Dr. Elizabeth Lindsey

Change Agent, Explorer, Filmmaker, Global soul, Life mentor, Philanthropist, World traveler

Dr. Elizabeth Kapu’uwailani Lindsey is the first Polynesian Explorer and female Fellow in the history of the National Geographic Society. A cultural anthropologist and award-winning filmmaker, she travels to the world’s most remote regions as a conservationist of indigenous wisdom and an advocate for social, environmental, and cultural justice. Her keen insights and first-hand accounts from the world's most fragile regions are reshaping Western perspectives on global leadership. Dr. Lindseyʻs work recognizes renowned Grand Master Navigator Pius “Mau” Piailug of Micronesia, her mentor with whom she studied ethno-navigation. It also includes the documentation of Moken, a tribe of Southeast Asian sea nomads, New Zealand’s Māori elders, Q'ero priests of Peru, and qi kung masters in China’s temple caves. Raised by Hawaiian elders, Lindsey has created scholarships in Hawaiʻi, Asia, and India. She is the recipient of the United Nations Visionary Award. She is an advisor to global organizations and has served on such boards as the Tibet Fund for His Holiness, the Dalai Lama.

Environmental and Cultural Justice Global Leadership Climate Refugees Wayfinding Biomimicry

Ancestral Wisdom for the Modern World Cultural Rights Indigenous Science + Innovation Wayfinding our Lives

In spring 2010 I met June Cohen, Bruno Giussani and Pat Mitchell in Oxford while attending the Skoll World Forum. It was my introduction to TED. It was inspiring! In December 2010 I spoke at TEDWomen. January 2012 at TEDxMaui. Then again at TEDWomen in December 2012.

Listening, being a good friend, kindness