National Geographic Experts
A National Geographic expert will accompany each departure to share insights and a rare behind-the-scenes perspective. Listed below are some of the experts and the departure date(s) they will be joining.
Cynthia Becker
Cynthia Becker, a professor of African art at Boston University, lived in Morocco for several years. She has served as a consultant on North African art and culture for numerous media projects and museums, including a National Geographic Television series on the Tuaregs and an article about Morocco’s Berbers for the July 2005 issues of National Geographic magazine. A recipient of several Fulbright grants and numerous other fellowships, Cynthia writes and speaks widely about the artistic and historical connections between northern and western Africa, contemporary Moroccan art, and the ceremonial practices of the Gnaoua. Cynthia is the author of Amazing Arts in Morocco: Women Shaping Berber Identity and Desert Jewels: North African Jewelry and Photography from the Xavier Guerrand-Hermès Collection, as well as numerous articles.
Katherine Hoffman
Katherine Hoffman, a professor of anthropology at Northwestern University, lived in Morocco for several years. A specialist in Berber culture, Katherine consulted on National Geographic's January 2005 story, "Among the Berbers." She is the author of We Share Walls: Language, Land, and Gender in Berber Morocco as well as many articles. Katherine has consulted on numerous media and film projects, and speaks Arabic, Berber, and French.
David Silverberg
Geographer David Scott Silverberg has received research grants from the National Geographic Society and is a fellow of the Royal Geographic Society, specializing in natural and biocultural history. Former executive director for research at EarthWatch, David helped launch AmeriCorps's environmental programs and is passionately committed to community-based protected area projects on five continents. He has conducted field work in Morocco as part of a program for Moroccan graduate students. As this expedition moves from coast to mountains to the Sahara to lush cedar forests, David will illuminate the relationship of Morocco’s fascinating cultures to its diverse geography.
