More On The Explorers Club's New President

As I mentioned on Tuesday, this past weekend the Explorers Club elected a new president. Yesterday I received a press release officially announcing the club's new leader, Alan Nichols, who takes over the helm from Lorie Karnath, who served in that role for the past three years.

82-year old Nichols is an explorer who specializes in China and Tibet. He built his reputation in the Himalaya where his expeditions took him to the sacred mountains of those countries as well as Bhutan, Nepal, Kashmir, Ladakh and Sikkim. He is the first westerner to cycle the Silk Road in its entiriety from Xian, China to the Mediterranean and was also the first to circumambulate Mt. Kailas, one of the sacred mountains of Tibet.

Nichols says that he plans to expand the Club's ability to support expeditions in the field and hopes to grow the organization's membership by encouraging a new generation of explorers to become a part of the EC. He recognizes that exploration is as active as ever and that new technologies allow for explorers to share their experiences with larger audiences across the globe.

Alan has been a member of the Club for a number of years and has played a leadership role at a number of different levels. He is lauded for being not only a great motivational speaker but also working as a moderator between parties with conflicting ideas. Those skills will serve him well as the EC looks to move forward and heal wounds left from the recent controversies that have surrounded the institution.

Nichols wasn't the only new addition to the Explorer's Club board as four others were elected to join the leadership team as well. But when I wrote about the elections earlier in the week I erroneously reported that Josh Bernstein was one of those voted out of office. That wasn't exactly true however as Josh's three-year term was coming to an end and the board didn't put him on the ballot for re-election. Members of the EC board are elected to three year terms, so at any given time there are three different "classes" of directors. Josh was a member of the Class of 2012, but because he was wasn't on the ballot for re-election, he knew that he would be cycling off the board this past Sunday no matter what the results.

With new leadership in place the Explorers Club is ready to move forward and put all of the infighting and controversy behind them. It sounds like the new president and new board members are committed to doing just that.

Explorers Club: Changing of the Guard

Over the past few months I've written several times about the internal dispute that has been going on at the Explorers Club. Members of the prestigious organization have been at odds with one another for some time over the way the EC was being run, with President Lorie Karnath directly at the center of the storm. Many questioned the way she governed the Club and there were even accusations that she had used her station for personal gain. The story went very public with articles in both the New York Post and Outside magazine, which exposed the infighting that went on between Karnath, and her supporters, against a group of high profile members who weren't happy with the way she ran the organization.

This past weekend the controversy was put to rest when the EC held their annual dinner and conducted elections for leadership. The ballots were cast anonymously and in the end Karnath was voted out of office in favor of new president Alan Nichols. Four other members also left the board, including  Josh Bernstein, the former television host whose clash with Karnath helped to bring the entire story to light. In Josh's case his three-year term was up and he decided not to run for re-election.

Outside has a short follow-up to their story, which you can read here, that gives more details on this changing of the guard. In that article new president Nichols is described as someone who can mend the rift in the membership and help bring the organization back together. A new era has begun at the EC and the members that I have heard from are more than ready to put these squabbles behind them and get on with regular club business.

Update: When I originally posted this story I wrote that Josh Brenstein had been voted out of office, but it turns out that his term was simply up and he decided to not run for re-election. I have changed this article to reflect that point at Josh's request.

Filmmaker Ken Burns To Keynote Explorers Club Annual Dinner

The Explorers Club annual dinner is one of the organization's hallmark events each year. It gives members an opportunity to come together in New York City, where they can swap stories, enjoy a fine meal, and discuss the latest issues facing exploration in the 21st century.

On March 17th, the 108th annual dinner will take place at the Waldorf Astoria, where more than a thousand explorers are expected to be on hand. The theme for the night will be "How Far is Far: Remote Exploration," with a focus on how technology has changed the way we explore in the modern age. Now days, it is possible to stay connected to the world while visiting some of its most isolated places, and that has changed the way we perceive exactly what the term "remote" means.

The keynote speaker for the evening will be legendary documentarian Ken Burns, whose epic mini-series have explored our passion for Baseball and America's National Parks, amongst many other topics. Travel writer and television personality Robin Esrock will serve as Master of Ceremonies, sharing the stage with Burns and helping to announce the Club's 2012 award winners.

