3 Activists Making Noise for the World

The next installment of The Explorers 50 Speaker Series returns on Wednesday, September 29th at 7P ET with "Activists." Featuring Dr. Justin Dunnavant (President of the Society of Black Archaeologists), Dr. Danielle N. Lee (animal behaviorist), and Joshua Powell CF (conservation biologist), the livestream brings together experts from multiple disciplines who have forged new frontiers in their respective fields. The panel discussion will be moderated by EC 50 Chair Joe Rohde and dive into topics of expanding the idea of exploration, innovation, and creating new methods of discovery.

Get to know the pioneers and catch them live on explorers.org, The Explorers Club YouTube Channel, and Facebook Live! - Wednesday, September 29 at 7:00 pm ET

September 29, 2021

By: The Explorers Club and Discovery

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Dr. Justin Dunnavant

Dr. Justin Dunnavant is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Vanderbilt University and will be joining UCLA’s Anthropology Department as an Assistant Professor in the fall of 2021. Justin is co-founder and President of the Society of Black Archaeologists and consults for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Dr. Justin Dunnavant

Dr. Dunnavant's research explores the relationship between the historic transatlantic slave trade and the environment. Using interdisciplinary methods from archaeology, ecology, and history, he unpacks the connections between the dehumanizing system of slavery and commodification and environmental degradation of land in the Americas. Tracing these, developing back to the fifteenth century, he argues that these two practices developed in tandem through similar methods of exploitation. The ramifications of these processes are still felt today.

Dr. Justin Dunnavant

"The stories we choose to tell define who we are as individuals and communities. I hope to push the boundaries of traditional academia beyond teaching and research into the realm of active conservation, not only exploring historically significant issues but offering solutions to them in the present. Within the field of archaeology, I want us all to be more mindful of the environmental impacts our work entails. It is my hope that as we continue to conduct archaeological research, we also dare greatly to create new and innovate ways to conserve the world in which we live. In doing this work, I want to redefine exploration as the practice of understanding ourselves and the world around us in order to imagine a better future for us all." - Dr. Justin Dunnavant

Danielle N. Lee

Danielle N. Lee is an outreach scientist who studies animal behavior and works to increase minority participation in STEM fields. Lee is currently researching the behavior and biology of wild-living nuisance rodents, such as landmine-sniffing African giant pouched rats, to better understand how we can use them to save lives.

Danielle N. Lee

"There’s also a remarkable amount that we still don’t know about the natural world and many of the world’s endangered species. My work with endangered large carnivores in northeast Asia helps to fill in the gaps of their known distribution and is designed to evaluate potential conservation interventions that could be used to help improve their conservation status." - Danielle N. Lee

Joshua Powell CF

A conservation biologist from the UK. Josh is the founder of Rangers Without Borders; a founding member and presenter for WWF International’s #WWFVoices campaign; and a Ph.D. candidate at ZSL and UCL, focusing on the conservation of the Amur tiger (Panthera tigris tigris).

Joshua Powell CF

Joshua's work focuses on the intersection between science and conservation, and then typically involves communicating that to policymakers or the wider public. Rangers Without Borders, which he founded with Peter Coals from the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), is one example of this, where our research aims to help document the capabilities and training needs of rangers in locations where national or international support is extremely limited.

Joshua Powell CF

"My hope for the future is that as a species, we can protect much of the amazing biodiversity we share the Earth with and avert the threat of a sixth mass extinction. This will involve better understanding – and learning how to better live with - the natural world." -Joshua Powell CF