The SfAA Podcast project was founded in 2007 at the 67th Annual Meeting of the SfAA. In 2007, Jen Cardew Kersey managed the project with the support of her advisor, Christina Wasson (UNT) and the SfAA Office. At the meeting Celina Kapoor, Wayne State University, volunteered her time to help record many of the sessions.
Since 2007, the SfAA Podcasts have enjoyed a tremendous growth in popularity. During the 2012 Annual Meeting of the SfAA in Baltimore, MD, the project will be coordinated by the following team members. The team members were selected through an application process and are volunteering their time to the project. If you see one of the team members in Baltimore, say ‘hi’ and maybe even thank them for all of their hard work and time they’ve invested in the project.
2012 SfAA Podcast Team
Yumiko Akimoto, Chair
Email: yumiko.unt [at] gmail [dot] com
Yumiko is expected to graduate with master’s degrees in applied anthropology and public health from the University of North Texas (UNT) and UNT Health Science Center in May 2012. She is currently working on her practicum project and thesis on a public health needs assessment in an urban slum community in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area. She has been part of the SfAA Podcast Project since the 2010 Annual Meeting. She enjoys co-managing the project with Megan and is excited to work closely with the other team members this year!
Tommy Wingo
email: tommy [at] wing-o [dot] com
Audio Pro, www.wing-o.com
Tommy is a sound mixer living in Orlando, Florida. In late 2011 he started working for Treehouse (teamtreehouse.com). Projects he has worked on include production sound recording, editing and mixing for film, television, and radio. He has worked as an editor on several different podcasts, including Life Zero, EPIC Podcasts, and Ruby 5, in addition to his work with the SfAA Podcast project.
Megan Gorby, Associate Chair
Email: megangorby [at] my.unt.edu
Megan is a second year master’s student in the applied medical anthropology program at the University of North Texas and the public health program at the University of North Texas Health Science Center. Her current research interests include looking at the usefulness of community gardens in health education and health promotion. She anticipates graduating in December 2012 and is excited to be on the Project for her second year!
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Jo Aiken, Communications Coordinator
Email: aikenjo [at] yahoo [dot] com
Jo is a first year master’s student in the Applied Anthropology M.A. program at the University of North Texas. She earned a B.S. in Leadership Development from Texas A&M University. After receiving her bachelor’s degree, Jo worked as a contractor for the NASA Johnson Space Center where she contributed to the official Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) Report in 2003. She is continuing her interest in space exploration and culture by pursuing research interests in organizational and design anthropology as it applies to spacecraft and mission design. Jo spends her spare time traveling, watching old movies, hula dancing, spending time with her dog Bandit.
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Steven K. Wilson, Social Media Coordinator
Email: steven.wilson [at] unt [dot] edu
Steve is a first year master’s student at the University of North Texas. He graduated with a B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Texas at Arlington. Steve’s research focus is business and organizational anthropology. He wants to use anthropological methods to better understand organizational structures to improve corporate ethics, job satisfaction, training and safety. Steve is also interested in storytelling as a tool to better train employees while building communities in the workplace.
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Brittany Donnelly, Session Selection Coordinator
Email: brittanydonnelly [at] my.unt [dot] edu
Brittany is currently a master’s student at the University of North Texas focusing on environmental anthropology. She also holds a B.A. in Anthropology from Oklahoma Baptist University. Brittany’s interests include ethnoecology, tropical forest preservation, sustainability, participatory research methods, environmental justice, indigenous rights, the Kayapó people, and Amazonia. She is currently working on analysis and write-up of the research she conducted this summer in Brazil in which she was able to use her proficiency in Brazilian Portuguese. Her work, entitled, The Kayapó Project: An Assessment of a Kayapó NGO’s Stakeholder Relationships- Identifying Barriers and Future Opportunities, she plans to present for graduation this Spring.
2011 SfAA Podcast Team
Yumiko Akimoto, Associate Chair
Email: yumiko.unt [at] gmail [dot] com
Yumiko is in her second year of her dual master’s degree program in applied anthropology and public health at the University of North Texas (UNT) and UNT Health Science Center. After working as a volunteer on the SfAA Podcast Project at the 2010 Annual Meeting, she has accepted a position as the Associate Chair of the project. She enjoys co-managing the project with Jen and is excited to be a part of the project! She plans to conduct her practicum project this summer on a public health needs assessment in an urban slum community near Mexico City.
