John Hopkins

Late nights with textbooks spread open on the kitchen table, absorbing all there was to know about whales.

But her education wasn't limited to books.

Nan is interested in all aspects of Wales' lives, but one area intrigues her more than any other.

Whales are known to exhibit complex social behaviors, capable of forming close-knit friendships, hunting in cooperative family units, and even communicating through song.

They're among the most intelligent animals on the planet.

But over the course of the past century, their numbers have been falling dramatically.

The result of overfishing, polluted oceans and climate change.

Whale conservation has traditionally been a well-supported cause.

It's relatively easy to make people care about these amazing creatures with their large brains, gentle natures and human-like traits.

Nan supports the work of organizations like Greenpeace and Save the Whales.

But when she started her career in conservation, she didn't see herself as another activist.

She wanted to provide the scientific fact that underpins the activism.

And to do that, she needed to get organized.

In the 1990s, Nan founded the Centre for Cetacean Research and Conservation, an organisation devoted to advancing our understanding of whales and promoting the importance of their protection.

She based her operation in the Cook Islands after hearing reports of a local population of humpbacks that no scientists were monitoring.

She moved to the South Pacific with her three young children in tow and started building a life there.

Twenty years on, Nan has become a fixture of the community.

During whale season, she can regularly be seen out beyond the harbour with her team of research assistants, diligently tracking and documenting.

She's even earned herself an affectionate local nickname, the Whale Witch.

Today, Nan is meeting up with a documentary crew from the Netherlands who are hoping to capture some footage of humpbacks in the wild.