Speaker Biographies

Peter Carey

Peter Carey retired as Chief Executive of Kildare County Council in April 2021.
One of Peter’s first engagements on taking the Kildare Council Role in 2014 was the opening of the 14th Shackleton Autumn School that October. Since then he has been a constant supporter of the Shackleton initiative in Athy, and his support for various landmark achievements was pivotal, including obtaining the cabin in which Ernest Shackleton died, and securing the funding for the redevelopment of Athy Heritage Centre as the world class Shackleton Museum.
Peter brings a wealth of experience in the workings of local administration in Ireland, and the delivery of projects with social, economic and cultural dividends. He is also an avowed Shackleton fan.

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

Sharon Greene

Sharon Greene is an archaeologist and occasional historian who grew up knowing Shackleton’s birthplace as the home of her aunt and uncle. Her interest in the Shackleton sisters began when it emerged that her grandmother had met Eleanor Shackleton on a visit to Kilkea in 1959 Asked to present an ‘Icebreaker’ about the visit at the Shackleton Autumn School, Sharon decided she had to find out more about this woman – a decision that started a fascinating voyage of discovery about a family of remarkable women who have until now been overshadowed by their more famous brother. Sharon has a doctorate in archaeology and was formerly the editor of Archaeology Ireland magazine.

Ruth Johnston

Ruth Johnston is an award-winning producer and executive producer of films ranging from Oscar® winner SUMMER OF SOUL and Oscar® nominees HUNGER WARD and LEAD ME HOME to festival favorites REASON I JUMP and MASTER OF LIGHT. She’s a veteran producer behind hundreds of hours of film, television and interactive digital media projects, including the multiple Emmy winning Cash Cab. Most recently, she worked as producer on ENDURANCE for National Geographic Documentary Films.
In 2021 she co-foundered Consequential, a production and consultancy company operating at the intersection of storytelling and social change.
On downtime, Ruth is an avid traveler, and a certified rescue diver and sailor. From Donegal, Ireland, Ruth lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest.

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.

Allegra Rosenberg is a freelance writer based in New York City. Her polar writing has appeared in The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveller, MIT Technology Review, Atlas Obscura and Long Now. Her debut nonfiction book, a cultural history of fan culture, is forthcoming from WW Norton. Since 2021 she has been the director of the annual Terror Camp virtual polar fan conference, bringing together attendees from all over the world, with past keynote speakers including Francis Spufford, David Kajganich, and Russell Potter.
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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)  sold out

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

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