Young Explorers Series: From War Zones to the Deep Sea: What Exploration Teaches Us About Our Interconnectedness

Young Explorers Series: From War Zones to the Deep Sea: What Exploration Teaches Us About Our Interconnectedness

Speaker: Ms. Laurel Chor — Emmy-nominated journalist, photographer, filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer.

Laurel Chor is an independent journalist, photographer, documentary filmmaker, and National Geographic Explorer from Hong Kong. She covers the greatest threats to a thriving planet, focusing on conflict, authoritarianism, and the climate and biodiversity crisis. Her impactful storytelling spans writing, photography, audio, on-camera reporting, and documentary film, with her work featured in outlets such as National Geographic, The New York Times, HBO, VICE, Reuters, and The Guardian.

Currently, Laurel is directing a film on the war in Ukraine, as well as a documentary on human-manta ray relations, supported by the National Geographic Society. Previously, she served as executive producer for award-winning film Tigre Gente (2021), which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival and features her undercover investigations on the illegal jaguar trade in South America and Asia. Her work has been recognized with an Emmy nomination, TIME’s Top 100 Photos of the Year, an honorable mention for the IWMF Anja Niedringhaus Courage in Photojournalism Award and an Overseas Press Club of America award.

She holds an MPhil in Biodiversity, Conservation & Management from Oxford University and a BS from Georgetown University. She also represented Hong Kong at the 2017 Rugby World Cup.

In this talk, Laurel will share how an exploration mindset has driven her career as a journalist and storyteller, and what it’s taught her about our interconnected world.