Alexandra Cousteau

A globally recognized advocate on water quality and policy, Alexandra continues the work of her renowned grandfather Jaques-Yves and father Philippe Cousteau. At 33, she has already mastered the remarkable storytelling tradition handed down to her and has the unique ability to draw audiences into the weighty issues of policy, politics and action.

Alexandra is dedicated to advocating the importance of conservation and sustainable management of water resources in order to preserve a healthy planet. Her global initiatives seek to inspire and empower individuals to protect not only the ocean and its inhabitants, but also the human communities that rely on the purity of our freshwater resources.

In 2008, she founded Blue Legacy, a Washington, D.C.–based nonprofit dedicated to exploring how humans relate to our water-based planet. Through projects like the recent Expedition: Blue Planet, Alexandra combines traditional film and social media to engage global audiences online—showing how individuals and communities contribute to an interdependent global water system, and how they can work together to protect it. In her first book This Blue Planet, to be published in 2011 by Dutton Publishing (a division of the Penguin Group), Alexandra will share stories and findings from her 100-day expedition—which took her from the Ganges River in India to the Okavango Delta in Botswana, throughout the Middle East and across both Cambodia and Australia.

Educated in International Relations at Georgetown University, Alexandra brings expertise and energy to the environmental issues that matter most. And she’s quickly establishing a name of her own. In 2009, Alexandra joined the Discovery Channel line-up, co-hosting “Blue August” with brother Philippe, Jr and serving as a Chief Correspondent on Water Issues for Discovery’s Planet Green. In 2008, she was honored as a National Geographic’s “Emerging Explorers” Class of 2008—an elite group of eleven visionary young trailblazers from around the world who push the boundaries of discovery, adventure, and global problem solving. She has been honored as an “Earth Trustee” by the UN and regularly delivers testimony on critical policy issues before the U.S. Congress. She currently sits on the Board of Directors of the Global Water Challenge, Mother Nature Network, and EarthEcho; and the steering committee of The Shark Alliance.

Fluent in English, French, and Spanish, Alexandra has served as a keynote speaker on environmental issues for organizations ranging from the United Nations, National Geographic, Harvard University and the Smithsonian, to the National Press Club, Bioneers and the Telluride Mountain Film Festival. She is regularly featured on CNN International as a Principal Voice, writes numerous columns for the international press, and was named with Tyra Banks as a 2008 Fun Fearless Phenom by Cosmopolitan magazine.