About Me:
I'm an assistant professor in Anthropology at University of South Florida. I'm a cultural anthropologist with interests in environmental anthropology, anthropology of childhood, and engaging with communities and the public about anthropology. Much of my research focuses on how children learn about the natural world, and I've worked for the last ten years with Q'eqchi' and Mopan Maya families and children in Belize.
Right now I'm working on several projects. One is an interdisciplinary, collaborative project focusing on the human dynamics of landscape and climate change over time in Southern Belize. I am working with archaeologists, cultural anthropologists, and climate scientists on the study of human-environment relationships between 2000 BP to the present, particularly in Maya communities. I'm also coordinating the education plan for the NSF funded project, which focuses on linking cultural and environmental heritage in bilingual educational curricula with local partners and educators in Belize. Locally in Tampa Bay, I've been researching the pedagogy of school gardening and the emergence of community and urban gardens with my students and colleagues at USF.
Area(s) of Training
anthropology, applied anthropology, cultural anthropology, ethnography
Area(s) of Expertise
environmental anthropology, childhood, education, environmental knowledge and practice, political ecology
Current Area of Employment
University of South Florida
