Philip Currie

Dr. Philip John Currie is a Canadian paleontologist and museum curator who helped found theRoyal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology in Drumheller, Alberta and is now a professor at the University of Alberta in Edmonton. Together with his wife Eva, Phil has been to Mongolia since 1998 almost every year, leading both scientific and citizen-science programs, while working closely with the Mongolian Institution of Paleontology.

Atwood Christopher

Professor of Mongolian History and Chair of the East Asian Department at the University of Pennsylvania. His dissertation and first book Young Mongols and Vigilantes in Inner Mongolia’s Interregnum Decades 1911-1931, examined the nationalist movement in Inner Mongolia. He has appeared on numerous television shows about the Mongol world empire and is author of the Encyclopedia of Mongolia and Mongol empire.

Iderkhangai Tumur-Ochir

Dr. Iderkhangai Tumur-Ochir is a prominent Mongolian archaeologist, has over 20 years of experience and a PhD from the Russian Academy of Sciences. Since 2003, he has collaborated on international projects and led significant excavations, such as the Hunnic site of Bayanbulag and royal tombs in Arkhangai. His award-winning research is frequently recognized at Mongolia’s top archaeological conferences, advancing knowledge of Mongolia’s ancient civilizations.

Phil Bell

Dr. Phil Bell – With two decades of experience as a dinosaur expert, Australian paleontologist. Phil Bell pioneered the application of geochemistry to determine the origins of illegally excavate fossils in Mongolia. He has lead expeditions in search of dinosaurs in Australia, Canada and Mongolia.

Gankhuyag Purevochir

Head of the Mongolian Bird Conservation center, one of the leading representatives of the new generation of Mongolian ornithologists. He has worked with raptors of Central Mongolia and Gobi desert for the last decade plus. His research spreads all over Mongolia with more focus on eastern and central parts, as well as most parts of the Gobi.

Leahy Chris

Holds the Gerard A. Bertrand Chair of Natural History and field Ornithology at Mass Audubon. He has been a professional conservationist for more than thirty years and served as a Director of Mass Audubon’s Center for Biological Conservation. Author of the Birdwatchers Companion to the North American Birdlife and Birds of Mongolia books. 

Orna Tsultem

Renowned scholar of Mongolian art and culture. She was born and raised in Mongolia and obtained her PhD degree in Art History from the University of California, Berkeley, where she continues to teach courses in Mongolian and Tibetan arts. She has curated Mongolian art exhibitions internationally in Asia, Europe and the US, with her most recent shows being in Hong Kong and Venice, Italy.