--- description: Find out why Robin Wall Kimmerer is one of the 100 most influential people of 2025. title: Robin Wall Kimmerer: The 100 Most Influential People of 2025 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1350cdc3947ce893/6998c5c783ec377ea7c7a7f2/time100-2025-robin-wall-kimmerer.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Apr 16, 2025 # Robin Wall Kimmerer by Elizabeth Gilbert  GETTYSBURG, PA - SEPTEMBER 19, 2022: Robin Wall Kimmerer, 69, is a naturalist, professor and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation based in upstate New York. She poses for a portrait while on tour for her best selling book, Braiding Sweetgrass, which is a combination of her indigenous wisdom and scientific knowledge. After centuries of trying to erase our knowledge. I am grateful that the world is listening to indigenous knowledge at a time when the world needs it so badly. (Photo by Rosem Morton for The Washington Post via Getty Images) GETTYSBURG, PA - SEPTEMBER 19, 2022: Robin Wall Kimmerer, 69, is a naturalist, professor and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation based in upstate New York. She poses for a portrait while on tour for her best selling book, Braiding Sweetgrass, which is a combination of her indigenous wisdom and scientific knowledge. After centuries of trying to erase our knowledge. I am grateful that the world is listening to indigenous knowledge at a time when the world needs it so badly. (Photo by Rosem Morton for The Washington Post via Getty Images)Rosem Morton—The Washington Post/Getty Images Much has already been written about the unlikely success of the scientist, naturalist, and Indigenous elder Robin Wall Kimmerer. _Braiding Sweetgrass,_ her meditation upon the interconnectedness of humans and nature, became a wildly successful best seller seemingly out of nowhere—despite having no mass-marketing campaign and an author with little social media presence. But her success has never felt “unlikely” to me. Twelve years ago, after reading her first book, _Gathering Moss,_ I took a pilgrimage to upstate New York to meet Robin in person. I had no choice; the beauty and power of her writing pulled me straight to her door. Since then, millions of readers have experienced that same magnetic pull—most recently with her newest offering, [_The Serviceberry_](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/05/books/review/robin-wall-kimmerer-the-serviceberry.html "undefined")_._ Just as nature finds a way, Robin has found her devoted readers. And during a time of tremendous environmental fear and uncertainty, we have found, to our immeasurable relief, our master teacher. _Gilbert is a best-selling author_ Robin Wall Kimmerer Is on the 2025 TIME100 List ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273748/robin-wall-kimmerer/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273748/robin-wall-kimmerer/"},"headline":"Robin Wall Kimmerer","datePublished":"2025-04-16T10:30:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:45:47.696Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273748/robin-wall-kimmerer/","keywords":["TIME100","franchise","Magazine","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1350cdc3947ce893/6998c5c783ec377ea7c7a7f2/time100-2025-robin-wall-kimmerer.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1350cdc3947ce893/6998c5c783ec377ea7c7a7f2/time100-2025-robin-wall-kimmerer.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-most-influential-people-2025/7273748/robin-wall-kimmerer/","name":"Robin Wall Kimmerer"}}]}] ```