Mireya Mayor
{{short description|American anthropologist and wildlife correspondent}}
Mireya Mayor (born 1973) is an American anthropologist, primatologist, and wildlife correspondent for National Geographic, part of a research expedition that discovered a new species of lemur, considered the world's smallest primate.{{Cite web|title=Dr. Mireya Mayor|url=https://usasciencefestival.org/people/dr-mireya-mayor/|access-date=2021-01-25|website=USASEF|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Three new lemur species found in Africa|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna13459004|access-date=2021-01-25|website=NBC News|language=en}} She has co-written several scientific papers on lemur species,{{Cite web|last=Mayor|first=Mireya|date=|title=List of Scientific Papers|url=https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Mireya-I-Mayor-78099910|access-date=|website=Research Gate}} and has been referred to as the "female Indiana Jones."{{Cite web |title=Adventures of the 'female Indiana Jones' |url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/03/31/mireya.mayor.explorer/index.html |access-date=2022-10-24 |website=www.cnn.com |language=en}}[https://web.archive.org/web/20110217212636/http://www.nationalgeographic.com/field/explorers/mireya-mayor/ Mireya Mayor, Primatologist/Conservationist Information, Facts, News, Photos - National Geographic]
Early life and education
Mayor, born in 1973, grew up in Miami and was raised by her mother, grandmother, and aunt, who had emigrated to the U.S. from Cuba in 1965.{{Cite news|url=https://www.timescolonist.com/life/african-wildlife-discovery-helped-launch-career-of-mireya-mayor-1.23491060|title=African wildlife discovery helped launch career of Mireya Mayor|last=Harnett|first=Cindy E.|date=2018-11-08|work=Times Colonist|access-date=2019-05-01}}{{Cite web |last=Adkins |first=JoAnn |title=National Geographic Explorer Mireya Mayor joins FIU |url=https://news.fiu.edu/2019/national-geographic-explorer-mireya-mayor-joins-fiu |access-date=2022-10-24 |website=FIU News |language=en}} Her mother, a nurse, would not allow her to join the Girl Scouts, saying it was too dangerous.{{Cite web |last1=Lee |first1=Luaine |last2=Service |first2=Tribune News |title=Explorer Mireya Mayor treks into the unknown with 'Expedition Bigfoot' |url=https://www.theday.com/movies/20191221/explorer-mireya-mayor-treks-into-the-unknown-with-expedition-bigfoot/ |access-date=2022-10-25 |website=www.theday.com |language=en-US}}
She studied at the University of Miami where she obtained her bachelor's degree in anthropology and philosophy, and for four years was a cheerleader for the NFL Miami Dolphins.
Mayor, a Fulbright Scholar and a National Science Foundation fellow, earned her PhD in anthropology from Stony Brook University in New York in 2008.{{Cite web |title=Mireya Mayor '08 Featured in Hispanic Heritage Month Panel Sponsored by the NSF |url=http://www.patwrightlab.net/1/post/2021/10/mireya-mayor-08-featured-in-hispanic-heritage-month-panel-sponsored-by-the-nsf.html |access-date=2022-10-24 |website=Pat Wright Lab - Stony Brook University |language=en}}
Career
In 1999, Mayor was hired as the first female wildlife correspondent for the National Geographic series Ultimate Explorer. Two episodes she hosted, "Girl Power" and "Into the Lost World", received Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Science, Technology and Nature Programming.{{Cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/entertainment/tn-wknd-et-mayor-20180920-story.html|title='Female Indiana Jones' to launch 2019 National Geographic Live speaker series at Barclay|last=Brazil|first=Ben|date=2018-09-20|work=Los Angeles Times|access-date=2019-05-01}}
On a 2001 expedition in Madagascar, she was part of a research group who described a new species of mouse lemur, Microcebus mittermeieri, or Mittermeier's mouse lemur,{{cite journal |author=Mittermeier, R. |author-link=Russell Mittermeier |author2=Ganzhorn, J. |author3=Konstant, W. |author4=Glander, K. |author5=Tattersall, I. |author6=Groves, C. |author6-link=Colin Groves |author7=Rylands, A. |author8=Hapke, A. |author9=Ratsimbazafy, J. |author10=Mayor, M. |author11=Louis, E. |author12=Rumpler, Y. |author13=Schwitzer, C. |author14=Rasoloarison, R. |name-list-style=amp |date=December 2008 |title=Lemur Diversity in Madagascar |url=https://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/10161/6237/1/08%20lemur%20diversity.pdf |journal=International Journal of Primatology |volume=29 |issue=6 |pages=1607–1656 |doi=10.1007/s10764-008-9317-y |hdl=10161/6237 |s2cid=17614597}} after Russell Mittermeier, the president of green group Conservation International and a renowned field primatologist. Mayor told NPR in a 2015 interview that following the discovery, she persuaded the prime minister of Madagascar to declare the mouse lemur's habitat a national park.{{cite news |last1=Hajek |first1=Danny |date=3 January 2015 |title=Trading Pom-Poms For Field Boots: Mireya Mayor's Big Break |work=All Things Considered |publisher=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2015/01/03/374655622/trading-pom-poms-for-field-boots-mireya-mayors-big-break |access-date=10 February 2021}}
In 2009, she was cast in the Mark Burnett-produced miniseries Expedition Africa on the History Channel, which retraced H.M. Stanley's expedition through Tanzania to find David Livingstone.{{cite news |last1=Carter |first1=Bill |title=Exploring Africa to Find Riches in Ratings |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/24/arts/television/24cart.html |access-date=9 February 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=21 May 2009}}
In 2019, she was cast in the Travel Channel documentary series Expedition Bigfoot, in which she and other wildlife researchers spent three weeks in the Pacific Northwest searching for evidence that Bigfoot exists.{{cite news |last1=Weisberger |first1=Mindy |title='Expedition Bigfoot' Scours Oregon Woods for Signs of the Mythical and Elusive Beast |url=https://www.livescience.com/expedition-bigfoot-travel-channel.html |access-date=10 February 2021 |work=Live Science |date=8 December 2019}} The first season aired in January 2020 and in 2025 was in its sixth season.{{Cite web |title=Episodes |url=https://www.travelchannel.com/shows/expedition-bigfoot/episodes |access-date=2022-10-24 |website=Travel Channel |language=en}}
In October 2019, Mayor began to direct the Exploration and Science Communications Initiative at Florida International University.{{Cite web |last=Communications |first=Florida International University-Digital |title=Mireya Mayor |url=https://case.fiu.edu/about/directory/profiles/mayor-mireya.html |access-date=2022-06-20 |website=case.fiu.edu |language=en-US}}
In September 2022, she was the subject of the children's book, "Just Wild Enough: Mireya Mayor, Primatologist".{{Cite book |last=Magellan |first=Marta |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ul96EAAAQBAJ |title=Just Wild Enough: Mireya Mayor, Primatologist |date=2022-09-22 |publisher=Albert Whitman & Company |isbn=978-0-8075-4086-2 |language=en}}
Personal life
Mireya Mayor has six children, five from her first marriage and one with her second husband, Phil Fairclough, who is an executive producer.
In 2018, her home was in Great Falls, Virginia.
Publications
- Mayor, M. (2011). Pink Boots and a Machete: My Journey from NFL Cheerleader to National Geographic Explorer. United States: National Geographic.
- [https://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=Mayor%2C+Mireya+I&btnG= Scientific publications co-authored by Mireya Mayor]
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{official website|https://www.mireyamayor.com/}}
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Category:American anthropologists
Category:Stony Brook University alumni
Category:American cheerleaders