The unusual cuisine is often a highlight of the evening, and this year is no exception. Those in attendance will dine on spiced Moroccan goat, Herb Roasted Kangaroo and Python Patties, amongst other unique and interesting delicacies. Tickets are still available for the event, which is open to members, guests, and friends of the EC. Call 212-628-8383 or visit Explorers.org for  more details.

Prominent Explorers Club Member Publicly Call For President's Resignation

It has been a few weeks since I last posted on the growing internal controversy over at the Explorers Club. During that time, I know there has been some on going discussions with members over the leadership, and I'm told that a board meeting, held on January 28th, was a very long, and difficult one. Now, it seems that the Club's spat is going public once again, as one of its more prominent members has called for President Lorie Karnath to resign from her post.

EC member Greg Bledsoe updated his blog yesterday with this post, in which he reveals that Explorer's Club Honorary President Don Walsh has sent out a letter to the membership that calls for the resignation of Karnath as President of the club. You can read Don's e-mail here. It gives a good over view of the entire controversy in the club, and indicates that this is the greatest crisis of leadership the organization has seen while he has been a part of it. For the record, he has been a member for more than 50 years.

In case you're wondering, Walsh has a long and distinguished career in exploration and has served as part of the EC leadership for two decades, while also earning the Club's highest award, as well as Hubbard Medal from National Geographic. He was named the Honorary President due to his service to the organization, and has been highly supportive of presidents in the past. To say he carries a lot of weight within the EC is an understatement, and for him to ask for the resignation of the current President is a big deal.

I know a number of readers of this blog also happen to be members of the Explorers Club. I believe that this is an important story that needs to be shared, as the organization is now at a crossroads in terms of where it will go in the 21st century. In Walsh's letter, he talks about stifled communication brought on by Karnath and her "ruling clique," as well "ethics trials" brought against board members – often on dubious terms. He also mentions that there has been an unwillingness to share financial records with board members, and even touches on the highly irregular move by 10 members of the Club's Flag & Honors committee who threatened to resign over other implications of impropriety.

To get the full story, be sure to read Greg's blog post, which he has followed up today with his thoughts on who he'll be voting for in the EC Board elections that are coming up soon. It seems that they will be vitally important in determining who controls the 107-year old Club as we move forward in the years ahead.

(PS: I generally have used a graphic of the EC flag to denote posts on these topics, but I was kindly asked to no longer do so by Club officials, lest they get a cease and desist order on my humble little blog. In this post, I elected to use an image of Don Walsh that Greg is using on his site as well.)

Explorers Club Member Blogs On Controversy Once Again

A few days ago I shared a link to Greg Bledsoe's blog, in which he wrote about the on going controversy at the Explorers Club. Greg happens to be a member of the EC, and in that post he wrote about his concerns with the way the leadership of the organization was handling some internal disputes amongst members.

Today, Greg follows up that story with another post, this time sharing more details of what is happening inside the EC, including some memos that were sent internally regarding the situation. This second post, which you can read here, offers some insights into why ten  members of the prestigious Flag and Honors Committee resigned last month in a dispute that started when President Lorie Karnath, and some of her close confidants, nominated certain people for awards from the EC. The committee didn't find some of those nominees met their standards, and rejected them as award winners, which set off a whole string of events that questioned the integrity of some of the people at the very top of the organization.

If you've been following this controversy, you'll definitely want to read Greg's post. There isn't anything in it that I hadn't already been told, but I was reluctant to post some of the details because I'm not a member of the club. He spells out exactly what caused the friction with the Flag & Honors Committee, and why those ten people took a stand against Karnath, and were then summarily dismissed without having an opportunity to express their grievances to the Board of Directors.

I know some readers have wondered why this is a big story and deserves on going coverage and to that I would say that the Explorers Club is a venerable and honorable organization whose history dates back more than a century. It has had some very impressive members over the years and has long held an important place in the annuals of exploration and adventure. On top of that, a number of members of the club read this blog and I've heard from many of them that they are happy that this story is getting told. There is a crisis of leadership with in the EC at the moment, and some of the members are fighting to maintain the reputation and history of the organization, which they feel is in jeopardy because of how the club is currently being run. Because of that, I think this is a story of note to the broader adventure community as well.