Jen Cardew Kersey, Chair
email: jencardew[at]gmail[dot]com
personal blog: Synthesis of Thought
Jen graduated from the UNT online Master’s program in Fall 2009 and holds a BA in anthropology from the University of South Florida. She worked at Intrepid Consultants in Seattle, WA for 2 1/2 years but recently made a career move to SapientNitro. She started the SfAA Podcasts back in 2007 after her now-husband suggested she try to start an anthropology podcast.
Kelly Alleen-Willems
Kelly Alleen-Willems is a graduate student in Northern Arizona University’s master of anthropology program. In addition to her studying she is also a part-time adviser for distance learning students. She recently participated in a Rapid Assessment, Response, and Evaluation (RARE) project investigating the problem of childhood obesity in a low-income, ethnically diverse neighborhood. Upon graduating from NAU, Kelly hopes to find a position applying the knowledge and concepts of socio-cultural anthropology to community development in the United States. She is focused on development and education projects in urban settings and is particularly interested in holistic community health and service-learning.
Tommy Wingo
email: tommy [at] wing-o [dot] com
Audio Pro, www.wing-o.com
Tommy is a freelance sound mixer living in Orlando, Florida. Projects he has worked on include production sound recording, editing and mixing for film, television, and radio. He has worked as an editor on several different podcasts, including Life Zero & Ruby 5, in addition to his work with the SfAA Podcast project.
Shino Endo
Shino is in a second year of applied anthropology master’s program at University of North Texas. She also has two B.A.s in international politics and diplomacy and in Spanish. Her wide range of interests includes migration and border studies, international development, disaster relief, education, nutritional health and dance. Having lived in Mexico and Germany, she is fluent in Japanese, English, Spanish and German. Her passion? –dance and travelling. She is easy to be found at any dance floor dancing Salsa, Bachata, and Cha Cha.
Louis Che-Hung Liao
“Too serious to joke around, and too goofy to take anything seriously.”
I am on my way to become an anthropologist. I think it sounds really cool and makes me look smart because people don’t have a clue about what I do, and all they could tell me is – get a real job Louis.
After moving across the Pacific when I was 12 and then the Atlantic when I was 22, I am currently in my second year pursuing my M.S. in Applied Anthropology at the University of North Texas in Denton. Before coming to UNT, I’ve sold things in stores, helped people understand other languages, jumped out of planes carrying a M16, went from Beijing to Brest by train, and lived in five different countries.
I hope that by the time I get to meet you in person in Seattle, I will have already started my fieldwork on airport security (which is what I am going to present at this upcoming SfAA – no pat downs, I promise). When I leave the great institution of UNT, I plan to convince the business world that anthropologist does do work, and they should pay me for my labour. Thanks for reading my bio and I look forward to meeting you in person!
Megan Gorby
Email: megangorby [at] my.unt.edu
Megan is a first year master’s student in the applied medical anthropology program at the University of North Texas and the public health program at the University of North Texas Health Science Center. She graduated from the University of Toledo in May 2010 with a B.A. in anthropology and a B.A. in English writing. Her current research interest include healthcare practice and experiences in relation to technical translation, language, and beliefs. She anticipates to graduate December 2013.
Jen Carroll
Jennifer Carroll is currently working towards her PhD in sociocultural anthropology at the University of Washington. She received her BA in anthropology from Reed College, and her MA in sociology and social anthropology from Central European University. Her current research explores subjectivity and the medicalization of addiction among IV drug users in Ukraine. She loves to cook, run, build bicycles, and collect old, Soviet cameras. She lives in Seattle, WA, but spends a good deal of time and money at Powell’s Books in Portland, OR.
Fiona Rowles
Fiona Rowles is an undergraduate at Western Washington University, majoring inBio-Cultural Anthropology and minoring in TESL. She is interested in medical anthropology, culture of the Indian subcontinent, and death studies. She plans on joining the Peace Corps after she graduates. Additionally, Fiona is a beekeeper and college radio DJ.
