Rick Stepp

John Richard 'Rick' Stepp is an anthropologist and ethnobiologist who currently holds the position of UF Research Foundation Professor at the University of Florida. Stepp was previously the G. P. Wilder Professor of Botany at the University of Hawaii.

John Richard Stepp
Alma mater	University of California, University of Georgia
Scientific career
Fields	Anthropology, Ethnobotany, Ethnoecology
Institutions	University of Florida
Doctoral advisor	Brent Berlin
Website	https://anthro.ufl.edu/2013/09/29/rstepp/

His work examines the strong relationship between biological diversity and cultural diversity.^[1] Stepp studied ecology at the Universities of Florida and Georgia under the tutelage of Howard T. Odum, Eugene P. Odum, Frank Golley and Bernard Patten. His PhD advisor in ecological anthropology was Brent Berlin. He has also been involved in research on the importance of weeds as medicinal plants for indigenous peoples.^[2][3][4] He serves as a regional governor for Slow Food USA. He has served as the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Ethnobiology from 2005 to 2008 and from 2021 to present, has presided the Society for Ethnobotany (2014-15) and the International Society of Ethnobiology (2018-2022).