Roberts embarked on a life-changing journey alongside a team of primarily Black scuba divers in search of slave shipwrecks. She documented her travels and the stories of the divers, historians, archaeologists and communities she met along the way for the National Geographic Society-funded podcast series, "Into the Depths." The critically-acclaimed series received close to half a million downloads and was listed on several “best of” lists, including those for Essence and Spotify. Roberts became the first Black female explorer to grace the cover of the National Geographic, where her story reached over 26 million people. Most recently, she was named the 2022 Rolex National Geographic Explorer of the Year, becoming the first Black American to ever receive the honor. Her work has been featured on CNN, Good Morning America, Nightline, PBS, the Tamron Hall Show, BET and NPR, to name a few.

Roberts has also served as a Fellow for MIT’s Open Documentary Lab; and she worked as an editor for CosmoGirl, Essence, AOL, EBONY and Heart & Soul.

The Summer Institute is COA’s week-long ideas festival that welcomes experts from around the world to share their perspectives on the most pressing issues of our time. The 2022 Summer Institute: Our One and Only Ocean, held in collaboration with The National Geographic Society, explores the beauty, promise, and perils of our greatest commons—the ocean. We dive into the complex and interwoven challenges facing our ocean while spotlighting solutions and leaders that offer us hope. Institute sessions address climate change, deep sea exploration, fisheries and aquaculture, pollution and resource extraction, conservation, history, art, and inspiration.