Atlanta, GA

Eszter Foldvary, Expedition Leader

Ester Pereira, Asst Expedition Leader

Brian Flannery, Asst Expedition Leader, in charge of luggage

Dr. Emilie Powell, Team Doc

SPENCER WELLS, Geneticist, Antrhopolgist
He set an extraordinary goal for himself—using DNA from indigenous peoples, he aimed to document and create the first-ever map of human migration, showing how humans came to populate the planet after leaving the cradle of Africa some 60,000 years ago. Little has been known about our journey until now. For over a decade, Spencer Wells was a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence and served as Director of the Genographic Project—a partnership with IBM, the Waitt Family Foundation, and National Geographic, and the most ambitious research project in the Society’s 125-year history. The project is working to capture an invaluable genetic snapshot of humanity before modern-day influences erase it forever.Wells’ journey of discovery began at the University of Texas, where he enrolled at 16, majored in biology, and graduated Phi Beta Kappa three years later. He then pursued his Ph.D. at Harvard University and conducted postdoctoral training at Oxford and Stanford University’s School of Medicine with Luca Cavalli-Sforza, considered the “father of anthropological genetics”. Wells has appeared in numerous documentary films and is the author of three books: The Journey of Man, Deep Ancestry, and Pandora’s Seed. His fieldwork has taken him to more than 100 countries, where he has worked with everyone from heads of government and Fortune 500 corporations, to tribal chieftains eeking out a precarious living in places as remote as Chad, Tajikistan, and Papua New Guinea. He lives in Austin, TX, where he is an adjunct professor at the University of Texas and the owner of the iconic blues club Antone’s.

CHRISTOPER THORNTON
SPECIALTY: ARCHAEOLOGIST
He is the Lead Program Officer of Research, Conservation, and Exploration at the National Geographic Society and the Director of Excavations at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Bat in the Sultanate of Oman. After earning his Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania, Chris taught at George Mason University before joining the Society staff. As an archaeologist, Chris has worked in South Africa, Hungary, Cyprus, Iran, and Oman. He has lectured at universities and conferences around the world on the origins of metallurgy and the rise of complex societies in the Middle East and Central Asia. In his current position at the National Geographic Society, he oversees grants in anthropology, archaeology, astronomy, geography, geology, and paleontology, and he advises National Geographic media on those topics.

LYNN CUTTER
As executive vice president of travel and licensing at National Geographic, Lynn Cutter leads the Society’s National Geographic Expeditions and Brand Licensing businesses.Cutter has 30 years of general management experience, with a focus on strategic marketing, business development and online and direct marketing in travel and media companies. Since joining the National Geographic Society in 1998, she has overseen the launch of the successful National Geographic Expeditions, National Geographic Student Expeditions and National Geographic Adventure businesses as well as a broad alliance with Lindblad Expeditions, which includes six National Geographic-branded expedition ships. Prior to joining National Geographic, Cutter operated her own consulting practice specializing in new business launches in travel and media companies, with clients including Discovery Communications and Hearst New Media. She has held senior positions in marketing and strategic planning at The Disney Channel, Bell Atlantic Video Services/Tele-TV and Citicorp and also served as vice president of marketing for Special Expeditions (now Lindblad Expeditions).Cutter received her B.A. in marketing and journalism from Lehigh University and an M.B.A. from Harvard University. She lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland, with her husband and their two sons.