Kelly Walsh

Combining his two worlds as a naturalist and advertising consultant, Kelly Drennan Walsh is committed to bringing critical scientific and environmental issues to the forefront of public discourse on climate, conservation and political action. For nearly three decades he worked in the advertising and marketing business in various capacities, from creative director at BBDO West to marketing director for a public radio station, before moving into the nonprofit sector as a consultant. But the adventurer within him quietly beckoned; in 2012, Kelly had the opportunity to dive the Challenger Deep—the lowest point of the Mariana Trench—where his father, Captain Don Walsh, had made the historic dive aboard Trieste more than 60 years prior. In 2019, he completed the Northwest Passage transit—his visits to Antarctica, Canadian Arctic and Greenland have further solidified his commitment to his life’s mission.