Welcome to the Secret Atlas team page.

The passion for remote destinations brings us together to create and share authentic experiences with you.

Partners

Michele D'Agostino
Head of Sales and Partnerships, Co-founder

An avid high latitude sailor and explorer, Michele co-founded Secret Atlas to bring the small group expedition experience to the Polar regions.

Holder of Yacht Master Ocean (commercially endorsed) and PTGA Polar Guide.

andy marsh secret atlas profile

Andy Marsh
Head Of Product & Marketing, Co-founder

A passionate traveller and explorer of remote places, Andy co-founded Secret Atlas to share his love of the wilderness in a low impact and intimate way.

Andy's Blog Post
Mariano Curiel Head of Operations and Sustainability Secret Atlas

Mariano Curiel
Head Of Operations & Sustainability

Mariano Curiel is a senior polar guide and expedition leader with a wealth of experience in the execution and management of operations.

Meet Mariano

Expedition Team

Expedition Leaders

John Rodsted
Photo & Expedition Leader

Originally trained as a commercial photographer, he has impacted the world of imagery from the moment he set up his own studio in Melbourne at 22.
Today, he is not only known for his award-winning work as a photojournalist of communities at risk, but also for his artistic and written work.

Meet John
Mette Elisuessen Profile Picture

Mette Eliseussen
Photo & Expedition Leader

Mette has guided in all polar regions for over 16 years, totaling over 300 voyages. Before this, she was program manager for Save the Children in Afghanistan from 1990 to 1997 and was a key member of the international campaign to ban landmines, who were awarded the 1997 Nobel Peace prize.

Meet Mette
Laali Berthelsen

Laali Berthelsen
Expedition Leader

Laali is from Nuuk in Greenland. She is a highly experienced Arctic guide and has extensive knowledge of all places cold including Greenland, Canada, Iceland and Svalbard.

Meet Laali
ali liddle expedition guide

Ali Liddle
Expedition Leader

Ali has been working on cruise ships since 2010 and is a self-confessed ‘Polar Addict’. Her particular interest is natural history, the wildlife and flora and she enjoys sharing her local knowledge of and passion for the polar regions.

Meet Ali
Meet the Team - David Berg

David Berg
Expedition Leader

David is an accomplished professional polar guide from Sweden who has led expeditions in Svalbard, Greenland, Scotland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, South Georgia, the Falkland Islands and Antarctica.

Meet David
Julia Wellner Expedition Guide

Julia Wellner
Expedition Leader

Julia has been working as a guide and expedition leader since 2017: in winter & spring as a snowmobile guide on Svalbard, summers as a guide and expedition leader on expedition cruises in Svalbard and Greenland.

Meet Julia
Meet the Team- Rickard Berg

Rickard Berg
Expedition Leader

Rickard began his polar career working in the Norwegian high Arctic and works as a wilderness guide on expedition vessels in Norway, Svalbard, Greenland, Iceland, the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Antarctica.

Meet Rickard
Josephine Schulze expedition guide Secret Atlas

Josephine Schulze
Expedition Guide

Josephine is a marine mammal scientist from Germany. She has studied whales in Canada, Iceland, Scotland and the Falkland Islands and worked several seasons as a guide in Svalbard and Antarctica onboard small cruise ships.

Meet Josephine
Raphaël Sané expedition guide Secret Atlas

Raphaël Sané
Expedition Leader

Raphaël has a lifelong interest in nature and holds a Master of Advanced Studies in Hydrobiology. In 1997, he participated in his first scientific expedition to Arctic Siberia. He works as a guide, instructor, and expedition leader aboard our expeditions in the Arctic.

Meet Raphaël
Ombline Chabasseur expedition leader Secret Atlas

Ombline Chabasseur
Expedition Leader

Ombline Chabasseur has been working as a guide and expedition leader all over the Arctic and Antarctic. With more than 12 years of guiding experience and her passion for the polar regions, she’ll make your trip unforgettable.

Meet Ombline
Robert Gilmore expedition leader

Robert Gilmore
Expedition Leader

Bob has enjoyed 18 seasons working in the polar regions as Expedition Leader and Lecturer on Geology, Glaciology and Sea Ice. More recently, he and a few colleagues have developed a citizen science initiative that is helping scientists understand how climate change is affecting the Polar Regions.

