I am Affiliated Faculty, SIT Graduate Institute, and Senior Director of Strategic Communications for World Learning/SIT. I am an anthropologist and writer with experience ranging across disciplines and sectors, from academia to journalism and advertising. I received my B.A. from Boston University and M.A. and Ph.D. in anthropology from Harvard University. As an academic anthropologist, I conducted field research in Latin America and held teaching positions at Boston University and Harvard University before leaving mainstream academia. I produced and led award-winning educational expeditions on six continents joined online by K-12 students across the US and in 120 countries. I now do strategic communications and write articles and do radio commentaries on a variety of topics related to my work and interests.
Books
Around the World with a Million Kids: Adventures of an Online Explorer (2008)
Young adult collection of essays and stories from my world travels as co-leader of the...
Putting the Heart Back in the Court: Ballcourts and Ritual Action in Mesoamerica (1994)
Ph.D. dissertation based on my field research in Honduras exploring the social/political function and ritual...
Magazine and Newspaper Articles
Education's Effect on Poverty: Combating Child Labor and Breaking the Cycle of Poverty Through Education (with Azra Kacapor), Monday Developments (2008)
This co-authored article argues that ensuring a future for the 165 million children involved in...
Anthropology During Wartime, Burlington Free Press (2007)
Op-ed critiquing the ethics of a Pentagon program enlisting anthropologists to serve on "Human Terrain...
Students of the Game: Archaeologists are Researching Ulama - Oldest Sport in the Americas, Smithsonian Magazine (2006)
Popular piece exploring the survival of ulama, oldest sport in the Americas, in remote communities...
Where the Wild Things Are, Salon.com (2006)
Travel article about Ecuador's Galapagos Islands from the perspective of an archaeologist searching for culture...
Fresh Eire: The Past is Present on Ireland's Windswept West Coast, Outside Magazine (2005)
Travelogue article exploring the remote western coast and islands of Connemara in search of the...
Peer-Reviewed Academic Articles
Playing with Power: Ballcourts and Political Ritual in Southern Mesoamerica, Current Anthropology (1996)
Article exploring the use and ritual meaning of ancient ball courts found throughout Mesoamerica based...
The Ballcourt Markers of Tenam Rosario, Chiapas, Mexico, Ancient Mesoamerica (1993)
This is an art historical analysis of the symbolism of images found on sculptural markers...
Radio Commentaries and Interviews
Bolt of Fun, Vermont Public Radio (2008)
Commentary on the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the missing element of "play" in many high-profile...
Baseball: Ancient Rite of Spring, Vermont Public Radio (2008)
A radio commentary reflecting on the deep connection between baseball, ball games, and ancient rites...
Nostalgia, Vermont Public Radio (2007)
Radio commentary calling on Vermonters to move beyond nostalgia for the "good old days" and...
World Citizens, Vermont Public Radio (2007)
Radio commentary calling out the need to support international education as a pathway to improving...