Mireya Mayor has led an unconventional life — even for a National Geographic explorer — and she wants to tell people all about it.
Her story includes a Fulbright scholarship, National Science Foundation fellowship, a stint as an NFL cheerleader with her hometown Miami Dolphins and co-discovering the world’s smallest primate. She’s also mom to six kids and FIU’s new director of exploration and science communications initiative.
Mayor’s life has been shaped by her love of the wild and her drive to protect it.
“Being out in the wild is my favorite thing about any expedition — being out in nature and unlocking a possible mystery. That motivates me,” she said.
That propensity for exploration was what first inspired her to “hang up my pom poms and take up a pair of hiking boots and a backpack,” a journey she talks about in her memoir, “Pink Boots and a Machete: My Journey From NFL Cheerleader to National Geographic Explorer.”
She traveled to Madagascar, where in 2000, she co-discovered a species of microcebus, or mouse lemur. Her work with the rare primate inspired the prime minister of Madagascar to establish a national park conserving the last 10 percent of the island nation’s once vast forest to help protect the new species.
“Most of the animals that I work with are critically endangered and at risk of going extinct within our lifetime,” she said. “Some places I’ve been to are rare and unexplored regions that people don’t know much about.”
Mayor discusses her exploits to captivate and inspire her audiences to care about animals and places they may never see. Her goal is to inspire them through behind-the-scenes stories and vivid images and videos to care enough to want to protect them.
“We scientists need as much help from everyone to take on all the challenges we are facing from the climate crisis to the extinction crisis, because once those species are gone, they’re gone forever,” she says.
She feels a responsibility as a scientist to communicate information and to connect to people in more than just a superficial way. She wants to inspire change, and believes that the power of science communication lies in its ability to transform data into action.
“I’m a scientist and a science communicator,” she says. “I don’t think one can live without the other.” The primatologist and wildlife correspondent agrees that science is of the utmost importance but also asserts that without science communication, “it’s just language and files.”
“I want people to walk away inspired,” she says. “There’s hope in spite of the challenges we’re facing.”
Mireya Mayor will share her personal journey Thursday, March 5 at the Florida Keys Brewing Company (81611 Old Hwy., Islamorada). The talk is part of FIU’s monthly Ocean Life series and will be hosted by FIU and the Friends of the Cultural Center. The talk is free and open to the public. Happy hour and a meet-and-greet start at 6:30 p.m., and the lecture will run from 7 to 8 p.m.
