About Me:
When people ask me to describe what I do as a business anthropologist, I channel Anthony Bourdain: I write, I teach, I travel, and I'm hungry for more.
And I find myself in the unique position of being in demand during the downturn. Organizations are getting the idea that business is a human affair. That approaching it in a humanistic, anthropological way, is an effective problem solving tool because it produces better results and ultimately increases ROI.
Sometimes I'm asked for my unique (and hard earned) anthropological thinking, especially by linear thinkers who get a kick out of my ethnographer's bag of cool tools. I use them to solve leadership and management dilemmas like finding out what their customers really want to buy (or eat, or wear, or watch) instead of what they say they want. I also get asked to bridge the culture gap between international teams during change management by delivering intercultural training workshops.
I have acted as President of SIETAR New York (Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research) for two years. Recently, I was appointed to the Board of Advisers for the Princeton Council on World Affairs. I've also been actively researching and collaborating with fellow practitioners on a quality assurance guideline manual for the intercultural management profession with thought leaders such as Dr. George F. Simons (Member of the Board of Directors of SIETAR Europe, Conseil d’administration SIETAR France, Directeur Associe diversophy France) and Dr. Anne Copeland (Founder Interchange Institute in Boston, MA).
I am a Master of Science candidate of Applied Anthropology at the University of North Texas concentrating in Business. My projected graduation date is Spring 2013. In 1984, I received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature, concentrating on Medieval French Feminist Poetry from the University of La Verne and Greek Studies from the American Community School in Athens, Greece.
Yep, I'm passionate about culture, whether it's inside an organization, or across transnational borders. As Margaret Mead said often, everything is anthropology and I'm interested in the anthropology of your everything.
Area(s) of Training
anthropology, applied anthropology, cultural anthropology, cultural resource management, ethnography
Area(s) of Expertise
Applied Anthropologist, Intercultural Consultant, Researcher
Current Area of Employment
Business Anthropologist
