Known worldwide as the Ambassador for the Ocean, Sylvia Earle is also TIME magazine's first "Hero for the Planet" and National Geographic's first Explorer in Residence. She is former NOAA Chief Scientist, and the first person to walk untethered at the lowest depth ever—1, 250 feet. She is a major force in the establishment and growth of the world's marine sanctuaries and was personally responsible for convincing President Bush that the recently named sanctuary in Hawaii should be protected. She is founder and director of Deep Ocean Research and Exploration, which designs instruments for deep-sea exploration. She is author of 15 books on the ocean.