Dr. Mark J. Plotkin has led the Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) since 1996, when he co-founded the organization with Liliana Madrigal. He is a renowned ethnobotanist who has spent three decades studying traditional plant use with traditional healers of tropical America.Among his many influential writings, Dr. Plotkin may be best known for his popular work Tales of a Shaman's Apprentice (1994), which has been printed continuously and in multiple languages. His most recent book, The Amazon – What Everyone Needs to Know, was published by Oxford University Press in 2020.Dr. Plotkin has received the San Diego Zoo Gold Medal for Conservation, the Roy Chapman Andrews Distinguished Explorer Award, and, with Liliana Madrigal, the Skoll Award. In 2010, he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Lewis and Clark College. Dr. Plotkin was educated at Harvard, Yale and Tufts University. His ongoing podcast Plants of the Gods is available on Apple Podcasts and other platforms.
Arresting DeforestationEducationEnvironmental SustainabilityHealthHealth DeliveryHuman RightsLiving ConditionsPeacePeace and Human RightsWater Management
South America
