Jade Hameister

Jade Hameister is the youngest person in history to complete the Polar Hat Trick - ski to the North Pole, to the South Pole (from the coast via a new route), and a crossing of Greenland - all unsupported and unassisted. Jade is a student from Melbourne, Australia. She is in her third year of a Bachelor of Commerce & Bachelor of Global Studies degree at Monash University and is passionate about business and finding ways to make a positive impact on our environment and society. Previous Experience: Exploration: In April 2016 at the age of 14, she became the youngest person in history to ski to the North Pole from anywhere outside the last degree, unsupported and unassisted. In June 2017, aged 15, she became the youngest woman to complete the 550 km crossing of Greenland, the second largest ice cap on the planet, unsupported and unassisted. In January 2018, aged 16, Jade skied 600km from the coast of Antarctica to the South Pole, unsupported and unassisted - an epic 37-day journey via a new route through the Transantarctic Mountains and up the Kansas Glacier from the Amundsen Coast. In finishing this incredible 1,300km journey, Jade set a number of world records including: the youngest person to complete the Polar Hat-Trick; the youngest person to ski from the coast of Antarctica to South Pole unsupported and unassisted; the first Australian woman to ski from the coast of Antarctica to South Pole unsupported and unassisted; one of only three women in history to set a new route to the South Pole; and the youngest person to ski to both Poles. Media and Speaking: Jade’s polar expeditions were captured in two National Geographic Channel documentaries that aired in 170 countries in late 2016 and 2018. In 2018 Pan Macmillan released a book that Jade authored seeking to educate young people on climate change (also published in the USA). She delivered a TEDx Talk in August 2016 (age 15) and in early 2017 presented to a combined live audience of over 12,000 students at ImagiNATION in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Awards and Accolades: In the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours, Jade was awarded an Order of Australia Medal for service to Polar Exploration and she has been named Young Adventurer of the Year by the Australian Geographic Society on two occasions. She has also been recognised by Vogue magazine as one of the year’s Game Changers; was the first “Teen Titan” to be interviewed in New York on the CBS, Megan Kelly Show; and was awarded the “Fierce Spirit” Women of Style award by InStyle magazine. Jade is passionate about shifting the focus for young people from how they appear to the possibilities of what they can do and also about raising awareness of the impact of climate change on Earth's beautiful and fragile polar regions.