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= Jeff Shea = Jeff Shea is a veteran explorer, photographer, musician, philosopher and environmentalist from San Francisco, California. He is widely regarded as one of the most traveled people in the world, having visited every country, traveled to over 60% of the world’s provinces, completed the Seven Summits, led expeditions to unexplored areas in the Amazon and walked and rafted across South America through wilderness. He is the President of ATS, Inc., a leader in the formulation of fire-safe corrosive vapor exhaust systems serving high-tech semiconductor companies, such as Intel. Shea is also President and one of the Principals of Studio D Recording, home to multiple Grammy Award-winning album recordings, including Huey Lewis' Happy to be Stuck with You, Grammy single of the year. Shea is a member of The Explorer's Club, having led three Flag Expeditions. Shea is also the Founder and President of World Parks, Inc., an environmental non-profit dedicated to creating protected areas around the world, including the ocean.

Early Life
Shea was born in San Francisco, California in 1955. He graduated Cum Laude from San Francisco State University in 1981 with a B.A. in Mathematics and again in 1982 with an MBA in Finance. At the age of 27, he joined the 43' ketch, Sugar Bear, as part of the crew during their sailing across the Pacific Ocean, which led to a two year journey around the globe. As part of that global trip, he walked out of the Highlands of New Guinea in 1983, where he came up with the idea to create a World Park on every continent. He noted:"'I knew that in the distance there was only virgin forest, no cities, no towns, no highways, no infrastructure. It was during this walk that I conceived of the concept of World Parks. Decades later, in 2012, I incorporated World Parks, Inc., a California non-profit, public-benefit corporation dedicated to the promotion of the idea to preserve a vast tract of land - a World Park - on each continent - to forever remain undeveloped.'"

An avid traveler, explorer, photographer and environmentalist, Shea has visited every country on the planet, successfully completed the Seven Summits (climbing the highest peak on each continent) and is a member of the prestigious Explorer's Club. Shea has completed multiple flag expeditions through the club, most notably to far northern Greenland and previously unexplored places in the Venezuelan Amazon. On the Greenland expedition, he was part of the team with Dennis Schmitt that discovered Stray Dog West, at the time, the most northerly island in the world. That expedition received global attention and Shea's photographs were used by The New York Times and led to a publication by Cambridge University Press in the Polar Record. There was renewed interest in the location of the island in 2021 when another similar island was discovered and thought to be even further north. While in the Venezuelan rainforest, he discovered the only specimen of Bactrophora dominans collected and photographed alive, and the only specimen found in Venezuela, extending the geographic distribution of this insect, the 7th specimen ever found.

Travels and Explorations
Ever since he was a teenager, Shea has had a motivation to travel and eventually visit every country in the world. His first foray into traveling was in 1975 when he spent five months in Europe on a shoestring budget and later, spent six months exploring South America. Throughout the course of his life, Shea's travels and expeditions total more than 19 years of travel. He is one of the most traveled people on the planet.

Sail Across the Pacific (1982)
In 1982, Shea had the opportunity to sail across the Pacific Ocean with a client of his father's fiberglass shop on a fiberglass boat. Shea worked as crew on the 43-foot Sugar Bear and departed when they reached Papua New Guinea. This voyage was the beginning of a two year journey before he finally returned to California.

Seven Summits
Shea has successfully summited the tallest peak on each continent, a feat known as the Seven Summits. Most notably, Shea successfully reached the summit of Mount Everest in 1995 using the more technical and less traveled North Ridge route, which approaches from Tibet instead of Nepal.

Sevens Summits for Free Tibet
In 1996, following Shea's successful summit of Mount Everest from Tibet, he dedicated the ascent to the Dalai Lama's dream of having Tibet designated as a World Park. The Dalai Lama sent a commendation to Shea to express his support for this idea and thank him for his work.

Walk Across South America (2010-2020)
Over the course of several years, Shea walked across the width of South America, starting near Antofagasta, Chile and ending on the Atlantic Coast of Brazil. The journey was a combination of walking with a cart, sometimes weighing in excess of 320 pounds, and rafting using a variety of small boats and rafts. One of the impetuses for the trek was to raise awareness about the importance of creating a wildlife corridor across the continent. The walk began on November 6, 2010 and officially concluded on April 22, 2020. This trek was completed over 10 legs, totaling 193 days of walking and rafting. The major areas that Shea traversed were the Atacama Desert, the Altiplano, the Bermejo River, the Paraguay River, the Parana River, the Uruguay River and the Pelotas River.