2010 SfAA Podcast Team
The 2010 SfAA Podcast Team is the first international team. The team consists of 8 members. Make sure to say hi and thanks to them if you see them around Merida!
Jen Cardew Kersey – Founder, Manager
email: jencardew[at]gmail[dot]com
personal blog: Synthesis of Thought
Jen graduated from the UNT online Master’s program in Fall 2009 and holds a BA in anthropology from the University of South Florida. She is currently working at Intrepid Consultants in Seattle, WA as an Account Manager where she does both qualitative and quantitative research in technology and other consumer fields. Jen introduced virtual ethnography into Intrepid through her practicum at UNT.
Kelly Evan Alleen email: kelly.evan.alleen[at]gmail[dot]com
Kelly Alleen is a graduate student in Northern Arizona University’s master of anthropology program. She is currently completing her first year of study and will be graduating in May 2011. In addition to her studying she is also a part-time adviser for distance learning students. She will be engaging in an internship this summer to further her ethnographic research experience and then hopes to find a position applying the knowledge and concepts of socio-cultural anthropology to community development in the United States. She is focused on development and education projects in urban settings and is particularly interested in holistic community health and service-learning. This year, she will be attending the conference immediately following her wedding and honeymoon!
Tommy Wingo email: polkafiend (at) gmail (dot) com
Audio Pro, www.Wing-O.com
Tommy is a freelance sound mixer living in Orlando, Florida. Projects
he has worked on include production sound recording, editing and
mixing for film, television, and radio. He has worked as an editor on
several different podcasts, including Life Zero & Ten Golden Rules of
Internet Marketing, in addition to his work with the SfAA Podcasts
project.
Kyle West
Kyle is a graduate student in medical anthropology at the University of North Texas. He served six years in the US Navy before obtaining his BA in anthropology from UNT in 2005. He currently works as a research coordinator at the Dallas VA Medical Center where he is researching quality of life issues and coping mechanisms among veterans diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis. His research interests include veterans’ issues and the effects of violence and trauma on public health. He plans to complete his MS in May 2010.
Christopher Ryan
Christopher Ryan, a graduate student at the University of North Texas, is researching the interplay between design and anthropology. Through his anthropological research, Chris studies how users’ interactions and experiences are affected by their environment. He seeks to improve these experiences by applying design thinking, the process of building upon ideas inspired by creative and practical resolutions. Chris is a graphic and web designer, new media enthusiast and avid blogger. His other interests include technology, emergent media, interaction and experience design, and usability.
Yumiko Akimoto yumiko.unt(at)gmail.com
Yumiko is currently a dual master’s student in applied medical anthropology at the University of North Texas and public health at the University of North Texas Health Science Center. She graduated from San Diego State University with a B.A. in anthropology. Her interests include street children and substance abuse, reproductive health, and mother and child health. She plans to graduate in December 2011.
Nayelli Torres
I am currently studying a bachelor’s degree in Social Anthropology in the Autonomous University of Yucatan. Last semester I went on a student exchange program to Pitzer College of the Claremont Colleges, in California. I am currently doing my thesis on intercultural relationships between different ethnic groups in Yucatan. My research interests are focused on migration, gender and intercultural relationships. In my spare time I enjoy watching films, swimming and trying to learn French.
Sarah Cardenas, UNT
Fernando Emmanuel Nieves
I am currently working towards a Bachelor’s degree in Social Anthropolgy at the Faculty of Anthropological Sciences at the Autonomous University of Yucatan and writing my thesis on the role of religion in the rehabilitation of youth with drug addictions.I am currently doing my internship at the University Unit of Social Integration and working on a project on the prevention of the dengue virus in the Regional Research Center at the Autonomous University of Yucatan. I am interested in religious studies, applied anthropology, and intervention projects and community work. In my free time I like listening to music and watch documentaries and films.
2009 SfAA Podcast Team
During the 2009 Annual Meeting of the SfAA in Santa Fe, NM the project was coordinated by five team members. The team members were selected through an application process and volunteered their time to the project.
