Speaker Valerie van Heest

An energetic and passionate presenter, Valerie van Heest shares the exciting stories of her expeditions to discover and document Great Lakes Shipwrecks. Director of Holland, Michigan based Michigan Shipwreck Research Associates and a recent Inductee to the Women Divers Hall of Fame, Valerie has researched and dived some of the most significant shipwrecks in the Great Lakes over the past 20 years.

She has written and directed more than a dozen documentary films and appeared on the major television networks discussing her projects. Valerie’s work has appeared in numerous print publications and news media outlets, she has been a major contributor to many books, and newspaper features, and has been featured in several books.  In one of many expeditions, Valerie and MSRA are working with Clive Cussler’s team in search of Northwest Flight 2501, a DC-4 that crashed into Lake Michigan in 1950.

Her programs feature spectacular underwater images and video and are filled with excitement, adventure, surprises and ultimately offer a “deeper” look at the roots of the Great State of Michigan steeped in maritime tradition.

Valerie van Heest
Great Lakes Shipwrecks: Discovery and Exploration