Explorers Club Member Blogs On Club's Internal Conflict

It has been a few weeks since I last posted anything in regards to the reportedly on going internal disputes at the Explorers Club. The last time I wrote anything about the situation, it was to note that explorer and club member Mikael Strandberg had posted a letter of support for EC President Lorie Karnath on his website. That post has since been removed, although I don't have any insights into why that would be the case.

Over the course of the past few weeks, I've heard from a couple of club members who continued to say that there are all kinds of issues with the leadership and management of the club. Those members wished to remain anonymous, and really didn't want me to say much about what they told me, but the message that I received was clear – I don't even know the half of what is going on, and the things that I've wrote about over the past few months are just the tip of the iceberg.

Apparently, I'm not the only one taking notice of the conflict that is playing out inside the EC, as another club member has stepped forward with some thoughts on the situation. Earlier today, Greg Bledsoe, who is a doctor of expeditionary medicine and one of the founders of ExpedMed, posted this article on his website offering some more insights into the affair. Greg has a lot to say about this story, and makes a public request to Karnath to provide answers to a variety of questions.

Bledsoe says that he first became aware of the situation from the New York Post article from a few weeks back. That story, which I wrote about as well, featured some rather significant quotes from EC members Ken Kamler and Jim Clash, who called out the President for disciplining television personalty Josh Bernstein in what was seen as a vindictive move against a potential threat to her office. Kamler in particular had some harsh things to say on the matter.

What was interesting about this is that in his blog post Bledsoe says that he has gotten to know Kamler very well over the years and that he had never heard him so upset. From his writing, it is clear that Greg holds Kamler in very high regard and says that "He (Kamler) has a long list of accomplishments, but carries himself with sincere humility and dignity. He is one of the most genuine people I know, and one of the easiest to get along with."

That doesn't sound like someone who would fly off the handle for no particular reason. Especially when you couple it with the fact that Greg goes on to say that Ken "absolutely loves The Explorers Club."

While he was disturbed by the story in the Post and my own writings on the situation, Greg says that he didn't think or do much about the emerging story until Karnath sent an internal e-mail to the membership that caused him to take pause and consider the big picture of what was happening. That e-mail is posted on his blog and does nothing to address the concerns of members, who continue to wonder the exact nature of the disciplinary action against Bernstein, or why 10 of the 12 Flag and Honors Committee members resigned in protest.

As a long time member of the Explorers Club, and someone who respects the institution greatly, Bledsoe attempted to reach out to the leadership of the organization and get some answers. As of the time of the publishing of his story, he has received no response at all.

If you've been following his ongoing story and want to get yet another perspective of the situation, than I urge you to read Greg's blog post. Remember, this is coming from a member of the Explorers Club, who was actually willing to go on record and publicly call out the EC's leadership. I think it shows that not only is this internal conflict still raging on, but that it also seems that the club is in disarray over the whole affair. Why else would leadership of the organization not respond to a member's needs?

I think my source from a few weeks back was right. This is only the tip of the iceberg and there is A LOT more to the story than any of us really know.

Mikael Strandberg Gives Explorers Club President A Show of Support

Update: It has been brought to my attention that Mikael has removed his post in support of President Lorie Karnath from his site. I don't have any insights as to why that may have happened, but I wanted to note that it is no longer there.

Prior to taking a holiday-hiatus, I had written several times about an ongoing conflict that was brewing inside the Explorers Club. The gist of the story, which you can read about here, here, and here, was that some members of the club, particularly those on the prestigious Flag and Honors Committee, were dissatisfied with the leadership of the organization, with EC President Lorie Karnath receiving the brunt of the criticism. I won't rehash the entire story again, but would urge you to check out the links above to get the full background.

Today, EC club member Mikael Strandberg, who I coincidently wrote about yesterday, has written a message of support for the club, and President Karnath, on his blog. In an effort to offer a fair look at  both sides of the controversy, and because I respect Mikael greatly, I wanted to share a link to what he wrote and some of his thoughts on the current leadership at the EC.

