PBI was founded in 1992 by wildlife photographer Dan Guravich, a Canadian native who was internationally known for his work with polar bears. Dan served as PBI's first president. He resigned in 1995 for health reasons, but remained active as chairman of the board until his death in 1997.

Marcia Guravich-Hoadley was a founding member of PBI, along with her husband, photographer Dan Guravich. She served as PBI's first secretary and was a longtime board member. Marcia died in 2005 after a long struggle with cancer. She left behind a generous bequest to further our work with the great white bears. We will miss her kindness, courage, and devotion to polar bears and PBI.

Has played an active role on our board of directors since PBI was founded. He was elected chairman of the board in 2001; prior to that, he served as PBI's president for six years. Bob also serves as secretary of PBI-Canada. He is a retired attorney with extensive experience with marine mammal issues. Bob is also an avid photographer specializing in marine mammals, including polar bears. He makes his home in the San Francisco Bay area.

Grew up in south central Florida, just above the Everglades, in the late 1950s and '60s. The wildlife there was plentiful and the human population was relatively small in comparison with today. This gave him a chance to truly understand the importance of nature and the complexities of ecosystems. Robert graduated with degrees in both marketing and finance and went to work for one of the top beverage companies, where for 35 years he was deeply involved in creating products and taking them to market. In the mid-'80s he started traveling to the Far North, where he quickly became passionate about its incredible beauty and uniqueness. A little over two decades ago Robert saw his first polar bear in the wild and ever since that moment he’s gone back each year to experience the incredible creatures that stole his heart. Robert was asked to join PBI's Board of Directors in 2000 and was elected president a year later. He also serves as the president of PBI-Canada. Robert's vision is to help the world understand the importance of the Far North and to empower individuals to have a sense of immediacy about how we take care of this planet.

Became a member of PBI's board in 1998 and was elected vice president in 2006. He is a business executive who has built and operated businesses ranging from fashion merchandising and retailing to real estate development and tourism. Tom is also a committed conservationist who uses his polar bear slide shows to educate youth wherever he travels. He makes his home in Honolulu, Hawaii, where he warms up between his many visits to the Arctic.

Joined our board of directors in early 1999 and was elected CFO in the fall of that year. He also serves as CFO of PBI-Canada. Dick is retired but serves on the boards of four publicly held technology companies in the U.S. He has a long interest in polar bears and made his first photographic journey to Churchill in 1998. He and his wife, Val, return to Churchill almost every fall and have traveled to Svalbard to see the bears as well. He and Val live in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Joined PBI's board of directors in 2004 and was elected secretary in 2005. Bob also serves as chairman of the board of PBI-Canada. A Canadian native, he is a highly regarded residential and commercial property developer based in Winnipeg. He and his wife, Heather, have a passionate interest in polar bears and frequently travel to the Far North to see them.

Joined PBI's board in 2006 as the Director of Development. Prior to that, she volunteered fulltime for the organization as its Special Projects Coordinator. She is a skilled communicator with a talent for organizing. She is also known for her people skills. Her long list of accomplishments for PBI includes helping to direct and organize our annual Polar Bear Leadership Camp; spearheading fundraising activities; organizing the numerous planning details for our highly successful 2004 International Polar Bear Husbandry Conference; planning numerous workshops on a variety of topics; and countless other endeavors, from preparing Power Point shows to providing images for educational materials. Her home is on the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska.

Joined PBI's board in 2007 after volunteering for more than five years as PBI's director of public relations. She is a writer and graphic designer who helps PBI with publicity on various projects. These range from writing and sending press releases to overseeing our Web site design. She lives in Jackson, Wyoming, where she has her own graphic design and marketing communications firm. She became fascinated with polar bears after seeing them in the wild in Churchill, Manitoba.

Has served on PBI's board since the organization was founded. Jim is a former U.S. senator and a retired U.S. circuit court judge. His fascination with the Far North, including its wildlife and its people, dates to the 1960s. Jim has traveled extensively throughout the Arctic and has visited Antarctica as well. He divides his time between Connecticut and Washington, D.C.

Don joined our board of directors in 2003. He lives in Houston, Texas, where he owns and operates a building supply business. His outside interests include a passion for wildlife and nature photography. He traveled with PBI on our trip to Svalbard in 2001 and has visited Churchill several times to photograph the bears.

Has served on PBI's board of directors since the organization was founded in 1992 and was the organization's vice president through 2005. Freddy is a human resources consultant who works with corporations in the publishing industry. A veteran of early bear-watching trips to Cape Churchill, she has a keen interest in nature and wildlife and has traveled to the Arctic more than a dozen times. She lives in New York City.

