Dr. Mireya Mayor: Primatologist / Explorer / Wildlife Correspondent

Meet Dr. Mireya Mayor. A scientist, explorer and wildlife correspondent, Dr. Mireya Mayor, a Ph.D. in anthropology, has reported on wildlife and habitat issues to worldwide audiences for more than a decade. She ventures into unexplored parts of the planet to study rare creatures and works closely with indigenous people to protect them.

A former NFL cheerleader for the Miami Dolphins, Mireya grew up in a big city and as the only daughter of Cuban immigrants, she couldn't join the Girl Scouts as a little girl because her family thought it was too dangerous.

In spite of this, she went on to become the first female wildlife correspondent for the Ultimate Explorer series on National Geographic Television, and has spent more than ten years exploring some of the wildest and most remote places on earth, often armed with little more than a backpack, notebooks and hiking boots.

Since then, Mireya has slept in remote jungles teeming with poisonous snakes, gone diving with great white sharks, been charged by gorillas and chased by elephants, and that's just in the last few months!

In 2000, Mireya co-discovered a new species of mouse lemur in Madagascar and eventually convinced the African island nation's leaders to declare the new species' habitat a national park. She feels that sharing her discoveries through various media, including television, is incredibly important in conservation efforts. "Television has the power to help people know and connect with these animals and habitats that are disappearing. We may be facing the largest mass extinction of our time, so awareness is crucial. If we don't act now it will be too late."

In 2005, Mireya received two Emmy Award nominations for her work on Ultimate Explorer. Two years later, Mireya was named an "Emerging Explorer" by the National Geographic Society which selects rising talents, "the next generation of visionaries" who push the boundaries of adventure and global problem solving, inspiring people to care about the planet.

Mireya now stars in Mark Burnett's Expedition Africa: Stanley & Livingstone (History Channel) as one of four explorers to retrace the nearly 1,000-mile trip of Henry Stanley & David Livingstone. Armed with only a compass and old maps, the explorers face challenging terrain, conflicting team dynamics, and diverse wildlife.

Mireya is a Fulbright scholar, National Science Foundation Fellow and published author. She wrote the foreword and was a major contributor for National Geographic's Complete Survival Manual, has written articles for National Geographic's kids magazines Explorer and Extreme Explorer, and is working closely with National Geographic's School Publishing on videos and textbooks for classrooms nationwide.

Mireya has made numerous appearances on the Today Show, MSNBC, CNN, and Despierta America and has been profiled in People, Marie Claire, Latina, National Geographic Adventure, Vanidades and Elle magazines. She divides her time between research in the rainforests of Madagascar, lecturing at schools and universities and traveling the world as a wildlife correspondent. Mireya's talks are inspiring for all ages but she is an especially powerful presenter for student audiences.

When not deep in the jungle or on assignment, Mireya lives in Miami with her supportive and loving husband Roland, and their two young daughters, Emma and Ava. They share their home with an ever-growing menagerie of wonderful creatures.