President: Brent
Vice President: Lulu
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, Turkey 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
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
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
Zoe is a PhD Candidate at the University of Calgary. Her research focuses on the use of digital methodologies in the capture and commemoration of heritage landscapes in Alberta. She has worked in Indigenous facilitation and professional archaeology prior to returning to graduate school. In her free time, Zoe loves to take her dogs on adventures, camping with her husband, and reading every possible science fiction book!
Mount Royal University Liaison: Rebecca
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.
Directors
Oralia
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
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
Ian 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
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.
Matt
Matt is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at the University of Calgary and a Senior Archaeologist at Stantec Consulting Ltd. Matt has been working in academic and CRM archaeology since 2007 with experience in Canada, Panama, Italy, and the UK. His archaeological interests include landscape approaches to understanding the past, socio-ecological resilience, complexity theory, and digital approaches to heritage interpretation and preservation. Matt spends his free time hiking, traveling, and contributing on archaeological research projects. His current projects include excavating at the Villa of Titus Archaeological Project in central Italy and studying the Canadian CRM labour market.
Susan
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.
Student Directors
Marissa
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.”
Demola
Demola is currently pursuing a degree in Anthropology Honors with a minor in Indigenous Studies at Mount Royal University. Their academic interests bridge archaeology, anthropology, healthcare and Indigenous Studies through collaborative approaches that center community engagement.
Honourary Lifetime Director: Sheila
Sheila is a native Albertan with a love of history of all kinds, who “married into” an archaeology family. She and her husband, Wes, met at the University of Alberta, married, lived in Edmonton until Wes was transferred to Calgary. After being home with their four children Sheila volunteered as a Glenbow docent and then became a Glenbow staff member for eight years. Archaeology and History became a special interest, so she returned to university at the U of C for her MA in Western Canadian History.
Sheila has held many volunteer positions including, president of the ASA and Historical Society of Alberta, Chair of the City of Calgary Heritage Authority, and currently as a lifetime Honorary Director for the ASA Calgary Centre, where she is honored to be able to present the Wes Johnston Student Award annually on their behalf.
