Jennifer Hayes
Scientist and photographer Jennifer Hayes has spent her career revealing the hidden worlds beneath the surface, capturing stories that span from haunting shipwrecks to thriving coral kingdoms. Blending scientific rigor with visual storytelling, her work brings audiences face to face with the ocean’s beauty, fragility, and resilience—inviting a deeper understanding of the blue planet that sustains us all.
Aquatic Biologist
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Explorers Club Fellow
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Underwater Globetrotter
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Aquatic Biologist • Explorers Club Fellow • Underwater Globetrotter •
More about Jennifer
Aquatic biologist and award-winning photojournalist Jennifer Hayes blends her scientific acumen with her keen photographer’s eye to tell the stories that matter in the underwater world. A contributing photographer for National Geographic, she trains her lens on the freshwater and marine environments that most need our attention. Jennifer and her partner in life and underwater, David Doubilet, collaborate on assignments from the equator to the polar ice—leveraging deep scientific understanding and curiosity to take the most consequential, compelling shots. In her tireless pursuit to share environments that are rarely (if ever) seen by the public, she has descended beneath Botswana’s Okavango Delta, explored the world beneath oil and gas rigs, documented remote and wild Cuba, and submerged into Greenland’s fjords, choked with icebergs.
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When earning her graduate degrees in marine ecology and zoology, her research focused on shark finning in the western Atlantic and the population dynamics and movements of an ancient fish called sturgeon. An author, she has also contributed to numerous global publications and several books on marine environments.
She is a trustee of the Shark Research Institute, Explorer Club fellow, editorial board advisor for the Ocean Geographic Society, and recipient of the SUNY-ESF President’s Medal for her contributions to the natural world. With her passion for marine conservation and compelling presentations, Jennifer helps other scientists around the globe share their stories and inspires audiences worldwide to appreciate and safeguard our ocean for future generations.
Speaking Topics
Resilience
Conservation
Science
Exploration
Nature
Watch Jennifer in action
Presentations
From Tropics to Polar Ice
Immerse yourself in unseen worlds with Jennifer Hayes, who—with her husband, David Doubilet—captures life above and below the water’s surface. The globetrotting scientist and photographer has produced stories about every topic under the sea, from shipwrecks to ice caps. Onstage, she’s a gifted storyteller, combining her passion and experience to share the story of our ocean. (Also presents alongside David Doubilet.)
“Every single click of the shutter is a collaboration that includes the people who fill the tank, drive the boat, or guide you to a subject. Land in a different country and see how far you get without priceless support.”
– Jennifer Hayes