Emily Penn

Co-founding Director of eXXpedition, Ocean Rescue Ambassador & Advocate, Co-founder & Former Skipper for Pangeea Explorations

  • Co-founder & Director of eXXpedition
  • Co-founder of Pangeea Explorations
  • Sky Ocean Ambassador & Trustee of the Nekton Foundation
  • 2016 Fitzroy Award from the Ocean Awards
  • Youngest and only female recipient of the Yachtmaster of the Year
  • Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society & Member of the Cordon Rouge Club

Emily Penn is a passionate ocean advocate, pushing the importance of taking care of the world we live in. The co-founder and Director of eXXpedition, Emily is passionate to see a reduction in plastic pollution and avidly speaks on environmental sustainability. Sharing solutions for challenges that face oceans, human mindset and future society, Emily is often booked as a sustainability speaker for corporate events.

Best known for her ocean advocacy, Emily is the co-founder of eXXpedition and Pangeea Explorations. Both organisations encompass Emily’s passion for the environment, providing unique opportunities for people to explore the world we live in, entirely female expeditions and advocacy to reduce plastic pollution. From organising the largest ever community-led rubbish clear-up to working cargo ships trading supplies for coconuts, Emily knows the oceans like the back of her hand.

Emily is also a Sky Ocean Ambassador and a Trustee of the Nekton Foundation. Emily is also the Head of the Love Your Ocean campaign and has previously worked as the Operations Manager of Earthrace around the world tour, co-Head of the Committee for Cambridge Architecture London Exhibition, Operations Manager for Sustainable Coastlines and an Ambassador for the Parley Ocean School. Emily is also a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and claimed awards such as the 2016 Fitzroy Award, Seamaster of the Year and Yachtmaster of the Year– two awards of which she is the youngest and only female recipient.

Awarded a BEM by the Queen in the 2021 New Years Honours, Emily is now booked as a sustainability speaker for corporate events. Having delivered TEDx talks titled ‘The Body Burden of Our Plastic Problem’, ‘How Did I Get to do What I do?’, ‘A Shift in Thinking Will Change the World’ and ‘What Does it Mean to be an Ocean Advocate?’, Emily is a seasoned and authoritative speaker. In her proficiency as a speaker, Emily shares her passions for saving the Earth from environmental issues, along with an in-depth understanding of the human mindset and the future of society.

Official Testimonials

Emily Penn is regularly booked to engage audiences at events, read their latest feedback below:

“As part of our #RasingTheBAR campaign to raise awareness internally and through our partners, Emily came to do a talk for the Land Rover BAR team on ocean plastics and the environmental challenges she has researched. As a fellow sailor and passionate ocean advocate, she managed to engage our team wholly, inspiring us to make a change, and further instilling in us the responsibility we have as sailors and marine industry professionals to address the issues that affect our playground and workplace”

Land Rover BAR

“After hearing Emily speak at a recent Ibex Earth event, we approached her to reprise her talk for ForumFest, a celebration of 20 years of Forum of the Future. Her engaging and vivacious presentation really encapsulated the spirit of the evening, and specifically our Inspiration Space theme. Emily takes her audience on a personal journey that perfectly balances detail and practical insight with the colour of her own experiences. Seamlessly integrating voiceover and images, Emily’s slides are pertinent and powerful. Conveying urgency and showcasing tangible opportunities to engage with the projects that she is visibly passionate about, Emily’s speaking style appeals to and captivates a variety of audiences, leaving them not only inspired, but with specific projects to direct their energy to affect real change”

Forum for the Future

“As an organisation we are extremely fortunate to work with some of the leading figures in both the environmental and adventure sectors. Unquestionably, Emily is one of the best public speakers we have had the pleasure to work with. She is clearly a leading international expert in her field and always provides insightful and thought-provoking talks. However, it is her ability to captivate an audience and inspire individuals to take positive action to help protect our planet that makes her truly stand out from the crowd. Emily is equally adept at speaking in front of large audiences or at more tailored events, whether corporate or after dinner talks. Her drive and passion are really quite remarkable and we would thoroughly recommend Emily for any speaking engagement”

IBEX Earth

To enquire about Emily Penn for your event or corporate function, simply contact us via agent@sustainability-speakers.com or call a booking agent on 0207 1010 553.