A Life of Exploration, Education and Action
Sunniva has lived a lifetime of exploring, teaching and advocating for the planet.
Sunniva has long practiced and promoted Inclusive Leadership Ideals. She generously shares her insights about self-empowerment that she has gained through her extraordinary personal experiences. She champions the possibilities for women and girls as fervently as she champions the Polar Regions where she has spent so much of her life.
From teaching outdoor skills and leading groups to higher heights, to broadening our knowledge through Citizen Science, to engaging school children to inspire young minds, Sunniva has consistently used her resources to enhance the learning and inspiration of others to get out, experience, and care for our beautiful, wild, yet fragile planet.
She stands as a remarkable embodiment of the Explorer/Activist/Educator archetype, seamlessly merging her passion for exploration with her unwavering commitment to environmental activism.
“The greatest adventure of our time is understanding the natural world and realizing that every one of us has the power to protect it."
Firsts & Extraordinary Awards
AWARDS
Fellow, Royal Geographic Society
Fellow, Royal Canadian Geographic Society
Member and Flag carrier Society of Women Geographers
Member Polar Educators International (PEI)
Member Protect our Winters (POW)
Flag Carrier WINGS
Board Member Hearts in the Ice Foundation
Distinguished Alumnae award from Trafalgar School in 2020
Antarctic Ambassador for IAATO
WOMEN’S FIRSTS
1st All Women's Team: to overwinter solo in the Norwegian Arctic 2019 - 2021 with Hilde Fålun Strøm
1st All Women’s Team: to ski to the South Pole, 1993 with Ann Bancroft, Sue Giller, and Anne Dal Vera
1st Canadian Woman: to ski across the Greenland Icecap 1999 with Tore Siversten and Laurie Dexter
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Named Godmother to Hurtigruten’s MS Fridtjof Nansen
We made history! Watch to see how our godmothers officially named MS Fridtjof Nansen. Plot twist, it was not with a bottle of champagne!
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Named as one of The Explorer’s Club 50 2022
Awarded annually, the EC50 Class 2022 (50 people changing the world that the world needs to know about) recognizes individuals for their extraordinary contributions directly in the field of exploration, scientific research, or to the welfare of humanity.
