Sylvia Alice Earle (born August 30, 1935 in the Gibbstown section of Greenwich Township, Gloucester County, New Jersey) is an American marine biologist, explorer, author, and lecturer. Since 1998 she has been a National Geographic explorer-in-residence. Earle was the first female chief scientist of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and was named by Time Magazine as its first Hero for the Planet in 1998.