These days, Mission Blue is Earle’s single-minded focus and passion. She launched it in 2009 after winning a TED Prize, and now spends 300 days a year on the road, traveling from one Hope Spot to another, with speaking engagements at trade shows and conferences, and meetings with presidents and government ministers in between. And diving, always diving, along the way. With many “celebrities,” causes can seem opportunistic. But Earle’s long history of ocean study and conservation brings with it unquestionable authority and authenticity. She’s not preachy, nor pessimistic, but almost buoyantly hopeful, even in the face of unprecedented challenges to the ocean ecology. Bluefin tuna stocks are down to 2% of their former population, sharks down to 10%, countless other species are being fished to near extinction, and the ocean is becoming dangerously acidic and full of plastic. But she refuses to be overtly political, avoiding the bait over current policies (or personalities) to focus on where things are being done right and leading by example. She is firm and resolute, but with an engaging kindness – an iron fist in a neoprene glove.