Joined PBI's Board of Directors in 2006 after serving as an Advisory Council member for two years. A marketing writer and editor for an international software company, Leeann is skilled at presenting complex information to a lay audience. Her volunteer work for PBI ranges from cogent summaries of the talks presented at our 2004 International Polar Bear Husbandry Conference to popular articles in our quarterly newsletter. She lives in Arcata, California, and has traveled to Churchill several times to see the polar bears.

A Canadian native, Dani Reiss joined the boards of PBI Canada and PBI USA in 2007. He represents the third generation of the family-owned and operated company, Canada Goose, a Canadian manufacturer of the world's best and warmest parkas and extreme outerwear. Dani has a passionate commitment to polar bears, the Far North, and the preservation of all wild places and wildlife. He lives in Toronto, Ontario.

Downs is the award-winning author of five books on natural history subjects, including two on polar bears, and a founding member of Polar Bears International. He served on our Board of Directors for eleven glorious years. He has written (and still writes) so many magazine articles that everyone has lost count, even Downs himself. Downs has traveled extensively throughout the Far North to write about—and photograph—the wildlife there. In 1992, he and PBI founder Dan Guravich were the first western journalists to visit and document the polar bears on Russia's Wrangel Island following the collapse of the Soviet Union. He lives in Houston, Texas.

Served as a founding board member of PBI and became a Director Emeritus in 2006. An avid birder and nature enthusiast, she is a also founding member of Portland's Oregon Zoo and served as state co-chairman of the Oregon chapter of the Nature Conservancy. Pat became interested in polar bears after traveling to Cape Churchill with the late Dan Guravich on a photography tour. She returned a number of times after that first visit and has traveled on wildlife-watching excursions to other Arctic locations as well. She makes her home in Portland, Oregon.

Has edited the organization's newsletter from the beginning and writes most of the content for the PBI Web site. In addition, she manages the online gift shop. Barbara first traveled to Churchill in the early '80s on a travel writing assignment. At the time, the bear-watching industry there was just beginning. She has been involved with PBI since it was founded.

Dr. Steven C. Amtrup is the team leader for the U.S. effort to study the polar bears of the Southern Beaufort Sea. He works with the U.S. Geological Survey's Alaska Science Center. He also led the effort to map polar bear maternity denning sites in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and is the author of the chapter on polar bears in "Wild Mammals of North America: Biology, Management, and Conservation," edited by George A. Feldhamer, Bruce C. Thompson, and Joseph A. Chapman.

Dr. Andrew Derocher chairs the IUCN's Polar Bear Specialist Group and teaches biology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. His field research focuses on polar bears in the Canadian Arctic and the polar bears of Hudson bay. He has also worked with polar bears in Svalbard, Norway, through the Norwegian Polar Institute. Over the course of 20 years of studying polar bears, Dr. Derocher's research has focused on the limiting and regulating factors of polar bear populations including habitat use, harvest effects, and predator-prey relationships. His current work includes assessment of the effects of climate change and toxic chemicals on polar bears.

Dr. Nick Lunn began working with polar bears in 1981, when, as a university student, he answered a job posting at the University of Edmonton to work in Dr. Ian Stirling's lab analyzing the age of polar bear teeth. He went on to study the behavior of polar bears frequenting Churchill's infamous dump site. For more than a decade, his research work with the Canadian Wildlife Service has focused on the condition of the Western Hudson Bay population of polar bears in relation to environmental change.

Dr. Nikita Ovsyanikov has studied the population, condition, and behavior of polar bears on Russia's Wrangel Island for more than 15 years. The remote island is one of the largest polar bear denning sites in the world and has seen significant changes in the sea ice in recent years. He is the author of "Polar Bears: Living with the White Bears."

Scientist Scott Schliebe is the Polar Bear Project Leader for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Anchorage, Alaska. He has studied polar bears for more than 20 years and is the former chair of the IUCN's Polar Bear Specialist Group. His most recent work has focused on the Chukchi population of polar bears, which is shared by the U.S. and Russia. He is also involved with determining whether the polar bear should be listed as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.

Dr. Smith is an associate professor and research wildlife biologist in the Department of Plant and Wildlife Sciences at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. His work over the past 15 years has been mainly focused on North American bear conservation and conflict management. His current studies with polar bears focus on den emergence ecology and response to human activities on the North Slope of Alaska.

