Dr. John Freedman is a Global Studies Scholar and Lecturer who has explored over 170 countries on seven continents. He has had a lifelong interest in the lands and peoples of Pacific Oceania  and has traveled and studied the region extensively. He has over two decades of experience as an expedition leader and destination lecturer for prestigious educational travel programs and luxury cruise lines sailing throughout Asia and Oceania.  John’s presentations combine serious scholarship with his own photojournalistic content and an engaging presentation style to add rich historical, geographic, biogeographic and cultural context to our travel experience. A graduate of Brown University and Yale Medical School, John retired from his clinical medical practice after 34 years to pursue his passion for travel and teaching full-time. When not exploring faraway lands, John resides in Santa Rosa, California, in the Sonoma wine country with his wife, Tina, a wine educator.