Jen Cardew – Founder, Manager
email: jencardew[at]gmail[dot]com
personal blog: Synthesis of Thought
Jen is currently a master’s student in applied business anthropology at the University of North Texas. In Fall 2006 Jen entered into UNT’s online master’s program after completing her BS in applied anthropology at the University of South Florida. Her interests are in design and organizational anthropology. During her first two years at UNT, she worked on a research project with her advisor, Christina Wasson (UNT), comparing an online version and on-campus version of the same graduate course. Currently, she is working at Intrepid Consultants in Seattle, WA as a research assistant. She plans to graduate in May 2009.
Kelly Evan Alleen email: kelly.evan.alleen[at]gmail[dot]com
Kelly Alleen is a graduate of the Western Washington University Cultural Anthropology program. She is currently serving two years as an Americorps VISTA working with a community health organization in her hometown of Bellingham, Washington. She is involved with the development and management of a program called WhatcomCounts.org which is a community health web resource that connects people to information on various topics to help them learn and take action. Additionally, she is involved with a local community food assessment, a human rights film festival, and volunteering at an independent cinema. She also loves soccer and her dalmatian, Pepper Ann! Her boyfriend is a contract archaeologist (fancy term for shovelbum) and they are huge movie fans and total bookworms.
Justin Myrick
justin.wmyrick[at]gmail[dot]com
Justin lives in the Los Angeles area and is finishing his undergraduate in socio-cultural anthropology at California State University Fullerton. His anthropological interests lie in urban anthropology, rural-urban migration and circulation, urban living, focusing on slums and squatter communities, and action research. He is currently engaged in a research project assessing the effectiveness of services given to the elderly by an Americorps pilot project called WECARE. While not reading and cooking and cleaning, Justin spends time in the San Gabriel Mountains, either backpacking, running away from rattlesnakes or rehabilitating the forest and streams with a local non-profit organization, Habitat Work.
Matt Lamb
Matt is currently a master’s student studying applied anthropology at the University of North Texas with focuses on the fields of design and marketing. During his undergraduate and graduate studies at The University of North Texas, he contributed to group research projects for Microsoft and Motorola under the direction of his advisor Dr. Christina Wasson. Additionally, he has conducted independent exploratory research on the application of user experience in entertainment design. Currently, Matt works as a freelance multimedia consultant in Dallas, Texas. He plans to graduate in August 2009.
Kevin Comerford
Tommy Wingo, Audio Pro, www.Wing-O.com
Thanks to the sponsorship of the project by the Department of Anthropology at UNT, we were able to hire a professional to help us with the project this year.
Over the past three years Tommy has worked in the Orlando area as a freelance sound mixer for several different companies. These projects ranged from simple Dialogue Editing to ProTools-Based Multitrack Production Sound Mixing and have brought me into contact with quite a lot of talent.
2008 SfAA Podcast Team
During the 2008 Annual Meeting of the SfAA in Memphis, TN the project was coordinated by six team members. The team members were selected through an application process and volunteered their time to the project. Russell joined the team after the conference and did a lot of work in publishing the podcasts.
Jen Cardew – Founder, Manager
email: jencardew[at]gmail[dot]com
personal blog: Synthesis of Thought
Jen is currently a master’s student in applied business anthropology at the University of North Texas. In Fall 2006 Jen entered into UNT’s online master’s program after completing her BS in applied anthropology at the University of South Florida. Her interests are in design and organizational anthropology. She is currently working on a research project with her advisor, Christina Wasson (UNT), comparing an online version and on-campus version of the same graduate course.
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Diana Harrelson – Co-Manager
email: diana.harrelson[at]gmail[dot]com
Blog: http://www.cyber-anthro.com
Portfolio: http://www.webchica.com
Diana is currently a master’s student at the University of North Texas where she also completed her undergrad studies in anthropology, philosophy, and psychology. She is interested in design and cyber anthropology with a focus on social networking, blogging, and gaming online as well as side interests of studying sex and religion online. While pursuing her masters she also works full time as an information architect for an online media agency. There her focus is on user interface, user experience, and usability issues in online environments.
Along with full time work and full time school she is a newly wed (coming up on one year) and a stepmother to a 5 year old who teaches her something new everyday. In her scarce free time her hobbies include seeking out new trip-hop artists, taking photographs (specializing in found photography), searching out the latest and greatest social networking sites, twittering, blogging and gaming.
