National Geographic Explorer, Author, Filmmaker

A National Geographic Explorer, Carroll Dunham is a storyteller at heart. She has authored five books and produced more than a dozen documentaries for National Geographic, PBS, and the BBC, including the National Geographic film A Bride for Four Brothers, which explores the unique cultural and marital traditions of Himalayan communities. She is also a renowned medical anthropologist whose work examines humanity's entanglement with other species — all the way from microbes to yaks.

Based in Nepal for 30 years, Carroll has lived and travelled extensively among nomadic communities throughout the Himalayas and beyond, including in India, Mongolia, and China. A lifelong student of Buddhism, Tibetan medicine, and Himalayan medicinal plants, she is committed to amplifying Indigenous voices and advocating for the stewardship of fragile ecosystems.

Carroll is the co-founder of Around the World in 80 Fabrics, a foundation that seeks to revitalise vanishing textile traditions and reduce reliance on petroleum-based fast fashion. Fascinated by human resilience in the face of ecological change, she continues to study the innovation, imagination, and adaptation of communities in relation to biodiversity.