George Amato is a noted evolutionary biologist and the Director of the Sackler Institute for Comparative Genomics at the American Museum of Natural History. He leads an ongoing scarlet macaw restoration project in Guatemala (near Tikal) as well as a jaguar research endeavor in the Iguaçu Falls region of Brazil. His focus typically merges the study of wildlife, anthropology, and geology. On this expedition he will discuss the origins of people arriving in South America, including pre-Columbian populations and demographics from DNA-based studies on humans and their agricultural modifications of the environment—including its impact on culture and its global affect on human cultures. He will also elaborate on DNA barcoding and how that can affect the study of climate change and emerging diseases, incorporating advances in evolutionary biology and genomics.

Zoologist Alan Lieberman is the Director of Field Programs at San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research. Over the past 36 years, he has served as the Zoo's curator of birds and curator of reptiles, and pursued a variety of field research and conservation projects outside of the Zoo. He has reintroduced Andean Condors in Colombia, documented Amazonian rainforest regeneration, founded the Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program, and worked with translocations of lories in French Polynesia. He now administers the Hawaii bird conservation effort, the Desert Tortoise Conservation Center, and the Sempra Wind Energy Condor/Eagle project; and oversees the Post-Millennium Post-Doctoral Fellow Program, and regional programs in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean.

Ambassador Marilyn McAfee (ret.) graduated cum laude with a BA in history from the University of Pennsylvania and received her Masters degree at the Johns Hopkins University. She served as a career foreign service officer for 31 years and received the Presidential Meritorious Award, the Superior Honor Award and the Distinguished Honor Award. She was promoted to the rank of Career Minister in 1997. Her services was primarily in Latin America, including Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Chile, and Bolivia. She most recently served on the National Board of the World Affairs Councils of America from 2000 to 2008 and is a private consultant and international lecturer. In addition to the Presidential Meritorious Service Award for her work in Chile in support of the return to democracy, she is the recipient of the Department of State’s Distinguished Honor Award for her work in advancing the peace process and human rights in Guatemala.

Eszter Foldvary is one of our most experienced expedition leaders. After graduating from tourism school in Hungary in 1978, she began leading expeditions all over the world by train, cruise ship, and jet. She led her first expedition for TCS & Starquest Expeditions in 1993 and has since taken our guests to nearly every continent by private jet several times every year. Eszter is fluent in English, French, German, and Hungarian. Her interest in the history of art, culture, and human achievement, along with her excellent organizational skills and calm demeanor, serves our guests well. Eszter lives in Budapest, Hungary and spends her free time with her husband and two children, with whom she also travels throughout the world.