Dr. Ian Stirling of the Canadian Wildlife Service has studied the polar bears throughout the Canadian Arctic for over 35 years. His long-term study of polar bears in Western Hudson Bay, one of the world's most southerly populations, has confirmed the negative effects of climate warming. Bears of all ages and sex classes are losing condition as the ice is breaking up progressively earlier and shortening their ability to feed at the best time of year, before fasting for several months on land. The population has dropped 22% since 1987. Dr. Stirling has also studied the bears of the Southern Beaufort Sea and Canadian High Arctic as well their interrelationships with seals and sea ice. He is the author of the book, "Polar Bears," considered the definitive work on the biology of the polar bear.

Dr. Swaisgood is a scientist with the San Diego Zoo and the associate director of the zoo's Center for Reproductive Studies (CRES). He has worked with a number of species including giant pandas, rhinoceros, and, of course, polar bears. He has authored or co-authored more than 40 scientific papers and has received numerous grants and awards. The major focus of Dr. Swaisgood's current research is on scent communication, which plays a major role in solitary species like polar bears in terms of finding and competing for a mate and other aspects of social and reproductive behavior. He is also studying maternal behavior in several bear species.

Dr. Jane Waterman of the University of Central Florida studies the behavior of the polar bears in the Churchill area and how that behavior may change in light of a progressively shorter hunting season; her behavior studies have resulted in self-imposed guidelines for the Churchill bear-watching industry. She is also pioneering a "whisker pattern" identification technique, which is noninvasive, and a way of determining a polar bear's weight through noninvasive digital photos.

Amy Cutting of the Oregon Zoo has played a leadership role in working with zoo keepers on enrichment ideas that benefit captive polar bears. She has also been involved with other husbandry issues for polar bears in zoos, in addition to showing strong support for Polar Bears International's educational efforts.

As Polar Bear Curator at Sea World Australia, Kerrie Haynes-Lovell has helped introduce the public "Down Under" to the great white bears. Every year, she serves as an instructor at PBI's Polar Bear Leadership Camp, which brings top students from around the world to Churchill, Manitoba, to learn about the issues facing polar bears and their Arctic habitat.

As Co-Chair of the European chapter of the Bear Taxon Advisory Group, Dr. Lydia Kolter of the Cologne Zoo works closely with zoos across Europe that house polar bears. She serves as an instructor each year at Polar Bears International's Polar Bear Science Leadership Camp and is committed to educating the public about polar bears, climate change, and the Arctic.

Dr. Randi Meyerson of the Toledo Zoo chairs the Polar Bear Species Survival Plan for the American Zoo & Aquarium Association and is closely involved with all issues concerning captive polar bears in North America. She played a leadership role in producing a comprehensive nutrition manual for polar bears in zoos as well as a husbandry manual and has been involved with a number of volunteer projects for PBI.

Dr. Don Moore is Associate Director of Animal Care at the Smithsonian Instituion''s National Zoo and past chair of the Bear Taxon Advisory Group. He has been a tireless champion of enrichment ideas for polar bears in zoos and has played a leadership role in eliminating stereotypic behavior. He has worked on a number of key projects for PBI, including serving as a volunteer each year at our Polar Bear Leadership Camp in Churchill, Manitoba.

As Curator of Mammals at the San Diego Zoo, Carmi Penny has been a passionate advocate for high standards in terms of husbandry and enrichment. He is well-respected throughout the zoo world for his innovative outreach.

Whether it be a nutrition manual for captive polar bears, a question about coat quality, or a medical diagnosis, Dr. Holly Reed is respected by her peers for her veterinarian knowledge. PBI has benefited from that expertise on numerous occasions.

Dr. David Shepherdson, program scientist for the Oregon Zoo, is known worldwide for his groundbreaking, PBI-funded study on stereotypic (repetitive) behavior in polar bears. He is now working with PBI to implement the findings from this study, which has revolutionized the way captive bears are cared for.

JoAnne Simerson has pioneered behavior management techniques with the polar bears at the San Diego Zoo, training them to participate in studies that test their hearing range and estrus cycles. These studies not only provide scientists with valuable information, but are intellectually stimulating to the bears and thus help prevent stereotypic behavior. Simerson actively volunteers each year with PBI's In Field Lecture Series in Churchill, Manitoba, where she helps to educate the public about polar bears, climate change, and the Arctic.

The former chair of the American Zoo Association's Bear TAG, Diana has worked closely with all bear species, but has a special fondness for polar bears. She has provided guidance for PBI on a number of projects, including a major nutrition study for polar bears. She has also helped PBI with educational outreach in the fall in the Churchill area by giving "in field" presentations. She is the Northern Trails supervisor for the Minnesota Zoo.

