Photographer Kiliii Yüyan brings wild, human-connected stories to life—blending adventure with deep cultural insight. Of Nanai/Hézhè (East Asian Indigenous) and Chinese descent, he’s survived stalking polar bears, dived with sea snakes, and found kinship in some of the world’s most remote places. A National Geographic contributor and traditional kayak builder, Kiliii uses his lens to explore how humanity and nature are inseparably linked. His work has appeared in TIME, Vogue, and WIRED, and earned honors from Pictures of the Year, Leica, and more. In 2023, he received National Geographic’s Eliza Scidmore Award for Outstanding Storytelling and now brings his stories to life on stage with National Geographic Live and TEDx.

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Dr. Stan Deaton

Stan Deaton is the Dr. Elaine B. Andrews Distinguished Historian at the Georgia Historical Society. He has worked at the Georgia Historical Society since 1998. He holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Florida, an M.A. in History from the University of Georgia, and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia. He is the Emmy-winning writer and host of Today in Georgia History, jointly produced for TV and radio by GHS and Georgia Public Broadcasting. He also serves as a Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians.

At the Georgia Historical Society Deaton is a public historian, speaker, writer, teacher, and
lecturer. He produces videos, writes a blog, and records podcasts that are all available at Off the Deaton Path, speaks to groups across the country on a variety of subjects, serves as managing editor for the Georgia Historical Quarterly, helps recruit materials for the GHS Research Center; leads teacher training workshops; writes historical markers; conducts oral history interviews; helps write grants; assists with fund raising; writes newspaper editorials, and is regularly interviewed by broadcast and print media on a variety of subjects related to history in the news.