Meet Bob
Meet the team - Andreas Umbreit

Andreas Umbreit
Expedition Leader

Andreas has extensive experience in Svalbard, Greenland and the Russian Arctic. First visited Spitsbergen in 1986, he is an author of guide books and was a first tour operator registered in Spitsbergen.

Meet Andreas
Jon Fuhrmann Expedition Guide Secret Atlas

Jon Fuhrmann
Expedition Guide

Jon is a science communicator and expedition guide. He has a Master’s degree in glaciology and has worked for the Natural History Museum in London and the British Antarctic Survey. Jon has traveled to six continents and has a passion for the polar regions, astronomy, planetary sciences, and climate change. He is also an avid photographer.

Meet Jon
Virgil Reglioni Expedition Leader Secret Atlas

Virgil Reglioni
Expedition Leader

Virgil is a polar expedition leader and professional photographer who specializes in polar landscapes and the Northern lights. He has won international photography awards and teaches photography in Northern Norway during late winters.

Meet Virgil

Our Photographers

Meet the Team - Florian Ledoux

Florian Ledoux
Photography Expert

Florian Ledoux is an artist, documentary filmmaker and photographer. Lately, he worked for BBC “Frozen Planet II”, Disney “Polar Bear” as well as Netflix and National Geographic.

Meet Florian
Paul Goldstein Profile Picture South Georgia

Paul Goldstein
Photography Expert

Paul Goldstein is a wildlife photographer and conservationist based in the UK. He is best known for his stunning wildlife photographs, which have been featured in numerous publications and exhibitions worldwide.

Meet Paul
photography gear guide

Chase Teron
Photography Expert

Chase is a Canadian environmentalist, adventurer and photographer. He has travelled extensively across the Arctic in search of the perfect shot. He is passionate about conservation and teaching photography.

Meet Chase
frauke hameister profile secret atlas

Frauke Hameister
Photography Expert

Frauke is a professional adventure and travel photographer and creative freelancer passionate about capturing the big and small moments of the world around her.

Meet Frauke

Hannes Becker
Photography Expert

A pro photographer and guide, Hannes specialises in the adventure and landscape niche. He is inspired by the north and drawn to the remoteness faraway.

Meet Hannes
Konsta Punkka profile picture out in the field

Konsta Punkka
Photography Expert

Konsta is an award winning wildlife, outdoor and commercial photographer, speaker and Nikon Ambassador. He specialises in capturing close up intimate portraits of wildlife mostly in the arctic region.

Meet Konsta

Jenni Teron
Photography Expert

Jenni Teron is an artist and photographer with a deep love of nature. Her work has been featured in major commercial campaigns for international brands such as Canon, Arc’teryx, and Aquatica.

Meet Jenni
greenland photography worskshop

Rick Tomlinsson
Photography Expert

Rick is a professional, expedition, wildlife yachting photographer. His pictures have been published in magazines all over the world, including National Geographic and in Yachting World.

Meet Rick

Office Team

Meet the Team - Lidia Stranc

Lidia Stranc
Sales & Operations

Lidia has over 8 years of experience running operations and production for several organizations.

Meet the Team - Kalena Martensen

Kalena Martensen
Digital Content Producer

Fascinated by the polar regions since her early childhood, in preparation for her studies she has been supporting the Secret Atlas team since January 2022.

Craig West
Web Development

Craig has 22 years of experience in Front-end UI Web Developement. He is a multidisciplinary front-end UI developer working with Startups and Agencies within the UK and EU.

Prakash Shah
Finance

Prakash is a qualified accountant, with years of financial experience with blue-chip names such as Deloitte, Nomura, Barclays, M&G, UBS and JP Morgan.

Becky Matthews

Becky Lima-Matthews
Freelance Content Writer

Becky is a freelance copywriter, content writer and scriptwriter based in London. She has over seven years’ experience in writing words that inspire action, raise awareness, educate and entertain. As well as her work for Secret Atlas, she also works with organisations such as Into Film, YHA and King’s Health Partners.