Executives

President: Brent Murphy

Vice President: Lusine Petrosyan

Lulu is currently a Classics MA student at the University of Calgary. Her areas of interest are antiquity and the Medieval Ages in the Middle East. Prior to graduate school, she worked in CRM and as an Assistant Museum Curator. She has experience excavating in Armenia and Western Canada. In her free time, Lulu loves to hike, rock climb, read, and paint. She previously served two terms as the Student Director of the Calgary Centre.

Past President: Janet Blakey

Janet was involved with the Calgary Centre Executive for over nine years (she initially got brought in to take care of the monthly newsletter). She worked as a professional archaeologist based out of Calgary. Janet’s love and passion for archaeology grew out of a childhood interest in rocks, exploring, and history.  In her spare time, Janet enjoyed travelling, reading, and a good spin class at the gym.

Secretary: Christina Poletto

Christina is a professional archaeologist and has worked in the field for eight years. She recently completed an MA at the University of Alberta studying paleoenvironmental history and human-landscape interaction in the boreal forest. Christina has a soft spot for dogs and puppies, and enjoys hiking in the summer (when field schedules permit!) and board games!

Treasurer: Zoe Cascadden-Jassal

Maria recently completed a BA at the University of Alberta in Anthropology with a focus on Archaeology and minoring in History and Classics, being sucked into Archaeology after an options course turned degree. She has conducted fieldwork in Italy, Greece, and Canada. In her downtime, she loves to hike and float down the river between field shifts.

Mount Royal University Liaison: Rebecca Gilmour

Rebecca is an Assistant Professor of Biological Anthropology at Mount Royal University. She specializes in bioarchaeology, palaeopathology, and biomechanical analyses of the human skeleton and has worked as a field archaeologist in Austria, Oman, Italy, and the UK, excavating sites ranging from the Bronze Age to the 19th Century. Her current research brings together studies of behaviour and activity with those of health and disease; one of her largest projects examines long-term consequences of fractures in the Roman world.

Oralia Cabrera

Oralia has been doing archaeological investigations for almost 40 years, primarily in Central Mexico; she currently directs research and curatorial operations at Arizona State University’s Research Lab, based at the prehispanic metropolis of Teotihuacan. Much of Oralia’s research has focused on craft production systems and lifeways in low-status neighbourhoods of this ancient city. Since moving to Canada seven years ago, she has become interested in the indigenous peoples of Alberta, ancient and modern. In her spare time, Oralia enjoys reading, puzzles and board games, and cooking.

Byron Smith

Byron is a distinguished adventurer and explorer whose journeys span over 65 countries, allowing him to deeply immerse in diverse cultures and geographies. Driven by a passion for mountaineering, Byron has achieved the extraordinary feat of conquering the Seven Summits, standing atop the highest peaks of each continent—including Mount Everest, Aconcagua, Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, and Carstensz Pyramid. His explorations extend beneath the waves, with more than 2,500 scuba dives conducted worldwide, notably dedicating a month to Truk Lagoon in Micronesia—an iconic site for wreck diving—while also venturing into the Red Sea, Belize’s Blue Hole, and encountering whale sharks in the Philippines. Byron’s favorite dive destination remains Cozumel, acclaimed for its vivid marine life and dramatic drift dives.​

Beyond geographical pursuits, Byron is a dedicated history enthusiast and collector, curating an impressive collection of medieval arms and armor often likened to a private museum. His artistic talents are expressed through music, enjoying both guitar and piano. Committed to philanthropy, Byron served as a director on the Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation of Canada, supporting the Sherpa community of Nepal through targeted fundraising efforts, further reflecting his dedication to meaningful global engagement.​

Byron’s love for history and amateur archaeology is rooted in an appreciation for Canadiana and is complemented by his most cherished role—being Zach’s dad.

Ian Robertson

Ian Robertson has over 40 years of archaeological research experience, spending recent decades researching and teaching about urban societies of Central Mexico and above all life in the ancient city of Teotihuacan. His earliest fieldwork was as a high school volunteer on Archaeological Society projects in the Calgary area. After decades away, Ian is happy to be back in southern Alberta, once again learning about the fascinating peoples who lived here in the past.

Brian Vivian

Over the last fourty years, Brian has explored much of southern Alberta from the high peaks of the Rockies to the grasslands of the lower Red Deer for archaeological sites.  A favourite activity is walking with Rosie and discovery new archaeological sites with his dog.  When not gardening in the backyard, nothing provides for more pleasure than watching the fall colours bloom, rinks freeze up and the leaves bud in the spring.

Susan De Caen

Sue got her degree in archaeology from the University of Calgary and has been involved with the Calgary Centre for almost 20 years. She’s been lucky enough to assist on research projects from the Northern Plains, to the National Parks in the Rockies, to the High Arctic. Sue’s passionate about sharing the past with whoever will listen and strives to keep it alive by dogsledding with her best friends (her husband and 13 Siberian Huskies) in Alberta’s foothills.

Marissa Bell

Marissa is a full-time student at the University of Calgary working on a double major in International Indigenous Studies and Archaeology. She is a first generation Canadian and finds history of this land incredibly fascinating. She fell in love with archaeology while taking an elective course for her degree requirements where she learnt about the history of Indigenous people on the Alberta landscape. When she is not studying, Marissa is spending time with her husband, 4 children, and family in their new home on Tsuut’ina First Nation.”

Kayla Praill

Kayla is a full time Anthropology student at Mount Royal University, who is also completing minors in Geoscience and Religious Studies. Her experiences include an excavation field school in Transylvania Romania, as well as research involving 3D and digital bioarchaeology of Roman period skeletal remains under the guidance of Dr. Gilmour (MRU). When Kayla’s not studying she enjoys stargazing and splashing through puddles in her Jeep.