Wade Davis, PhD

Described as "a rare combination of scientist, scholar, poet and passionate defender of all life's diversity," National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Wade Davis will take you on a visual journey you will never forget.

Travels From:  Washington, DC

BOOKS

SPEECH TOPICS

Light at the Edge of the World: A Journey through the Realm of Vanishing Cultures
One River: The Life and Times of Richard Evans Schultes

The Healing Forest: The Ethnobotanical Search for New Medicines
In this lecture, Davis reviews the results of his expeditions and outlines the hopes and expectations of the ongoing program of ethnobotanical exploration that today seeks from the forests new treatments for cancer, AIDS, and a host of afflictions that affect the well being of all human societies.

The Serpent and the Rainbow: An Exploration of Haitian Vodoun, Secret Societies and Zombies

ABOUT Wade Davis, PhD

An Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society, Wade Davis holds degrees in anthropology and biology, and received his PhD in ethnobotany, all from Harvard University. Mostly through the Harvard Botanical Museum, he spent more than three years in the Amazon and Andes as a plant explorer, living among fifteen indigenous groups in eight Latin American nations while making some 6,000 botanical collections.

Davis' work later took him to Haiti to investigate folk preparations implicated in the creation of zombies, an assignment that led to his writing Passage of Darkness and The Serpent and the Rainbow, an international bestseller which appeared in 10 languages and was later released by Universal Studios as a motion picture. His other books include Penan: Voice for the Borneo Rain Forest, Nomads of the Dawn, The Clouded Leopard, Shadows in the Sun, and One River, which was nominated for the 1997 Governor General's Literary Award for Nonfiction, Canada's most prestigious literary prize. His most recent book is Light at the Edge of the World: A Journey Through the Realm of Vanishing Cultures.

A native of British Columbia, Davis is a citizen of both Canada and Ireland. He has worked as a guide, park ranger and forestry engineer, and has conducted ethnographic fieldwork among several indigenous societies of northern Canada. He has published scientific and popular articles on subjects ranging from Haitian voodoo and Amazonian myth and religion to the global biodiversity crisis, the traditional use of psychotropic drugs, and the ethnobotany of South American Indians. Davis has written for National Geographic, Newsweek, Fortune, Conde Nast Traveler, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and several other international publications. His photographs have been widely published, and his research has been the subject of more than 600 media reports and interviews in the United States and Canada and throughout Europe, Japan and South America. Recently Davis' work has taken him to Peru, Borneo, Tibet, the high Arctic, the Orinoco Delta of Venezuela and northern Kenya.

A research associate of the Institute of Economic Botany of the New York Botanical Garden, Davis is also a board member of the David Suzuki Foundation, Ecotrust, Future Generations, and Cultural Survival, all nongovernmental organizations dedicated to conservation-based development and the protection of cultural and biological diversity.

Davis was the host and co-writer of "Earthguide," a thirteen-part television series on the environment which aired on the Discovery Channel. Other television credits include the award-winning documentaries "Spirit of the Mask," "Cry of the Forgotten People," and "Forests Forever."

TESTIMONIALS

"I want to thank you once again for your inspiring address at the Annual Meeting of the American College of Trial Lawyers. The standing ovation you received at the conclusion of your address is modest compared to the glowing comments I received from the many who had the opportunity to hear you." — American College of Trial Lawyers

"Tickets to see Dr. Wade Davis sold out months before his talk with demand continuing up to the last minute. Dr. Davis delivered a talk that kept the entire audience captivated and hanging on his every word, brilliantly illustrated with colourful and haunting slides. Feedback from attendees - all energy industry professionals - gave a common response: 'It was the best talk they had ever attended.'" — Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists, Canadian Society of Exploration Geophysicists

"Dr. Davis' presentation was outstanding and was clearly one of the finest lectures we have had at our annual conference. The lecture was extraordinarily well received by the physicians and nurses who attended the conference. It was a rare treat for us to hear such a scholarly, insightful and thought provoking presentation on an issue of such great importance. The evaluations of Dr. Davis' presentation were outstanding across the board." — Infectious Disease Associates of Kansas City

"Wade participated in the Man and Medicine series that the Division of Infectious Diseases/Epidemiology holds each year supported by a grant from Miles Laboratories. Wade was a 'true hit,' a real homerun. He was able to compete with speakers such as Richard Leakey and the astronaut Story Musgrave. I would highly recommend Wade as a marvelous speaker who would provide a real asset to a meeting." — College of Physicians & Surgeons of Columbia University