Advisory Board

Honorary Advisor

Jimmy Chin

Academy Award-winning filmmaker, National Geographic Photographer, Mountain Sports Athlete

Jimmy Chin is an Academy Award winning filmmaker, National Geographic photographer and mountain sports athlete known for his ability to capture extraordinary imagery and stories while climbing and skiing in extremely high-risk environments and expeditions. Jimmy has collaborated with some of the most progressive athletes and explorers in the world, participating in and documenting break through expeditions around the planet, from climbing first ascents in the Karakoram, to skiing first descents in the Himalayas.

Jimmy has received numerous awards for his work from PDN, Communication Arts, American Society of Magazine Editors and the Lowell Thomas Journalism Awards. As a director and cinematographer, he has shot and directed documentaries, TV and commercial projects for The North Face, Pirelli, National Geographic, Working Title, and RSA Films, and more. His 2015 film Meru won the coveted Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival and was on the 2016 Oscar shortlist for Best Documentary. Jimmy’s latest documentary Free Solo won a BAFTA, 7 Emmy’s and an Academy Award for best Documentary Feature in 2019.

Deirdre Brennan

President / Producer, Castletown Productions

Deirdre Brennan is an Emmy award-winning decorator for television, film and theatre. Her passion for wildlife and conservation led her to form Castletown Productions to make films about rare and endangered wildlife. Her first films, Bermuda’s Treasure Island and Sceillig and Bermuda, A Last Refuge, highlight the amazing rediscovery of the once thought extinct Bermuda petrel, or Cahow. Both films won awards at the International Wildlife Film Festival in Missoula. For the past 8 years, she has traveled throughout the North Atlantic with an award-winning team to tell the story of the disappearing wild Atlantic salmon. She partnered with the Atlantic Salmon Federation and other key international salmon organizations, salmon scientists and conservationists to make the film and hopes it will raise awareness and inspire audiences. Atlantic Salmon: Lost at Sea was released in 2018.

Constance Bruce

Event & Film Program Producer

Constance Bruce has enjoyed a career in multimedia production, exhibition and events. Joining the television division at National Geographic in 1984, Bruce pursued her passion for storytelling through film and conservation, and later at the National Geographic Channel, she led the program acquisitions unit for the launch of the international channel in 1998. In 2005, Bruce became the Outreach Director at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology for the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker project and went on to create and implement the Lab’s strategy for collaborating with film & television producers and renowned artists who feature Lab scientists and research projects in their films and artworks. More recently as Director of External & Academic Events at NYU Shanghai, Bruce produced special events featuring acclaimed scholars, world leaders and celebrities in the arts and sciences. In 2018, she joined the New York WILD Film Festival as its executive director, where she now advises the WILD team on special programs for universities. Throughout her career, Bruce has collaborated with independent production companies on dramatic films, shorts and documentaries. Bruce lives in Washington VA where she partners with local foundations on screening events. In 2009, she co-founded the Wharton Studio Museum dedicated to the silent movie history of Ithaca, NY and continues to serve on its board. Bruce studied literature at Georgetown University.

Natalie Cash

Executive Producer, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS)

Natalie Cash is the Executive Producer in charge of video production at Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), an international conservation organization with more than 3,000 field staff in 65 countries. WCS also operates the largest system of urban wildlife parks in the world – Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo and Queens Zoo and NY Aquarium on Coney Island – educating four million visitors each year about the importance of conservation. With two decades of experience in the industry, Cash produces short-form programming about WCS projects and stories for multiple platforms. Her films have won awards at the International Wildlife Film Festival and New York WILD Film Festival and selected as finalists at Wildscreen and the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival. Prior to joining WCS, she was a series producer and writer at the Emmy Award-winning documentary production company Pangolin Pictures.

Tatiana Kaletsch

Health Behavior & Community Health

Tatiana is a Master of Public Health with a Behavior Sciences & Community Health focus. She is an Organizational Health and Wellness Specialist and National Board-Certified Health Coach with 22 years of experience implementing healthy habits systems for individuals and groups in corporate, clinical, educational & community settings. She has lived all over the world and currently resides in Kent Lakes, Putnam County NY. She has expertise in collaborative, interdisciplinary strategies to prevent chronic disease. Her special interests are in equal access to local, farm-fresh food, and she is an active conservationist supporting nonprofits in land preservation, farmland protection, urban conservation, reforestation, and wildlife.

