Academics
Beverly, Massachusetts
EDUCATION
B.A. in Physical Anthropology,
University of Maryland. (MD, USA)
SFS Alum, Costa Rica Summer I
M.A. in Physical Anthropology and Human Ecology, Wake Forest University. (NC, USA)
University of Nebraska, Omaha, Center for Afghanistan Studies. (NE, USA)
Ph.D. in Economic Anthropology, Brandeis University. (MA, USA)
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
- Member, Anthropology Association
- Member, Society for Economic Anthropologists
- Members, Society for College and University Planning (SCUP)
STAFF PROFILE
I joined the SFS Head Office as Assistant Dean in the fall of 2010. I come to SFS after working with several government agencies including the Department of Defense and the United States Army working as a cultural and behavioral intelligence specialist. I used my capabilities in cross-cultural communication and human crisis management to promote understanding between military force personnel and the responsible citizenry in rural conflict regions. I am delighted to return to the academic world and foster environmental learning for undergraduate students.
My first exposure to SFS occurred in 1988 when I became a student in the Costa Rica Summer program called Tropical Ecology: the dynamics of deforestation. This exposure to the field drove my lifelong interest of understanding the connections between humans and the natural world. Much of my early academic work centered on understanding aspects of biological adaptation and behavior modeling of both human and non-human primates.
My doctoral work, which was conducted primarily in the rural Caribbean of Panama, involved the micro-economic modeling of human provisioning systems and the market forces that influence decision making in the food quest of indigenous people. My years in the field enabled me to develop strong relationships with both local inhabitants and groups that serve to protect the interests of traditional peoples. I routinely serve as a consultant in the areas of indigenous law and land/property rights to several government and NGOs including the Organization of American States, Inter-American Development Bank, and USAID and its partners.
I have had the pleasure of teaching and lecturing at a number of institutions throughout the world on topics including socio-cultural anthropology, economic anthropology, human adaptation, tropical human ecology, cross-cultural communication, behavior modeling, and social network analysis. I have also been fortunate to work for a number of prominent universities in administrative capacities, assisting senior leaders with academic oversight, program evaluation, faculty performance and accountability, and the analysis of institutional metrics.
Today, as Assistant Dean, I spend time both in Beverly, MA and at our various centers throughout the world supporting academic excellence in our programs by promoting teacher training and curriculum development, managing course requirements, evaluating learning outcomes, and driving the SFS academic program review process.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
My research interests over the years have been quite eclectic. Originally trained as a physical and forensic anthropologist, I spent two years as an undergraduate Smithsonian Scholar studying the science of osteology and human identification, particularly in the contexts of mass disasters and military personnel recovery. My graduate work at the Masters level involved understanding both human and non-human primate biology and adaptation. Specifically, I focused on complex metric analyses of cranio-facial anatomy and morphology as indicators of biological distance as well as diet choice in non-related pre-historic human populations. I also looked at the frequency and causes of bone pathologies in captive primate groups used in bio-medical research.
My doctoral work concentrated on understanding human decision-making processes and patterns of economic behaviors among rural inhabitants in the Caribbean. My main research focus was on rural land tenure and indigenous property law, human subsistence strategies, and sustainable extraction of tropical marine resources. My book on this subject was published in 2008: Feeding the Mouth of the Bull: provisioning native Caribbean foragers within the new economy of Bocas del Toro, Panama.Now, having returned to academics after serving time in the Defense industry, I am most focused on finding ways to promote and advance rigorous environmental learning in a field-based context. I am quite interested in investigating how experiential learning enhances and augments traditional on-campus instruction and to develop methods to measure learning outcomes in environmental studies. In addition, I am quite keen on understanding the contribution and influence of study abroad programs to lifelong learners.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
March 21, 2012. Experiential Learning Doesn’t Just Happen: Designing Effective Experiential Learning Programs. Conference Workshop (with Sarah Schmidt and Mark Ritchie) 8th Annual Forum on Education Abroad. Denver, CO.
October 26, 2011. Helping Students Avoid “Trophy Academics”: Advising the Global Learner Towards Rigorous Study Abroad. Paper presentation, 10th Annual Professional Development Conference: Advising the Global Community. Penn State University, State College, PA.
RESEARCH PROJECTS
March 21, 2012. Experiential Learning Doesn’t Just Happen: Designing Effective Experiential Learning Programs. Conference Workshop (with Sarah Schmidt and Mark Ritchie) 8th Annual Forum on Education Abroad. Denver, CO.
October 26, 2011. Helping Students Avoid “Trophy Academics”: Advising the Global Learner Towards Rigorous Study Abroad. Paper presentation, 10th Annual Professional Development Conference: Advising the Global Community. Penn State University, State College, PA.
Prior to SFS
2006 - 2008. Programa Ambiental Regional para Centroamerica (PROARCA) -- market analysis of eco-tourism and inventory of tourist services, rural Caribbean sector.
2006. Nature Conservancy, Parks in Peril Program, La Amistad International Park and Bastimentos National Park and Bio-reserve projects -- establishment of marine reserves and laws protecting indigenous turtle hunting.
2004 - 2007. Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), Multiphase Sustainable Development Program in Bocas del Toro, Phases I and II, National Resource Management and Productivity Diversification.
2003 – 2004. Instituto Panameno de Tourismo (IPAT) and Autoridad Nacional de Ambiente (ANAM) through OAS, Pan-American Institute of Geography and History -- educating, standard setting, and credentialing natural history/ecology tourism employment in Central America.
For more detailed information on undergraduate research contact: mseifert@fieldstudies.org