In the post, Strandberg talks about his first impressions of the Explorers Club (they weren't good), and how those impressions changed after he became a member. He also talks about Karnath getting elected as President and all of the positive things she has done for the EC since she took over. He feels that Lorie has helped raise the level of awareness of the club internationally and has gone to great efforts to improve the financial status of the organization as well. Mikael goes on to share an internal e-mail from Barry Moss that went out to members of the British Chapter of the EC. That note gives a different perspective on some of the happenings inside the club and accuses Karnath's critics of trying to keep the club "more insular, conservative and New York centric."  He also says that they are undermining the club's integrity and hurting its reputation as a whole.

If you've been following this ongoing saga, which has been picked-up and documented by several other media outlets, you'll want to read Mikael's post as well, as it does provide a different perspective on some of the things that we've already heard.

Explorers Club Follow-Up: Clarification On Yesterday's Story

Explorers Club Infighting Hits New York Post

One of the stories I've been following over the past few weeks has been reports of serious infighting going on at the Explorers Club, an organization that has been around for more than a hundred years and has counted such notable explorers as Neil Armstrong and Sir Edmund Hillary amongst its ranks. Today, a story appeared in the New York Post that gives us a further glimpse at what is going on behind closed doors at the venerable institution.

You can read the Post article by clicking here, but in a nutshell it shares some details of a completely different internal struggle from the one that I've been writing about. It seems that club leadership (read President Lorie Karnath) saw fit to bring disciplinary actions against one of its board of directors for accepting free tickets to the club's annual spring dinner. The tickets were provided by the sponsor of the event, Rolex, and were given to Explorers Club member Josh Bernstein, who the Post says was "censured and fined" over the incident.

I'm sure more than a few of you have seen Josh on his popular television shows Digging for the Truth and Into the Unknown. Bernstein, who has always been an explorer first and a television personality second in my mind, didn't offer comment on the affair, but his lawyer says that it has "resulted in unwarranted criticism of his character and integrity" inside the organization.

EC member Ken Kamler, who is also a club director, is actually much more candid in his assessment of the situation however, saying that the disciplinary action was taken as more of a vindictive move by Karnath over Bernstein. Kamler says that Josh is a potential candidate to be a future president of the Explorers Club, and is a direct threat to Karnath, who is up for re-election in 2012. Berstein's position on the board is also subject to re-election next year too, and the censure and fining could be used as a way to cast him in a bad light, with club elections just around the corner. Kamler concludes his statements by saying that under Karnath, the EC has become a "rich person's travel club," as the current president seems more interested in "rubbing shoulders with explorers while promoting cronies."

That last statement plays more into the controversy that I had been writing about recently. (You can read my previous reports here, here, and here.) As you may recall, my coverage of what was happening at the club started a few weeks back when I received word that 10 of the 12 members of the prestigious Flag and Honors Committee resigned when their selection process for awards and medals was openly questioned by nominees who had no business even knowing they were nominated, let alone the process that took place to select the eventual winners. My sources tell me that some of those nominees were put forward by the President, or her closest advisors, and that they were not happy when the Committee decided to select other winners.

As a result, the entire process was called into question at a board meeting in St. Louis, resulting in attacks on the integrity of the Flag and Honors Committee itself. I'm told it was quite a heated discussion, that went on for some time, and afterwards 10 of the 12 members of the Committee sent a letter to the Board asking for an investigation into the breach in confidentiality over their final nominations, and an over all look at how the awards were being given. The implication was that some of the EC leadership were using the awards for political gain or to reward friends, some of which had done little to earn such an honor. The letter asked for the investigation to be completed ahead of the next board meeting on January 27th, and that if such an investigation didn't take place, the 10 members would resign from the F&H committee. Rather than wait for the board to respond however, Karnath chose to accept the resignations immediately. By the way, the only two members of the Committee to not sign the letter to the Board were Karnath and her husband.

These two stories, the move against Josh Bernstein and the actions with the Flag and Honors Committee illustrate what some are saying are moves by the President, and her closest confidants, to consolidate power at the Explorers Club to ensure that Karnath stays at the helm of the organization for years to come. In her defense, she did guide the organization through a very tough economic phase and she found ways to keep the organization from hemorrhaging money. She has been credited with "bringing the EC into the 21st century" in a number of ways. But these current inside stories seem to hint that there is a high level of nepotism going on as well, which flies in the face of the values on which the Club was founded.