Rebecca Martin

President, Exploration Connections

Rebecca Martin currently serves as an expert consultant in the field of exploration and explorer talent development through her new business, Exploration Connections. Prior to this, she worked for National Geographic, most recently as Senior Director of Explorer Programs, where she oversaw high profile explorers. In addition, she expanded National Geographic’s prestigious awards program, and launched a specially-tailored Explorer Mentorship Program. As founding director of National Geographic’s Expeditions Council, Rebecca developed the organization’s first storytelling grant program. She also created and directed Nat Geo’s highly successful Young Explorers Grant Program. Rebecca serves as a board member of Machik, an organization dedicated to strengthening communities on the Tibetan Plateau, as well as on the advisory boards of New York WILD and Mountainfilm in Telluride. She has served on film juries for the Trento (Italy), Autrans (France), Telluride and Bilbao Mendi mountain film festivals.

Nancy Moon

Marketing and PR, Moon PR

Nancy Moon has put her innovative marketing and PR touches on decade’s worth of high profile events. Passionate about conservation, culture, tech, non-profits and telling stories visually, she works in New York City and often travels for her projects. On recent excursions she captured a wide range of images including the local culture in Cuba — and fit in a personal trip to Africa to photograph wildlife. She began her entertainment career at ABC Sports covering, among other events, the Olympic Games. Moon later became Director of Communications at Madison Square Garden with focus on sports, entertainment and hundreds of events including 500 rock concerts! Moon opened her own boutique agency and founded Moon PR headquartered in New York City and Connecticut. Her vision created such partnerships as connecting then-public affairs client Microsoft to the Explorers Club’s world-renowned BioBlitz in Central Park. Microsoft provided sponsorship, public relations and tech support for scientists. She is now a proud member of the Explorers Club and holds seats on several boards including the Aspetuck Land Trust.

Brianna Rowe

Festival Director

Brianna Rowe is an environmental educator and digital storyteller. She has traveled on academic and filmmaking expeditions in East Africa, Central and South America, the Caribbean, the Arctic, and Southeast Asia. She has filmed live volcanos, explored underwater in a submarine, interviewed local communities, crossed glaciers, and researched wildlife. She developed two conservation impact programs: Disappearing Ice and Disappearing Elephants. Brianna holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Development from McGill University and a Master’s degree in Human Rights Media from The New School University.

Brianna joins NY WILD with experience at the global education non-profit Reach the World and the WWF-Hong Kong. She leads filmmaking expeditions for youth at National Geographic Student Expeditions and serves on The Explorers Club Board of Directors. Her work has been featured in Teen Vogue, VICE, and The New York Times.

Richard Wiese

President Emeritus of The Explorers Club, Field Scientist and TV Host

Richard Wiese is the host of Born to ExploreTM with Richard Wiese, a travel and adventure program which is broadcast on PBS. He is a world-class explorer, Emmy-winning producer and author of the book, Born to Explore: How to Be a Backyard Adventurer. Since he climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro at age 11, Richard has circled the globe, capturing stunning images and living one adventure after another—from traveling with Bedouins in Africa to skiing to the North Pole. As a respected field scientist, Richard became the youngest president of The Explorers Club in 2002 where he served until 2006. He was elected as President of The Explorers Club for a second time in 2018. Richard believes the most memorable aspect of any journey is not the destination, but the people you meet along the way.

Linda Worrell

International Tax Lawyer

Linda Worrell is an international tax lawyer. She recently retired from American Express where she worked for over 25 years, most recently as Vice President and General Tax Counsel responsible for managing teams of tax professionals in Europe and Asia. Prior to joining American Express, Linda worked with law firms in New York and Washington, D.C., generally focusing on the taxation of not-for-profit organizations. Linda has a life-long interest in adventure, the environment and documentary film, and is thrilled to be involved with New York WILD.