Alumni

Amy Michael:

Amy Michael is currently a lecturer at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, NH. She is a biological anthropologist whose research investigates human tooth and bone microstructure in an effort to answer questions about health, pathology, and age-at-death in past and modern bodies. Dr. Michael has worked on field projects in the United States, Albania, and Belize, where she is currently a senior staff member on the Central Belize Archaeological Survey project. In her role on this project she excavates and interprets mortuary caves and rockshelters in Central Belize with a focus on addressing questions of social identity through the lens of mortuary variability.  

Dr. Michael served as a CAP Fellow from 2011 to 2017. She credits her tenure in the Campus Archaeology Program with making her a better anthropologist, a more well rounded educator, and a more creative researcher.  

Chris Stawski:

Chris Stawski, CAP Alumni

Chris Stawski was involved with Campus Archaeology at its inception, beginning as an archaeological technician in the summer of 2008.  Chris also held the position of Campus Archaeologist during the 2010-2011 academic year.  During his tenure with CAP, he was a crew chief twice during the Campus Archaeology Summer Field School, and helped to create the framework for a Geographic Information System database for campus archaeological and historical research and analysis.

Chris earned his PhD from Michigan State University with a focus on archaeology in 2012, and since has been applying his skills in higher education, where he had taught for 5 years as an adjunct faculty member in the Anthropology Department at San Francisco State University. 

Chris currently works at the University of California Berkeley’s Extension Program, and assists the Dean’s Office in project management and research.  It is in this position that he uses his skills first developed working as Campus Archaeologist, which include establishing and maintaining campus partnerships, effectively communicating with external stakeholders and departments, and collaborating in multi-disciplinary research.

Kate Frederick:

Kate Frederick, CAP Alumni

I had the opportunity to be Campus Archaeologist 2013-2015. Having recently finished my PhD, and as I enter the archaeology job market, I look back on my time as Campus Archaeologist and realize how important such an opportunity was to my career. 

My tenure as Campus Archaeologist can best be summed up as a crash course in every aspect of archaeology. Though I had a decade of archaeological experience, there was a steep learning curve for this position. Because CAP wears many hats, from CRM, to public outreach, to digital humanities, no one’s resume is fully suited for this job, the credentials for this position are learned while in office. I could enumerate the lessons learned while in CAP, but one lesson sticks out the most, public engagement.

The primary lesson I learned during my tenure as Campus Archaeologist was the necessity of relaying the importance of archaeology to the public, and showing the value in our work by explaining why what we do matters. Because CAP is constantly performing in public, I learned that Archaeology cannot survive as an insular discipline. Engaging the public in archaeology, can lead to an understanding, and obligation for further stewardship. My initial ineptness at social media, and eventual adeptness, taught me the importance of a social media presence in today’s archaeological climate. Stewardship through social media; to remain relevant, archaeologists need to be visible to the general public and active in disseminating information.

Since my tenure as Campus Archaeologist, I have taken this lesson with me to every project I have worked on since; if the public does not know what you are doing and why you are doing it, then they won’t care if you can no longer do it. 

Kate Meyers Emery:

Kate Meyers Emery was involved in the Campus Archaeology Program from 2010 to 2016, and served as Campus Archaeologist from 2011-2013 and was the teaching assistant for the 2015 field school. After graduating with her Ph.D. in 2016, she became the Manager of Digital Engagement of the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, NY. 

In this position, she is using skills she developed during her tenure as part of CAP to engage the public in museum collections using both analog and digital methods. Meyers Emery uses everything from analog and mobile tours, onsite technology, social media, and web design to find creative ways to share what the museum offers, educate (and entertain) the public, and showcase the uniqueness of the collections.

Lisa Bright:

Lisa is currently the District Native American Consultation Coordinator/Archaeologist for the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) District 3 and an adjunct Anthropology instructor. The ample experience with consultation, outreach, excavation, artifact analysis, and information dissemination provided over the several years working with CAP were invaluable in preparing Lisa for her current positions.

Lisa Bright is a PhD candidate at Michigan State University. She is currently finishing her dissertation, focusing on the health/pathology of a historic era California potter’s field, with an anticipated graduation in 2019. Lisa participated in the 2005 Saint’s Rest archaeological field school while an undergrad at MSU. Upon returning for graduate work Lisa worked as a CAP fellow (2014-2015), and as the Campus Archaeologist (2015-2018).