Warming Island Expedition (2006)
In 2006, Shea joined Dennis Schmitt for the first survey of Warming Island. Shea's photographs of the island appeared in The New York Times's groundbreaking story The Warming of Greenlandby John Collins Rudolph. Warming Island, also known as Uunartoq Qeqertaq, became Oxford Atlas of the World's first Place of the Year.

Explorer's Club Flag Expeditions (2007-Present)
Shea has been part of three Explorer's Club Flag Expeditions and is in the process of planning for additional expeditions. Shea was the photographer and videographer of the 2007 Euro-American North Greenland Expedition with Flag #118. In 2013, Shea conceived of and led the Paragua River Expedition with Flag #60, which was the first exploration inside the previously unexplored Meseta de Ichúm. The following year, Shea led the 2014 Meseta de Ichúm Expedition, which penetrated into the center of the Meseta de Ichúm with Flag #118, discovering Jaguar Falls, a dramatic 80-meter high double waterfall in the Meseta's interior.

Euro-American North Greenland Expedition - Flag #118 (2007)
The idea behind this expedition was to discover the northernmost point of land in the world. Shea again traveled with fellow explorer Dennis Schmitt to the northern edge of Greenland. The expedition's seven stated missions were:


 * 1) Survey and document Ultimathule (the northern point) and "Stray Dog Islands," depositional islands exhibiting impermanence in the area
 * 2) Survey the changes in the sea ice in that region
 * 3) Survey the status of the rock and island features
 * 4) Explore and climb unclimbed peaks in the western Benedict Range
 * 5) Survey the "Sifs Trench" and "Sifs Glacier," about 40 miles in length, and then compare this data with previously taken photographs to determine the extent of change in this polar glacier
 * 6) Sight wildlife, including muskoxen, weasel, hare, bears, fox, wolves, and birds
 * 7) Search for Independence and/or Thule archaeological sites

The expedition ran from July 8, 2007 to July 16, 2007 and included four difference base camps. Upon conclusion, the expedition was covered in international press including Esquire and MSNBC. The expedition resulted in the discovery of Stray Dog West, a previously unknown island, one of the northernmost in the world.

Paragua River Expedition - Penetration into the Meseta de Ichún of Venezuela - Flag #60 (2013)
The purpose of this expedition was to trace the source of the Paragua River in the Meseta de Ichúm and return to Guri Reservoir. The Meseta is one of Venezuela's largest and least explored Tepuis to this day. The other purpose of this expedition was to realize a lifelong dream of Shea's in exploring one of the last pristine wildernesses on the planet as well as one of the proposed sites of his World Parks.

The result of the expedition was to penetrate 10 kilometers into the interior of the Meseta and no more, due to the wild nature of the place. The total length of the expedition was 18 days (March 2, 2013 to March 20, 2018) and included nine base camps. A summary of all the results of the expedition are as follows (taken from the Explorer's Club report authored by Shea):


 * 1) The Ichúm River was explored above Ichúm Falls, but still approximately 50 kilometers shy of its source (as the crow flies)
 * 2) I have determined that the Meseta, an area of approximately 3,000 square kilometers enclosed by a raised oval rim, is virtually unexplored
 * 3) Possible evidence of (European) expedition (circa 1600) by galleon on the Paragua River further south from its confluence with the Ichúm has been found
 * 4) Photographed seven species of flora found inside the Meseta that a group of four Shiriana men (the tribe closest to the Meseta) confirmed they had not seen before
 * 5) Identified thirty Shiriana names for flora and fauna
 * 6) Found evidence of jaguars and wild pigs and spotted a tapir within the Meseta
 * 7) Recorded stories of a lost village named Wanapa inside the inner north rim of the Meseta
 * 8) Identified means of overcoming challenges to further exploration south into the Meseta de Ichúm
 * 9) Identified the Meseta as a probable source and excellent candidate area for the discovery of species not known to science.

Upon concluding the expedition, Shea immediately resolved to travel on another expedition the following year to trace the source of the Paragua River.

