National Geographic Expert

Maria Fadiman

Maria Fadiman is a conservationist and professor in the department of geosciences at Florida Atlantic University, an Explorers Club Fellow and was named a National Geographic Emerging Explorer in 2006. Maria researches ethnobotany - the relationship between people and plants - studying people's cultural connection to the land throughout the globe. A seasoned public speaker including two TEDx talks, Maria loves to share her understanding of the world in which we live and how communities from the rainforest to the savanna live from the land and keep their knowledge alive.