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Alexandra Jones, PhD, RPAAlexandra Jones, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Archaeology in the Community, is an education leader focused on community outreach and service. Dr. Jones has been an educator for more than 16 years; she has taught in multiple educational environments from primary schools to museums. She obtained dual Bachelors of Arts degrees from Howard University in History and Anthropology in 2001. She obtained a Master’s degree in History from Howard University in 2003 and then attending University of California, Berkeley to obtain a Ph.D. in Historical Archaeology in 2010. Dr. Jones worked for PBS’s television show Time Team America as the Archaeology Field School Director, where she directed field schools for junior high and high school students at each of the sites for the 2013 season. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Archaeology at Goucher College. Dr. Jones serves on the District of Columbia’s Historic Preservation Review Board, Board of Directors for the Society of Black Archaeologists, the Board of Directors of the St. Croix Archaeological Society and is an Academic Trustee for the Archaeological Institute of America.
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Terry P. Brock, PhDTerry Brock currently serves as the Research Archaeologist at the Montpelier Foundation. He completed his PhD in Anthropology at Michigan State University. He has a particular interest in public archaeology, specifically the use of digital social media as a tool for public engagement, and has designed a number of social media outreach plans for archaeology organizations such as the MSU Campus Archaeology Program, The Fairfield Foundation, and the Society for Historical Archaeology. At Montpelier, in addition to directing field projects, he manages the operations of their Public Expedition Programs, and has an interest in building hands-on learning opportunities for members of the public. He is also a co-founder of RVA Archaeology, a community advocacy group designed to protect and increase public engagement with Richmond, Virginia’s archaeological resources. You can learn more about Terry at http://terrypbrock.com
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Matthew Palus, PhDMatthew Palus is a Senior Archeologist with The Ottery Group, Inc., a cultural resources management firm located in Kensington, Maryland. He holds a doctoral degree from Columbia University (2010), and a Master of Applied Anthropology degree from the University of Maryland College Park (2000). He has worked in Maryland archaeology for nearly 20 years, and specializes in mid- and later-19th and early 20th-century contexts, particularly the archeology and history of African Americans after Emancipation, and military sites archeology. He is co-author, with Paul Shackel, of They Worked Regular: Craft, Labor and Family in the Industrial Community of Virginius Island, an archeological study of factory workers in Harpers Ferry during the postbellum era, several book chapters and articles on the historical archeology of urban infrastructure, and numerous technical reports on projects throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.
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Cassandra Michaud, MA, RPACassandra currently serves as Senior Archaeologist for Montgomery Parks, M-NCPPC, where she manages and interprets a variety of archaeological resources on park land. She received her B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Maryland, College Park and her M.A. from Boston University in Archaeological Studies. After graduate school, she spent a year at JPPM, before working throughout the Mid-Atlantic as a CRM consultant. Since 2009, her responsibilities with Parks have involved regular interaction with volunteers, students, and the general public as part of on-going archaeological projects across the county. When not at the Parks Archaeology lab at Needwood Mansion, she is usually at the Josiah Henson site, the location of a future museum on Henson and slavery in Montgomery County.
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Solai SanchezSolai Sanchez graduated in 2015 with a Bachelor’s degree in Archaeology at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Soon after graduating she began interning at Archaeology in the Community. During her time with AITC she has assisted with youth programs, traveled to Belize with Dr. Jones, and spent most of her time working on marketing campaigns for the non-profit. Solai Sanchez currently works at the Society for American Archaeology as the coordinator, membership and meetings where she is responsible for coordinating the volunteer program and other logistics for the SAA Annual Meeting.
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Thomas ZydelTom is currently the Senior Director of Advancement at the Maymont Foundation in Richmond, VA. He brings over a decade of hands-on experience in fundraising, membership and marketing planning for large cultural institutions, including the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Tom has earned a Master of Science degree in Global Marketing Management from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a minor in Classical Civilization from the University of Richmond. He and his wife, Jordan, enjoy introducing their two young sons to team sports, hiking, museums and all the new books they can get their hands on.
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James ThompsonJames Thompson, a native of Flint, Michigan, is a veteran of the United States Marine Corps after spending 5.5 years on active duty. He then used his G.I. Bill to earn his Bachelor of Business Administration from Howard University, concentrating on Supply Chain Management. He is the Principal of Coliseum Apparel LLC; an SDVOB Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business. He served as Chief of Staff in the Maryland General Assembly. There he worked tirelessly on behalf of 25th Legislative District serving the Health and Government Operations committee. He now serves as the President of the 100 Black Men of Greater Washington. The mission is devoted to improving the quality of life for African American youth in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area through programs focused on Mentoring, Education, Economic Empowerment, Health & Wellness, and Leadership Development. Before his current role, he served as the chapter's Mentoring Chairman. He is a proud member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc and resides in Washington, DC.
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Ellen Chapman, PhDEllen Chapman is a Cultural Resources Specialist with Cultural Heritage Partners, a law firm focused on cultural heritage, art and antiquities law, and indigenous rights. She works especially within the firm's practices in Heritage Preservation (including Section 106), Indigenous Heritage, Environmental and Social Governance, and Government Affairs. Ellen holds a BA in Archaeology from Washington University in St Louis, a MSc in Palaeopathology from Durham University in the UK, and a PhD in Anthropology from the College of William & Mary. Currently residing in Richmond, Virginia, Ellen became aware of the work of Archaeology in the Community through her co-founding (with Terry Brock and Kim Allen) of RVA Archaeology, a community archaeology advocacy group in Richmond. She is currently editing a book on Richmond's archaeological resources and their politics and community meaning, titled A Monumental Absence: Race, Politics, and the Archaeology of Richmond. Ellen is currently Chair of the Government Affairs of the Council of Virginia Archaeologists and is also active with the Mid-Atlantic Archaeological Conference and the Society for Historical Archaeology.
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Christine Ames, MA, RPA
Christine Ames currently serves as the Assistant City Archaeologist with the D.C. Historic Preservation Office. Ms. Ames helps administer all aspects of the archaeology program, including managing the District’s archaeological sites, conducting project reviews, public outreach, fieldwork, and maintaining the District’s archaeological collections. A proud D.C. resident, one of the most rewarding aspects of the job is educating residents and visitors about the history of the city through its archaeology. Ms. Ames received her B.A. in Anthropology from Syracuse University and M.A. in Archaeological Heritage Management from Boston University. She has worked on projects that encouraged creative outreach programming & community involvement to much success, including the Harriet Tubman Home in Auburn, NY, Lost Towns Project of Anne Arundel Co., Urban Archeology Corps, and Yarrow Mamout and Shotgun House Public Archaeology Projects. She remains passionate about helping the next generation of archaeologists grow, in part through outreach.
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Megan Springate, PhDMegan Springate currently serves as the Director of Public Outreach and Engagement at the America250 Foundation. She received her PhD in Anthropology (2017) from the University of Maryland. Megan began her career in archaeology at a public archaeology field school outside of Toronto, Canada in 1987, where she earned a Senior Social Science high school credit and fell in love with the field. Since then, she has worked in academia, government, museums, the private sector, and non-profits in archaeology or archaeology-adjacent fields. Megan is author of Coffin Hardware in Nineteenth Century America (2014), editor of LGBTQ America: A Theme Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer History (National Park Service, 2016), and has published several articles. In 2021, she received the John L. Cotter Award from the Society for Historical Archaeology.
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