Kelly Evan Alleen email: kelly.evan.alleen[at]gmail[dot]com
Kelly Alleen is a graduate of the Western Washington University Cultural Anthropology program. She has her BA and is engaged in a long-term search for Applied Anthropology grad programs; she doesn’t plan on enrolling for another few years. Currently, she is serving two years as an Americorps VISTA working with a community health organization in her hometown of Bellingham, Washington. She is involved with the development and management of a program called WhatcomCounts.org which is a community health web resource that connects people to information on various topics to help them learn and take action. Additionally, she is involved with a local community food assessment, a human rights film festival, and volunteering at an independent cinema. She also loves soccer and her dalmatian, Pepper Ann! Her boyfriend is a contract archaeologist (fancy term for shovelbum) and they are huge movie fans and total bookworms.
Jonathan West
email: jjwest11[at]gmail[dot]com
Jonathan was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he earned a BA in Anthropology at the University of New Orleans. After a two year break from his academic career, he returned to UNO in the fall of 2006 in order to pursue a Masters degree in Applied Anthropology/Urban Studies. While in the program, his research interests have included coastal communities, the effects of the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the oil and gas industry on the built environment and cultural landscape of southeastern Louisiana, as well as the Isleños of St. Bernard Parish, the descendants of 18th century settlers from the Canary Islands. Jonathan’s thesis project, which will undoubtedly incorporate some of these topics, is currently in development. He is also a graduate researcher at the Center for Hazards Assessment, Response, and Technology, a research organization at UNO that specializes in hazard and disaster mitigation. He is currently in the midst of a NOAA-funded, participatory action research project, in collaboration with both NOAA and a coastal community, dealing with enhancement of the resilience of such communities.
Lauren Travis email: laurendt137[at]yahoo[dot]com
Lauren is a Masters student in Applied Anthropology at the University of North Texas. She works for Keep Denton Beautiful, a grassroots non-profit organization that facilitates local efforts in community beautification and litter reduction. She is currently working in collaboration with Keep Denton Beautiful to assess homeowner knowledge of, and attitudes toward, the use of native Texas plants in residential landscapes.
Lauren’s research interests include sustainable development; use of anthropological knowledge and skills in the non-profit sector; localization; evaluation anthropology; environmental anthropology.
Her hobbies include cooking, watching movies, discovering new music, writing, reading, biking, hiking, backpacking, traveling, gardening, dance of all kinds.
Kimberlee Norwood email: knorwood[at]utmem[dot]edu
Medical Educator
Medical/Urban Anthropologist, Social Scientist
Education: University of Memphis (BA in Anthropology, 1998; MA in Applied Medical and Urban Anthropology, 2000). She is currently writing her dissertation for a Ph.D, In Human Services with a specialization in Community and Social Services with Capella University, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her primary interest and responsibility is cultural medicine and the cultural competency curriculum and assisting with program coordination for the Prevention, Community, and Culture course; the Specialty Clerkship which includes the Palliative Care rotation; and the Patient, Safety, and QualityImprovement Clerkship. Career Development: Ms. Norwood served as a research coordinator and home visit specialist in the Department of Preventive Medicine for five years. For the two years, she has been working in the Office of Medical Education developing a cultural competence curriculum and developing curriculum and organizing several other courses within the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine.
Honors: Magna Cum Laude and Golden Key National Honor Society
Russell Willems (The newest addition- audio editor extraordinaire!)
email: rwillems[at]gmail[dot]com
personal blog: http://travelingtrowel.blogspot.com
Russell is a graduate of Western Washington University, where he received his BA in Anthropology/Archaeology. Currently he is employed as an Archaeology Field Technician (aka “shovelbum”) which, while providing him with fantastic fieldwork experiences in the Great Basin and Pacific Northwest, causes him to spend a lot of time away from his girlfriend and dog back at home in Bellingham, Washington. Russell’s interests include involving native groups and the public in archaeological work, developing new information tools (and making existing tools better), and learning about life and culture in prehistoric North America. In his spare time he meddles in guitar, harmonica, geology, computer programming, and editing podcasts 