Meseta de Ichúm Expedition - Flag #118 (2014)
This expedition aimed to conclude the previous year's and to locate the source of the Ichum River in the interior of Venezuela. This was the longest and most remote of Shea's expeditions and lasted 50 days and included 22 camps. Due to the remote and rugged nature of the Meseta, travel was extremely limited, with much taking the form of a handmade raft with an outboard motor. Since the expedition was traveling upstream, the raft needed to be dismantled many times to overcome the rocks and rapids of the Ichum River. The expedition concluded without reaching the source of the river but a third and final expedition is being planned to reach its source.

BBC's Travel Pioneer of the Year (2017)
In 2017, Shea was honored by the BBC as a Travel Pioneer. BBC Travel Pioneers are innovators who are changing the way we think about travel.

Extreme Traveler International Congress Expeditions
In addition to the Explorer's Club Flag Expeditions, Shea has been part of numerous others from Indonesia to rocky outcrops in the middle of the ocean. Some of these expeditions were part of the Extreme Traveler International Congress (ETIC), an annual meeting between well-traveled individuals to places unheard of, not recognized internationally or well off the beaten path. Shea has been part of two recent ETIC expeditions to Rockhall and Clipperton Island.

SISO
As one of the most traveled people in the world, there exists a debate over how to quantify areas other than national borders. Unhappy with the existing solutions, Shea devised his own standard of places around the world called SISO (Shea ISO). Shea modified existing ISO standard to remove double counted areas while adding areas that were not previously included. In all, SISO includes 3,978 unique provinces.

Additional Adventures
Shea prides himself on his adventures, many of which take place in extremely remote locations and rely on travel by boot or raft. Examples of these adventures include:


 * Pilgrimage to the Taj Mahal on foot from Jaipur
 * Drive to highest point ever driven (Tibet 1999)
 * Worldwide Photo Project, photographing all 3,978 provinces in the world
 * Walk across Transylvania by compass point
 * Commendation from Dalai Lama

Photography
In addition to traveling and exploring, Shea is an avid photography and has been featured in numerous magazines and newspapers such as The New York Times and BBC. Many of Shea's photographs highlight the natural beauty of the places he visits and the local communities.

ATS, Inc.
Shea is the President of ATS, Inc. Premier manufacturing company for fire-safe ducts and piping with a global footprint of manufacturing and sales. Shea has been the President since 1994 and manages the day-to-day operations of the company, based out of Richmond, California. ATS licensee factories are in Korea, China, Malaysia, Israel, Ireland and Taiwan.

Patents
Shea is the holder of a patent pertaining to a fume duct circumferential joint sealant from 1995. The patent presents an invention related to novolac epoxy resin and hardener compositions enabling an improved method for assembling fume duct sections.

Studio D Recording
Shea is one of the Principals of Studio D Recording, Inc. (also known as World Studios Recording). Studio D Recording is a recording, mixing and mastering studio in Sausalito, California that opened in 1984. Several Grammy Award-winning and multi-platinum albums have been recorded in its live room. Notable musicians who have used the space include Aretha Franklin, Earth, Wind & Fire, Van Morrison, Robin Williams, Huey Lewis & the News and Eddie Money.

Musical Recordings
In addition to acting as a Principal at Studio D Recording, Shea also composes and records his own music. In all, he has recorded 62 songs across three different albums. Shea has recorded with the following list of artists:


 * Alysha Antonino
 * Don Bassey
 * Larry Batiste
 * Vernon Black
 * Jamie Brewer
 * Dale Chung
 * Jeremy Cohen
 * Austin DeLone
 * Roberta Donnay
 * Kiki Ebsen
 * Greg Errico
 * Eamonn Flynn
 * Preston Glass
 * Mike Godwin
 * Sandy Griffith
 * Doug Harman
 * Joe Hébert
 * Richard Howell
 * James Imani
 * Joel Jaffe
 * Skyler Jett
 * Billy Johnson
 * Hershall Kennedy
 * Raz Kennedy
 * Will Kennedy
 * Tony Lindsay
 * Victor Little
 * John Mader
 * Michael Mani
 * Marin High School Choir
 * Michelle Maruyama
 * Art McConnell
 * Paul Olguin
 * Emily Onderdonk
 * Tom Poole
 * Claytoven Richardson
 * Mike Rinta
 * Jim Rothermill
 * Sakai
 * Jon Shamieh
 * Glen Swarts
 * Meg Titchener
 * Jeanie Tracey
 * Jason Victorine
 * Dumile Vokwana
 * Matt Wilenchik
 * Toshi Yanagi
 * Ingo York
 * Susan Zelinsky

