Wade Davis

An ethnographer, writer, photographer, and filmmaker, Davis holds degrees in anthropology and biology and Ph.D. in ethnobotany, all from Harvard University. His work takes him from the Amazon to Tibet, from the Arctic to Africa, from Australia to Mongolia, from Polynesia to New Guinea, living among indigenous communities, learning and recording rituals and customs, and their uses of plants as food, medicine and psychotropic agents. Davis has authored 13 books including his latest, The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World (2009). His film credits include Light at the Edge of the World, a National Geographic Channel documentary series. He is an Honorary Member of the Explorer's Club, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and an Honorary Member and Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. In 2009 he received the RCGS Gold Medal for contributions to anthropology and ethnobotany. He is currently Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society.