Festival Year: 2019
Mireya Mayor
Roles: Special Guest
As a two-time Emmy Award-nominated field correspondent for the National Geographic Channel, Mireya Mayor has reported to audiences worldwide on pertinent wildlife and habitat issues. Closest to her heart is her ongoing study of a newfound species of Microcebus, or mouse lemur, which she discovered on a 2000 field expedition in Madagascar. Her work with this rare primate inspired the prime minister of Madagascar to establish a national park to help protect the new species, conserving the 10 percent that remains of the African island nation’s once vast forest. Mayor recently earned her Ph.D. while conducting research on the effects of forest fragmentation and isolation on two types of lemurs found only in northern Madagascar.
Festival Year: 2019