Dr. Swaisgood is a scientist with the San Diego Zoo and the associate director of the zoo's Center for Reproductive Studies (CRES). He has worked with a number of species including giant pandas, rhinoceros, and, of course, polar bears. He has authored or co-authored more than 40 scientific papers and has received numerous grants and awards. The major focus of Dr. Swaisgood's current research is on scent communication, which plays a major role in solitary species like polar bears in terms of finding and competing for a mate and other aspects of social and reproductive behavior. He is also studying maternal behavior in several bear species.

Bill Winhall is the curator of mammals at Sea World San Diego. An enthusiastic supporter of PBI's efforts, Bill has worked with us on various research projects involving zoo bears, including our recent study on the polar bear's hearing range.

John Bykerk is the director of field operations for the Tundra Buggy Adventure. He is also the author of a comprehensive manual on the polar bears of Churchill and their surrounding habitat for use by Tundra Buggy drivers. His long-term involvement with PBI includes participation at scientific and zoo conferences as a spokesperson, work with the annual Polar Bear Cam and Polar Bear Leadership Camp, and help in setting up a high-speed digital highway from the Cape Churchill Tower to the town of Churchill and the rest of the world.

Kathryn Foat develops curricula for students of all ages in her capacity as curator of education at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore. She has volunteered with PBI on a number of key projects, from Web site content to our Adventure Learning Program. An intrepid traveler, she ventures to Churchill each fall to serve as director of PBI's Polar Bear Leadership Camp, held in a Tundra Buggy. There, she works with participating high school students to help create "Ambassadors of the Arctic."

Irene Merie is the president and CEO of Partners in the Park in Winnipeg. Her enthusiasm for PBI and her community has led her to devote countless hours to help publicize and raise funds for PBI's new world headquarters in Winnipeg. The headquarters, which will be co-located with Partners in the Park, will house state-of-the-art polar bear exhibits and a studio for conferencing classrooms.

A biologist with Manitoba Conservation, Bill is well-acquainted with issues facing polar bears and the Far North. He is committed to educational endeavors and has assisted PBI with a number of projects. He was also instrumental in helping to develop the Manitoba Standards for Polar Bears, which provide guidelines for zoos to ensure the well-being of polar bears in captivity. He lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

As the owner of Hudson Bay Heli, which is based in Churchill, Manitoba, Tony Bembridge works closely with both polar bears and people in the Churchill area. His helicopters help ferry problem bears out of town, take visitors on tours of the tundra, and transport scientists and equipment to research sites. Every year, he volunteers the use of his helicopters to take students attending PBI's Polar Bear Leadership Camp to view polar bear maternity denning sites along Hudson Bay.

The recipient of Travel Manitoba's Sustainable Tourism Award in 2006 and Ecotourism Award in 2004, Merv and his wife, Lynda, and son, John, operate Frontiers North and the Tundra Buggy Adventure, which pioneered polar-bear watching tours in the Churchill area. He remains committed to respectful ecotourism and is dedicated to spreading the conservation message. He lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

As mayor of "The Polar Bear Capital of the World," Mike Spence is familiar with many of the issues affecting the area's polar bears, including interactions with people. He also serves as an invaluable liaison within the Churchill community. In addition to his position as mayor, he owns and operates Wat'Chee Lodge, a wildlife-viewing lodge south of town where female polar bears emerge with their cubs in spring.

Daniel J. Cox is an internationally recognized wildlife photographer who regularly contributes to natural history publications including National Geographic, Audubon, National Wildlife, Sierra, Wildlife Conservation and Terre Savage. He is the sole photographer of seven books. He lives in Bozeman, Montana, and regularly travels to Churchill and the Arctic to photograph polar bears.

Kevin Gilbert of Blue Pixel not only excels in photography, but has contributed a number of innovative ideas to PBI, including the "Year of the Polar Bear" concept. He also coined the term "Polar Population Project" to describe PBI's far-reaching initiative to fund a census of the 18 managed subpopulations of polar bears.

Norbert Rosing is an internationally acclaimed photographer based in Germany. He is a frequent visitor to the Hudson Bay region near Churchill. He is the author of "The World of the Polar Bear." His work regularly appears in National Geographic magazine and other publications.

Robert Taylor is an award-winning photographer known for his work in Churchill and throughout Manitoba. He is the author of "The Edge of the Arctic," which beautifully captures the wildlife of the Churchill area, including its polar bears. He lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

A resident of Homer, Alaska, Daniel Zatz's company, SeeMore Wildlife, has developed weather-resistant robotic cameras that allow photographers to film wildlife in remote locations without the animals even knowing a camera is there. Zatz's skill and expertise have allowed PBI to offer a window into the world of the famous gathering of polar bears at Cape Churchill via a polar bear cam each fall.