to Tell Stories

Cristina Mittermeier – Change Your Mindset | She’s Mercedes

How National Geographic Adventurer of the Year Cristina Mittermeier Turned Her Passion into a Career

BBC News: The Conversation | Cristina Mittermeier and Ami Vitale

Cristina Mittermeier Sizzle Reel

PIX2015 - Cristina Mittermeier - Water's Edge - Keynote

How National Geographic Adventurer of the Year Cristina Mittermeier Turned Her Passion into a Career

Speech Topics

There are secrets held deep within sacred cultures that many of us will never get to experience firsthand. These secrets transcend time, place, and perhaps most importantly, possessions. Through a personal discovery of what it means to find joy by fulfilling our human promise, Cristina takes audiences to some of the most remote indigenous communities on earth.

Through story and photographs, audiences will experience the traditional Inuit ways of life in Greenland, the courageous warrior tribes of the Amazonian, the resourceful youth of Madagascar’s Vezo tribe, and the First Nation activists of British Columbia’s environmental movement. All of these exemplify that the ancient secret to happiness is not about how much we have, but by how much we give back.

Photojournalist and marine biologist Cristina Mittermeier has traveled around the globe to explore indigenous populations’ relationship to that most sacred element: water. From the Amazon to British Columbia and Hawaii, Mittermeier has immersed herself in indigenous communities to share stories and images of the powerful interdependence of people and water. Join her as she shares a treasure trove of remarkable photographs and a priceless understanding of the one concept that bound these three different communities: “enoughness,” or taking only that which you need.

Cristina has been in love with the sea her entire life and has spent her entire career sharing this love with millions of people around the world. Through unique personal stories, compelling imagery, and a solid scientific background, Cristina will open your heart and mind in a way that ensures your relationship with the ocean and all of its creatures will be profoundly changed. If you haven’t already fallen in love with the sea, this is the start of your lifelong affair. If you already know how precious our oceans are, Cristina’s stories and images, filled with both heart and humor, will cause you to fall in love all over again.

One in every 7 people around the world depend on the ocean as a primary source of food and are also the most vulnerable communities to the effects of climate change, and yet, many of us have little awareness of the life-giving and life-taking powers of the sea. With the number of people relying on the ocean for food expected to double to within twenty years, Cristina turns to examples of coastal communities standing up to protect and restore the bounty of their ancestral shores. With grace, integrity and humour, Cristina takes you to the shores of our world’s oceans for an experience that will open your heart, and mind, highlighting the fact that we are all ocean people.

There’s a beauty in the space between land and sea that is found nowhere else in the universe. It’s in this space that Cristina’s unique perspective showcases just how inextricably linked we are to all to other species on this planet. Cristina transcends this thin blue line and exposes the mystery contained in a space that both connects and divides. Through stunning imagery and engaging personal accounts, Cristina will grab audiences by the heart and mind, transporting them to a world that humans are only beginning to understand.

Biography

Cristina “Mitty” Mittermeier is a marine biologist, storyteller and pioneer in the field of conservation photography. Hailed as one of the most influential conservation photographers of our time, she has dedicated her entire life to protecting the world’s oceans and wild places – inspiring millions of people to do the same. In 2005 Cristina founded the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP) to provide a platform for photographers working on environmental issues, coining the phrase “conservation photography.”

In 2014, she co-founded SeaLegacy, a conservation and production organization on a mission to ignite hope and change for our planet through ocean stories.

Cristina’s work has been published in hundreds of magazines and media outlets, including National Geographic, TIME, CNN, McLean’s, The Men’s Journal and O. Her Limited Edition Prints are in private galleries and public exhibitions around the world. She is a Sony Artisan of Imagery and aligns with Rolex’s Perpetual Planet initiative on collaborative efforts to preserve the natural World. In 2021 she was featured in Welcome to Earth on Disney+.She is the recipient of many prestigious awards, including the Smithsonian Conservation Photographer of the Year Award and the Imaging Award for Photographers Who Give Back. In 2021, she received the Seattle Aquarium’s Sylvia Earle Medal and Travel + Leisure’s Global Vision Award. She was also named one of the 100 Latinos Most Committed to Climate Action.

Cristina received a degree in Biochemical Engineering in Marine Sciences from the ITESM University in Mexico. She attended the Fine Art Photography program at the Corcoran College for the Arts in Washington, D.C.  In 2022, she received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts, honoris causa, from Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada.  Cristina is a committed impact investor and an influential voice in bridging financial returns while creating a positive social and environmental impact. She has three adult children, John, Michael and Juliana, all of whom are passionate about nature.