Cultural
Cultural Specialists
A local watchman hikes over the moss-draped spongy forest grounds of Haida Gwaii sharing his people’s stories and bringing to life the myth and mystery of the islands. A Cambodian professor comes aboard on the Mekong River to share firsthand stories of his country’s struggles, and then joins guests on the outside deck to give voiceover to the hope and future he sees in the people working along the riverbanks. And in South America an ethnomusicologist joins the expedition to curate a series of concerts aboard the ship and ashore that offer a deeper look into the cultures guests explore.
On select expeditions, cultural specialists who are experts in their fields are added to an already impressive expedition team to further illuminate local life. They are chosen not just for their academic background, but for their ability to enable an authentic connection to the people guests meet along their journey.
In regions that focus on history and culture — like Egypt, Vietnam, the Caribbean, or the Mediterranean — two or more cultural specialists may join the full expedition. One may be an archeologist, another an expert everyday lives of ancient people. They often have deep local connections formed from spending years or even decades studying in the regions they illuminate for guests.
And in wild places, like Alaska for example, a cultural specialist may come aboard the ship to relate stories of the indigenous people who once lived in Glacier Bay as guests sail through the park—or they may meet guests as they get off a ship and visit a first nations community.
No matter the topic, they add to guests’ appreciation and contribute a vital, but not easily discovered, facet of a region.
A local watchman hikes over the moss-draped spongy forest grounds of Haida Gwaii sharing his people’s stories and bringing to life the myth and mystery of the islands. A Cambodian professor comes aboard on the Mekong River to share firsthand stories of his country’s struggles, and then joins guests on the outside deck to give voiceover to the hope and future he sees in the people working along the riverbanks. And in South America an ethnomusicologist joins the expedition to curate a series of concerts aboard the ship and ashore that offer a deeper look into the cultures guests explore. ...
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Meet our Cultural Specialists
Cultural Specialist
Tua Pittman
Internationally acclaimed as a traditional master navigator, Tua has navigated canoes across the great oceans of our planet from the coastlines of Asia through to the shores of the Americas for more than 30 years, without the use of modern instruments. This Cook Islander, also of New Zealand Maori and Tahitian bloodlines, uses an ancient navigational system based upon careful observation of celestial bodies—sun, moon, and stars—as well as using ocean swells, flight patterns of birds, and other natural markers. Tua’s efforts to adopt and promote the sailing arts of the ancients have been recognized throughout the Pacific. In 2008 he was designated a Pwo navigator on the island of Satawal in Micronesia and inducted by sacred ritual into this rarefied society of master navigators by Grand Elder and Master Navigator Mau Piailug. In addition to earning prominence among traditional voyaging societies, Tua is known throughout Polynesia, Melanesia, and Micronesia for his mentoring of young islanders in the traditional cultures and languages of their ancestors. Tua is a respected chieftain of his island homeland, a dancer, drummer, athlete, and gifted speaker. His lecture topics, accompanied by excellent visual materials, include the origin and migration theory of the Pacific people; ancient traditional voyaging and navigation; traditional voyaging in this modern day; open-air star presentation and identification—navigating Pacific skies; and Pacific Ocean traditions and cultures.
Cultural Specialist
Patrick MacQuarrie
Patrick MacQuarrie grew up on a wheat farm on the Columbia River Basin. In college, he studied engineering, international relations, and geography, getting his PhD in International Water Management. Both Irish and American, Patrick has lived and worked abroad for the last 25 years, is a keen conversationalist and passionate musician. He brings extensive and deep knowledge of river basin systems to Lindblad’s team of experts, having worked on crafting and implementing water sharing agreements with UN-Water, the Environmental Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Mekong River Commission, and conducted research and taught at acclaimed Universities worldwide. Patrick has waded in nearly every meandering river in the world; the Columbia and Colorado river basins in North America, the Amazon and Lake Titicaca basins in South America, the Mekong, Salween, and Irrawaddy, in Southeast Asia and the Murry-Darling in Australia, several basins across Europe and West Asia, multiple basins in the Middle East and North Africa, and intimate knowledge of waterways in Ireland and the British Isles. He now shares his insightful yet personal experience with guests aboard Lindblad’s authentic and memorable voyages.
Cultural Specialist
Jacqueline Windh
Jacqueline is a PhD scientist, a best-selling author and photographer, and an elected Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. She completed her doctorate studies in structural geology at the University of Western Australia, working as an exploration geologist on three continents before leaving that industry to follow more environmentally friendly pursuits. For the past two decades she has worked as a photojournalist and as a wilderness guide and adventurer, mainly in the Pacific Northwest, South America, and Antarctica. She is author or major contributor to four books. Her photographs and words have been published worldwide, and she has written and presented radio documentaries for both the CBC and the ABC. She is currently working on two books and involved in several adventure film projects. In 2021, Jacqueline was awarded the Sir Christopher Ondaatje Medal for Exploration by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. A dual Canadian/Australian citizen, she lives on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.
Cultural Specialist
Richard McColl
Richard McColl is a British freelance writer, conflict resolution specialist, holds a PhD in Social Sciences and foreign correspondent based either in the lofty altitudes of Bogotá or in the sweltering lowlands of the garciamarquian where he runs two small guesthouses. His writing and reporting has appeared in some 30 publications worldwide, appears regularly on television and radio shows as a commentator on events in Colombia and he hosts a weekly online radio show called "Colombia Calling". He is currently working on his first novel based on his experiences in Colombia as a hotelier entitled: " The Mompos Project"
Cultural Specialist
Alexander Hillary
A family legacy of exploration and adventure has led Alexander on expeditions to the Himalayas and Antarctica pursuing wild landscapes and wildlife. Hailing from New Zealand has cultivated his strong relationship with nature and has inspired him to share this through photography and storytelling. Alexander is also committed to his family’s philanthropic legacy of helping the people of Nepal through The Himalayan Trust as well as fostering people’s connection with the outdoors through Hillary Outdoors. Alexander is passionate about sharing adventure and wonder in the natural world with others.
Cultural Specialist
Susan Flanagan
Susan Flanagan has worked as a bilingual (French/English) tour guide/interpreter in her home province of Newfoundland and Labrador for over 35 years. She is an avid runner and hiker and loves showing off Newfoundland's rugged landscape. She is also a communications specialist and owns 48 Degrees Inc., a company specializing in corporate communications and emergency preparedness training. Susan has published two novels: Supermarket Baby , winner 2019 Percy Janes First Novel Award (Flanker Press) and a YA novel, The Degrees of Barley Lick (Running the Goat Books & Broadsides), winner Second Novel Indie Award. She is currently entertaining options for her third novel, Unplugged . As a freelance journalist (BJ, King's College, NS, 1991) and technical writer, Susan's non-fiction works have appeared in Canadian Geographic, Canadian Running, National Geographic (maps), Newfoundland Quarterly, Queen's Quarterly, The Hockey News, Doctors 'Review, Atlantic Progress, Atlantic Business, Saltscapes and Nelson Literac's high school textbook, Homegrown. Susan has also worked as a columnist for The Newfoundland Herald (48 Degrees, 2002-04) and The Telegram (The Kids are Alright, 2011-15), and as reporter, producer, and researcher for CBC Radio and both NTV and CBC TV in Halifax and St. John's.
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