I'll finish this post with a direct quote from the article by the Post.

Fellow director Jim Clash added,“What is happening there now is truly insane. Sir Edmund Hillary, our late honorary president, is probably rolling over in his grave.”

Explorers Club Follow-Up: Flag and Honors Committee Members

Last week I posted a couple of stories about some strange rumblings coming out of the Explorers Club and an internal dispute that resulted in ten members of the prestigious Flag and Honors Committee either resigning or being dismissed, depending on which side of the story you believe. You can read both of my posts here and here.

So who were these rebel committee members that resulted in the first mass resignation in the history of the century-old organization? Are they some wild band of misfits? On the contrary, the group consists of numerous Explorers Club award winners, past presidents, and board members. Between them, they have over 200 years of membership in the club, in some cases dating back decades. The list includes:

John Bruno (President Emeritus)
Leroy Chiao (Astronaut)
David Concannon (Expedition Diver)
Constance Difede (Vice President of the Committee)
Lindy Elkins-Tanton (Research Scientist)
Max Gallimore (Explorer/World Traveler)
Ken Kamler (Expedition Doctor)
Mike Manyak (Expedition Doctor)
Lee Talbot (Environmental Specialist/Geologist)
Don Walsh (Oceanographer)

While some of those may not all be household names, these are men and women who are highly esteemed in their fields. Additionally, the serving on the Flag and Honors Committee is an honor within the EC as well.

At issue here isn't the fact that these committee members were let go, but that it happened as part of a larger dispute in which these ten people were asking for the Board of Directors to review the processes for which Explorers Club awards and medals are given out. The implication is that those awards are being used for political gain within the organization, and were not necessarily being awarded to people who had earned them by doing scientific research or ground breaking exploration. For an organization as highly regarded as the EC, this is a very serious issue to say the least.

Of the 12 members who sit on the Flag and Honors Committee, only the Explorers Club President and her husband, declined to offer their resignation over this still developing situation.

Explorers Club Follow-Up: More Details Emerge

After posting my previous story last night on the unusual happenings at the Explorers Club, I've now had a second source come forward to fill in more of the details and I've also spoken with an official from the Club itself. This is definitely an evolving story right now, with two very different perspectives of this situation. I'll try to best relate the details as they have been conveyed to me from both sides.

First, I'll tell you what I heard back from the Club itself after I placed a phone call yesterday looking for comment. This morning, I received a call back from Explorers Club Executive Director Matt Williams, who understandably couldn't share a lot of details. He did say that the dispute came about when the Club's Board of Directors requested specific information from the Flag and Honors Committee and that the committee refused to provide that information. When the Board pressed them for the requested documents, 10 of the 12 committee members threatened to resign, and when that happened, President Lorie Karnath chose to accept their resignations immediately.

Matt didn't share exactly what information the Board was requesting, nor is the reasoning behind why the committee would refuse to provide it, simply stating that it wasn't something for public knowledge. Williams also noted that this dispute is an internal one, and that the Club wished to resolve it privately and with respect to the history and stature of the organization.

Some of what the Executive Director told me runs a bit counter to what I'm hearing from my second source however. I've been told that the dispute began prior to an October Board meeting that was held in St. Louis, when a list of nominees for the Club's prestigious awards was leaked to several of the people who had been nominated. Some of those nominees had been backed by Club Directors, and when the Flag and Honors Committee held their confidential vote, those nominees were ultimately left off the short list of final candidates. I'm told that this didn't sit well with the Directors who nominated them and caused quite a stir at the Board meeting. The integrity of the F&H Committee was called into question, as were their policies and procedures they employed. Some even suggested that the final list of candidates for the awards be thrown out altogether.

As a result of these proceedings, 10 of the 12 F&H Committee members drafted a letter to the Board asking them to investigate the breach in confidentiality in the Committee's process for selecting award winners and the use of the awards for political gain. Those members said that if such an investigation didn't take place prior to a Board meeting scheduled for January 27, 2012 in San Francisco, that they would resign their positions.

