Smithsonian Journeys Experts

A childhood love of nature and good fortune set Ed on the path to a 35-year career with the Smithsonian. The living collections at the National Zoo, ranging from cuttlefish to Kapok trees, kept his hands wet and muddy - a happy state for an organismal biologist. And opportunities to collaborate with like-minded colleagues have taken him to all continents except Antarctica.

As a naturalist, Ed is more focused on ants, plants, frogs, snakes, and birds than on megafauna. But watching an elephant in the field or listening to hippos bellowing at dawn, or seeing pink river dolphins break the mirror-like surface of a blackwater lake and leaves him transfixed!

During free time, when not outdoors looking for birds, reptiles, etc., Ed enjoys gardening, reading, music, cooking, drawing, museums and keeping up with friends and second languages (primarily German, Spanish, Russian), and travel. 

Recently retired from the Amazonia Department's curatorial team, he is privileged to be able to share experiences and learn alongside Smithsonian Journeys participants once again.