Kurt Przybilla
Kurt Przybilla is an inventor, writer, producer and educator. He invented Tetra Tops®, the world’s first spinning tops with more than one axis of spin, which have been featured in the New York Times, Popular Science, Child and Discover Magazine, as well as at the Smithsonian Institute. He is co-creator, writer and producer of the Molecularium Project at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, which has produced Molecules to the MAX!, a 3D animated film for IMAX theaters, an online theme park and a molecule building game app to teach kids about atoms and molecules. He is cofounder of the Bamboo Institute which seeks to develop innovative ways to utilize bamboo’s potential to help solve a wide range of problems facing our planet. Kurt taught in New York City for over fifteen years. He also taught in Japan for three and a half years where he studied Japanese archery, flower arrangement, language and poetry.
Katherine Ludeman
Katherine Ludeman is the President of AOM Solutions (Aviation Oversight Management), a multidisciplinary MEP inspection and fire protection engineering firm she has built over the past four years. She grew up in West Denver and began her education at The New School University in New York, studying liberal arts, economics, and environmental studies. She later returned home to Colorado to pursue a manufacturing‑focused mechanical engineering program at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Her career path led her to Denver International Airport, where she served as a Project Manager overseeing complex technical projects and strengthening her commitment to building strong, people‑centered teams. Since founding AOM, Kat has built a culture defined by integrity, collaboration, and real support — not the buzzword version of “family,” but a place where seasoned technical experts and operations professionals work side by side, invested in each other’s success and in the work they deliver. As a first-generation woman entrepreneur and mom, she leads with a grounded, people-first approach and works to show that this field is stronger when it includes people from many backgrounds and starting points. Her mission is to show others that you can build something extraordinary even when you start with very little.
Francis Staub
Francis began his career working on coral reefs for the French Ministry of the Environment, followed by a position at the World Bank’s Environment Department in Washington, D.C., before becoming an independent consultant. For 18 months (2012/2013), he provided technical assistance to the World Heritage Marine Programme in Paris. Based in London since 2013, he founded Blue Pangolin Consulting, a consultancy dedicated to the conservation and sustainable use of marine, coastal, and terrestrial resources. For the past 25 years, Francis has been involved with the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), serving as a strategic advisor to most of the governments that have chaired the initiative, including the United States of America, France, Australia, Japan, and Monaco. He also advises the French Government’s Coral Reef Initiative (IFRECOR). Francis serves on the advisory board of the Coral Triangle Conservation Fund, based in Indonesia. He is a co-editor of the latest GCRMN Status of Coral Reefs of the World reportand, in recognition of his significant contributions to coral reef conservation, received the Coral Reef Conservation Award from the International Coral Reef Society in 2024. He is also a member of the Expert Assessment Group for the Green List (EAGL) for Mediterranean Marine Protected and Conserved Areas.
More recently, Francis has focused on the conservation and governance of the High Seas. He is currently acting as Technical Director for a project supporting the ratification and early implementation of the High Seas Treaty (Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction – BBNJ Agreement) by the Preparatory Committee and the Conference of the Parties. In addition, he has been appointed as a member of the Programme Committee for the 2027 Ocean Decade Conference to help play a key role in shaping its vision, themes, and impact, and will also serves as “Expert Advisor” for the Earthshot Prize 2026.
Mark Wild
Mark has worked in development for the BBC, Natural History Unit, Director of International Development for National Geographic Television in Washington DC and Director of Production and Development for Animal Planet at Discovery Communications where he worked for a decade growing from Discovery Europe to Discovery International.
Previously he worked in feature films across disciplines and was an early graduate of the UK Film Industry Training Scheme having gained practical experience in architectural photography and advertising.
In 1994 he trekked deep into the Amazon jungle with Ama Indians and in 1999 travelled with the explorer Robin Hanbury Tenison and nomadic Tuareg through the middle of the Sahara, the Tenere desert to reveal 35,000yr old life size petroglyphs of giraffes and other animals, making the film “Reflection in the Sands”.
Mark was awarded a Fellowship of the Royal Geographical Society in 2001 for his services to exploration and film.
He has worked with the world-renowned independent think tank, The Kings Fund, for 12 years as a director in their Creative Leadership programmes for Senior managers.