Jill Heinerth
Explorer-in-Residence, The Royal Canadian Geographical Society
More people have walked on the moon than have visited many of the places that Jill Heinerth has seen on Earth. From the most dangerous technical dives deep inside underwater caves, to
searching for never-before-seen ecosystems inside giant Antarctic icebergs, Heinerth’s curiosity
and passion about our watery planet is the driving force in her life. In her visually stunning presentations, she encourages audiences to reach beyond their limitations, challenge the
unknown, and overcome their fears, while sharing practical lessons on risk management and
safety, discovery learning, failure, and collaboration.
From desert oases of the Sahara to Baffin Bay's cold waters, Heinerth has been the hands and eyes for climatologists, archaeologists, and engineers worldwide. She led the first dives into underwater caves inside Antarctica's massive B-15 iceberg and was a lead diver on a ground-
breaking US Deep Caving Team project, piloting the first accurate 3D cave mapping device using tech that’s now bound for space.
Heinerth became the first Explorer-in-Residence of The Royal Canadian Geographical Society in 2016. She is also a fellow of the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame, Underwater Academy
of Arts and Sciences, Women Divers Hall of Fame, and the Explorers Club, which awarded her with the William Beebe Award. In addition, Heinerth has been honoured with the Explorer’s Club Stefansson Medal and the Wyland ICON Award, and she is the inaugural recipient of the Sir Christopher Ondaatje Medal for Exploration. In 2023, she received her first honorary doctorate from Victoria University of the University of Toronto.
A bestselling author, Heinerth’s first book Into the Planet, was lauded by the Wall Street Journal, Oprah Magazine, and the New York Times. Her children’s book, The Aquanut, is a Blue Ribbon Selection for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Heinerth is also the subject of a new documentary Diving into the Darkness, which won Best Documentary Feature at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, where it premiered.
