Nainoa Thomson is an explorer, master navigator, cultural revivalist, educator, and storyteller who has led the revival of the ancient Polynesian art of navigation. He has dedicated his life to exploring the ocean, maintaining the health of the planet, and ensuring that Polynesian marine heritage and culture remain vibrant into the future. The first Native Hawaiian in six hundred years to practice this ancient navigation, he is the president of the Polynesian Voyaging Society and recently completed a four-year world voyage on the Hōkūle`a, a traditional voyaging canoe. He is a graduate of the University of Hawaii and former regent of the university, where he remains special adviser on Hawaiian affairs. He is an Ocean Elder, a trustee for Hanahau‘oli School, and a former trustee for the Bishop Estate. He’s received numerous honors, including winning the 2015 Peter Benchley Ocean Award for Excellence in Marine Exploration, being recognized by his Holiness XIV Dalai Lama in 2001 as an Unsung Hero of Compassion, being named the Native Hawaiian Education Association’s Manomano Ka‘ike Educator of the Year, and winning the 2015 Asia Pacific Community Building Award from the East- West Center, the 2013 Visionary Award from the Maui Film Festival, the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, the 2017 Hubbard Medal from the National Geographic Society, and the 2017 Explorers Medal.