World Parks
Shea came up with the idea for World Parks, large, protected areas on each continent and in the ocean, while walking out of the interior of Papua New Guinea in 1983. The idea of dedicating vast swaths of the undeveloped parts of the world to nature interested Shea so much that in 2014 he incorporated World Parks, Inc., a 501(c)(3) in California. Shea serves as the President of the organization, which today counts Ed Begley, Jr. and Steve Oliver as members of the board of directors. The World Parks mission statement is:"'World Parks, Inc. is dedicated to the creation of a vast World Park on each continent, as well as several high seas Marine World Parks, to be preserved in their natural states, unencumbered by the inventions of mankind. In addition to the important environmental, health and social benefits of preserving nature, World Parks seeks to protect precious natural resources, including irreplaceable great forest ecosystems. World Parks works through worldwide popular support and in concert with, not against, existing governments.'"Additionally, World Parks collaborates and partners with similar organizations such as The Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition, Mission Blue/Sylvia Earle Alliance and the Network for Landscape Conservation.

Personal Beliefs
Shea has many personal beliefs broken down into four main categories: (1) Adventure, (2) Music & Art, (3) Philosophy and (4) World Economics. He has said of himself:"'I’m a traveler, a philosopher, a photographer and adventurer. It’s a not-easy-to-define ball of wax. I’m not a typical tourist. I tend to avoid sightseeing. For an expedition, I always have an objective. If it’s not an expedition, I’m pretty much just throwing myself out there, taking photographs and having experiences.'"Jeff’s holistic approach to life is described in the ring of five basic levels of human existence: Spiritual, Intellectual, Emotional, Procreation and Physical Body. From the time of adulthood, he has dedicated himself to five disciplines of study relating to these innate momentums: Philosophy, Economics, Art, Love and Adventure.

Adventure
Shea considers himself to be primarily an adventurer. He believes adventure to be a state of mind and only works by giving up to the experience. Many of Shea's adventures have taken him to far flung places to meet numerous people from all walks of life.

Music & Art
As a photographer and musician, Shea believes music and art are a celebration of life and about finding the extraordinary in the ordinary. Of photography, Shea has said:"'An inherent irony of a good photograph is that even though it marks just a pinpoint in time, it can evoke a sense of timelessness.'"

Philosophy
While always looking to maximize his potential, Shea began to question the commonly accepted viewpoints of the world. One notable revelation was while in Papua New Guinea and seeing how local people lived with their families. Shea began to question whether we were moving to or from a state of enlightenment. Additionally, Shea wanted to know why humanity strove to produce material things for the sake of production and consumption and whether we could turn to living life as a celebration.

World Economics
When it comes to world economics, Shea notes the advent of national borders, requiring countless human hours of defending when, he argues, those hours might be better spent on agriculture, medicine or education. Shea views world economics as a way to work towards global prosperity.

Personal Life
Shea currently resides near Oakland, California with his wife and three children. He splits his time between his extensive travels, running ATS, Inc., and garnering global awareness for the need for World Parks.

Published Articles and Mentions
Shea has been published and mentioned in numerous academic articles, books, podcasts and websites around the world including the following:


 * Gonzalez, Jorge & Shea, Jeff & Brewer-Carías, Charles. (2015). First reports of Bactrophora dominans Westwood, 1842 (Orthoptera: Romaleidae) from Venezuela and French Guiana (South America), with comments on biology, ecology and distribution of the species. Check List. 11. 1614. 10.15560/11.2.1614.
 * Bennike, O., & Shea, J. (2019). Oodaaq Ø and other short-lived islets north of Greenland. Polar Record, 55(1), 14-24. doi:10.1017/S0032247419000135
 * Robinson, Alastair & Golos, Michal & Barer, Marc & Sano, Yosuke & FORGIE, JENNIFER & Garrido, Diego & GORMAN, CHANDLER & LUICK, ADI & MCINTOSH, NICK & MCPHERSON, STEWART & PALENA, GREGORY & Panco, Ivan & QUINN, BRIAN & Shea, Jeff. (2019). Revisions in Nepenthes following explorations of the Kemul Massif and the surrounding region in north-central Kalimantan, Borneo. Phytotaxa. 392. 97–126. 10.11646/phytotaxa.392.2.1.