This letter in question was sent to the Board approximately ten days ago and echos some of the same concerns that were part of a separate report from the Club's Ombudsman that was the result of an independent  assessment of how the Club operates. The two documents were on the agenda for a special Board meeting that was held on Monday of this week, but despite their urgent nature, and the possibility of high ranking club members resigning, I'm told that neither of them were discussed.

On Wednesday, the President notified the 10 members of the F&H Committee that she was accepting their resignations immediately and without any discussion with the Board on the matter. They were, in effect, let go from their positions on the Committee, without receiving a proper response to the letter that expressed their concerns over how the Club is being run.

According to one of my sources, this is the first time in the Club's 107 year history that there have been mass resignations from any committee. It is also unclear whether or not the President acted within her purview in accepting the resignations, as all committee members and chairs are approved by the Board of Directors.

In regards to the story that the Committee members were let go because they refused to provide information requested by the Board, my sources say that this is untrue. I'm told that the Board didn't request anything from them, although the President and two Directors did ask to see documentation showing deliberations by the F&H committee on the nominees who failed to win the awards. This came after the Board of Directors accepted the Committee's nominations. Apparently, members of the Committee didn't feel comfortable handing those documents over to anyone other than the Board, citing prior issues with keeping the information confidential.

The Explorers Club is an organization with a long and storied history, and for more than a century its members have been some of the biggest names in exploration and adventure. It is clear that there is an internal dispute going on right now over how the organization is being run and where it is headed in the future. While the story clearly has two sides, I can tell you that the two sources that I have spoken to on this topic have a deep respect and admiration for the Club and its members, both past and present, and they fear a tainting of the organization's reputation due to the use of some of the Club's institutions for political gain.

How will all of this play out? For now, we'll have to wait and see. The details to the story are still emerging at this time.

Are Things Amiss At The Explorers Club?

I received an interesting tip today of big things brewing at The Explorers Club, the venerable institution that has played a vital role in promoting the exploration of our planet. It seems that over the past day or so, 10 of the 12 members of the organization's Flag and Honors Committee have resigned over disagreements within the Club. I'm told that members of that committee sent a letter to The Explorers Club Board of Directors expressing concerns about the direction the Officers and Directors were taking the organization. The letter reportedly requested the Board take action to address their concerns by their next meeting, scheduled for January 27, 2012, or the committee would resign. Rather than address those concerns however, President Lorie Karnath elected to accept their resignations effective immediately.

Since its founding in 1904, the Explorers Club has remained at the forefront of the research and exploration of our planet. The organization now boasts more than 30 chapters around the world and its grant programs remain instrumental in helping scientists, explorers, and adventurers achieve their goals. Over the years, the Club has had a number of famous and distinguished members, including Sir Edmund Hillary, Roald Amundsen, Robert Peary, and Neil Armstrong.

Exactly what is at the heart of this internal dispute isn't exactly clear, but I can tell you that the members of the Flag and Honors Committee are certainly not rank and file members. I'm told that their ranks include several Sweeney Medalists, winners of the Citation of Merit, a senior Past President, nine former Board Members, and the current Honorary President. Collectively, these committee members have more than 200 years of club membership amongst them.

For these members to take a stand of this nature, there must be some serious issues that need to be resolved. Earlier today, I called the Explorers Club in New York to give them an opportunity to make an official statement on the situation, but those calls, as of now, remain unreturned. I guess we'll have to wait to see how this plays out, but it seems that things are definitely amiss at the Explorers Club.

Explorers Club Now Accepting Student Grant Applications

The Explorers Club is now accepting student grant applications for 2012. The program gives students, high school through grad school, who will be conducting individual scientific or exploration research projects the opportunity to receive funding to support their work.

The awards programs fall into two categories, Youth Activity Fund and Exploration Fund. The former is designed for high school and undergrad students, while the latter is for graduate, post-graduate, doctorate and early career post-doctoral students. The amount of the award generally falls between $500-$1500, but can go as high as $5000 in rare circumstances.

For more information on the grants and the process for applying click here. You'll also find the application form and lists of past winners on the same page.

The deadline for submitting your application is November 15. Grant winners will be announced in April.