Hilde Fålun Strøm

An expedition leader and experienced Arctic guide who has lived in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway, since 1995, Hilde serves as a liaison between Polar Bears International and Longyearbyen, the community where we open our Polar Bears International Ice House pop-up interpretive center every spring and summer. A long-time resident of the town and an accomplished citizen scientist, Hilde assists us with everything from helping to organize meetings and special events to introducing us to key contacts in the community and giving talks to groups visiting the Ice House. A high-profile public speaker, she also serves as an ambassador for Polar Bears International beyond Svalbard. Hilde first became connected with our team through her outreach on climate change as the co-founder of Hearts in the Ice, a nonprofit dedicated to motivating climate action. Through her work with Hearts in the Ice, she and co-founder Sunniva Sorby spent 19 months living in a remote trappers’ hut in the High Arctic, conducting outreach and citizen scientist projects. Hilde was named one of the Explorers Club 50 — 50 people who are changing the world — by the Explorers Club in 2023. She has had more than 400 polar bear encounters. She is married and has two children and three grandchildren.