About Geoff

Geoff Green is a global leader in polar education and youth engagement and Founder and President of the award-winning Students on Ice (SOI) Foundation.

About Geoff

Geoff Green is a global leader in polar education and youth engagement and Founder and President of the award-winning Students on Ice (SOI) Foundation.

When you touch youth in the heart,
that is when commitment and change begins.

The Polar Regions have always captivated and inspired Geoff. They are the cornerstones of our global ecosystem, natural treasures, symbols of peace and windows into our past and our future. They remind us that everything is interconnected. They are a homeland, wilderness, frontier, laboratory and what Geoff likes to call The Greatest Classrooms on Earth.

Geoff’s vision for the SOI Foundation began in the 90s during an Antarctic expedition he led for adult participants. This was a turning point for him as he realized what an important impact this experience could have on youth in their formative years to shape their perspectives, and to motivate and inspire them as globally minded leaders and polar ambassadors.

As a former schoolteacher, this was the moment when Geoff’s educational background and his passion for the Polar Regions collided. Thanks to the incredible support and mentorship he received, Students on Ice became a reality and in January 2000, Geoff organized and led the world’s first student expedition to Antarctica.

Today, Geoff ‘s experience as an Expedition Leader and Polar Educator spans three decades and more than 130 expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic, as well as numerous journeys to other fascinating and remote corners of the planet.

Geoff’s award-winning program boasts a network of more than 3,000 alumni from 52 countries with a strong connection to the natural world and to one another — a connection that fuels their goals and ambitions on a local and global level. The outcomes are extraordinary.

 

Geoff’s experience working and traveling across the Circumpolar Arctic, the Antarctic, and across the global ocean is extensive and diverse. He has worked and collaborated on national and international projects in education, science, media and conservation.

 

In 2017, Geoff completed his most ambitious project to date – the Canada C3 expedition, a 150-day, 25,000 km sailing journey around Canada’s coastline to celebrate the people and places that make up Canada’s three coasts as part of Canada’s 150th Anniversary of Confederation. The expedition’s themes were youth engagement, environment, diversity & inclusion and reconciliation. The successful www.canadac3.ca journey reached an audience of over 20 million.
Geoff and his partner Dr. Lisa Glithero live with their two children in Chelsea, Quebec.

 

Accomplishments

Accomplishments

Geoff ‘s experience as an Expedition Leader and Polar Educator spans three decades and more than 130 expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic, as well as numerous journeys to other fascinating and remote corners of the planet.

Geoff has received numerous awards and recognitions over the course of his career. Most notably, he was appointed to the prestigious Order of Canada in 2012, the country’s highest civilian honour. This was in recognition of a lifetime of distinguished service to his community and to his field “for his contributions as an environmental educator and explorer, notably his commitment to conservation issues in the Arctic and Antarctic.” The Order of Canada is the centrepiece of Canada’s honours system and recognizes outstanding achievement and merit of a high degree, especially in service to Canada or to humanity at large. Most recently, Geoff was awarded the l’Ordre national du Québec in 2019 and the Stefansson Medal in 2020, The highest honour given out by The Explorers Club Canadian Chapter.   

He was selected as one of the Top 25 Transformational Canadians by The Globe and Mail, CTV and La Presse. Outpost Magazine chose Geoff as one of the “Top 5 Canadian Explorers” to watch. The Globe and Mail called Geoff “the man who revolutionized polar and environmental education”.

Other awards and recognitions include:

  • Leif Erikson Awards, hosted by the Exploration Museum in Húsavík, Iceland, has voted to award Geoff Green the Leif Erikson Exploration History Award 
  • Finalists for the Shackleton Medal for the Protection of the Polar Regions
  • Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal;
  • Honorary Doctorate of Education from Nipissing University;
  • Special Congressional Recognition from the U.S. Congress;
  • Canada’s “Top 40 under 40”;
  • The Citation of Merit for outstanding feats of exploration and service by the prestigious Explorers Club in New York City;
  • Bestowed the Inuktitut name “Pitsiulak” by the Commissioner of Nunavut;
  • Recipient of the Michael J. Smith award for Science Promotion;
  • Chosen as one of the Top 25 Transformational Canadians by CTV, Globe & Mail, and La Presse;
  • Fellow, The Explorers Club;
  • Fellow, The Royal Canadian Geographical Society

Leadership Roles

In addition to Geoff’s work with Students on Ice, Geoff is involved in a variety of advisory roles:

  • Chair, Board of Directors, Ottawa Riverkeeper
  • Goose Person Ambassador, Canada Goose
  • Advisory Board Member, Ocean Elders
  • Advisory Board Member, Oceans 2050
  • National Council Member, Canadian Canoe Museum
  • Advisory Board Member, Global Environment Media