Speaker Biographies

Jan Chojecki

Jan Chojecki is the grandson of the businessman and philanthropist John Quiller Rowett, the financer of the Shackleton-Rowett (Quest) Expedition. Jan is the author of The Quest Chronicle, published in 2022, the first book in almost a century to cover the events and circumstances of the final expedition of Sir Ernest Shackleton. Jan has also published a book containing the World War 1 letters of his great uncle, in We Are All Flourishing – the Letters and Diary of Captain Walter JJ Coats MC, 1914–1919. Covering the entire period of the war, it gives a comprehensive and personal account of life on the front line with the infantry battalion the Glasgow Highlanders. Jan is a bio-scientist by training and has spent his career working in public sector technology transfer and early stage technology investment. More information at https://questchronicle.org.uk/

LinkedIn     https://www.linkedin.com/in/jan-chojecki-9678585/
X                    https://x.com/QuestChronicle

Philip Curtis

Philip Curtis joined the auctioneers Christie’s in 1984, becoming Head of the Map Department two years later. In 1992 he became Director of The Map House in Knightsbridge, London. Established in 1907, The Map House is the oldest and largest specialist antique map sellers in the world.
While having a deep passion for all things cartographic, Philip has always been particularly fascinated with the charts of the discovery and mapping of “Terra Australis Incognita”, the Unknown Southern Land.
In 2012 he co-wrote “The Mapping of Antarctica” which focused on the maps from the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration and the extraordinary stories and people behind them.
He is very proud that this book, on sale in the UKAHT shop in Port Lockroy, made him, if only briefly, the best-selling author across an entire continent!

philip@themaphouse.com
www.themaphouse.com

Peter and Leni Gillman

Peter and Leni Gillman are a writing partnership who have produced numerous books and articles. Their biography of George Mallory, The Wildest Dream, published in 2000, won that year’s Boardman Tasker Award for Mountain Literature. They have edited several Everest anthologies, most recently a selection of photographs and texts from the expeditions of the 1920s, 1930s and 1953, which was published by the Royal Geographical Society and the Folio Society in 2022. This year, Peter contributed to the RGS volume Everest 1924, published for the centenary of the 1924 expedition. Peter is a keen walker who completed the round of the Scottish Munros in 1997 and, after a revised list had been produced, climbed the new peaks in 2009 and 2010. Peter and Leni have two children and four grandchildren. They have been married for 61 years – their 62nd anniversary is on 2 November 2024.

Laura Kissel

Laura Kissel is the Polar Curator for the Byrd Polar and Climate Research Center Archival Program, a position that she has held since 1996. She has a bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University and a master’s degree from Kent State University (Ohio). The Polar Archives holds hundreds of collections, including the Papers of Admiral Richard E. Byrd and Sir George Hubert Wilkins. Laura’s primary responsibilities include assisting the many researchers and scholars who use the collections, as well as donor relations, exhibitions, and other education and outreach activities.

Buddy Levy

Buddy Levy is the author of nine nonfiction books, most recently Empire of Ice & Stone: The Disastrous and Heroic Voyage of the Karluk. Buddy has written two other books on the subject of polar exploration, including Labyrinth of Ice: The Triumphant and Tragic Greely Polar Expedition; and the forthcoming (Jan ’25) Realm of Ice and Sky: Triumph, Tragedy, and History’s Greatest Arctic Rescue, which chronicles the first attempts to reach the North Pole by dirigible. Levy was co-star of HISTORY Channel’s TV series DECODED and he frequently appears as an on-camera expert guest on a slate of HISTORY Channel television programming.
As a freelance journalist he has covered adventure/expedition subjects around the world, including in Argentina, Borneo, Greenland, Morocco, the Philippines, and Svalbard. His interests are wide-ranging, often detailing riveting human stories of survival. He lives in Idaho, USA.

Joe O’Farrell

Joe O’Farrell, a longtime member of the Shackleton Autumn School committee, is a recognised authority on the history of Polar exploration – the personalities involved and the expeditions in which they participated.

He has travelled widely in pursuit of his general interest in personalities who pushed the boundaries of geography, politics and exploration including characters such as T.E. Lawrence and a range of Antarctic and Arctic explorers. Joe had researched and written papers for various publications including the ‘Nimrod’ journal. He has presented on related topics internationally, and in recent years is to be found lecturing aboard Antarctic cruise ships.

Mark Richards is a sculptor specialising in fine figurative work. His technique draws on a tradition wherein sculptors receive comprehensive instruction in design, technique and execution and work mainly on commission. He was taught by A J Ayres who, in turn, had worked with Eric Gill.
His preference is to work with people and within supportive, creative environments with the often collaborative nature of working with both committees and individuals.
Mark’s works have a worldwide footprint; in Ireland – Nicky Rackard (Wexford), Big Tom (Monaghan), Roger Casement (Dun Laoghaire), ‘Squires’ Gannon (Kildare) and of course his landmark statue of Ernest Shackleton unveiled in Athy, 30th August 2016, the centenary of the rescue of the Endurance crew from Elephant Island.

Peter Straughan

Peter Straughan is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter, originally from the North East of England. His films include The Men Who Stare At Goats, The Debt, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy ( Best Adapted Screenplay BAFTA, Best British Film BAFTA, Best Adapted Screenplay Academy nomination), Frank (Best Screenplay British Independent Film Award) Our Brand Is Crisis, The Goldfinch and Wolf Hall (Best Drama BAFTA, Best Mini-Series Golden Globe).

Upcoming work includes the film Conclave and The Mirror and The Light – the sequel to Wolf Hall – and the George Harrison biopic for the forthcoming Beatles Films to be directed by Sam Mendes.

Sabina Waldron

Sabina Waldron is a history enthusiast who splits her time between land and sea, working as a translator and professional sailor. This past spring she was given the opportunity to work on the barquentine Antigua sailing around Svalbard, putting a nice feather in her cap after several years reading, writing, and thinking about nothing but polar exploration. Originally from the northeast United States, she now lives in Germany and the Netherlands.

Abbey Court Hotel (Autumn School Venue)

Booking.com (Athy, Co. Kildare, Ireland)

Into Kildare (Kildare Tourism) webpage. (Use ‘Stay’ menu for Accommodation information)