I am an archaeological anthropologist working on the history and heritage of Iran, Turkey, and the Mississippi Valley.

As both a researcher and an educator, I aim to foster greater understanding of archaeology in the world. In my writing, I examine the history of archaeology to understand how, why, and to what effect massive collections of objects were accumulated in museums, with a particular focus on West Asian heritage stored in American institutions. In my teaching, I emphasize the relevance of archaeology to contemporary life, concentrating on the diverse ways that the past is used across cultural, political, and economic domains.

I currently am a Lecturer in Archaeology at Washington University in St. Louis in the Department of Anthropology and serve as the term chair for the Archaeology of Iran sessions at the American Schools of Overseas Research annual meetings. Prior to my present professional roles, I was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Koç University Research Center for Anatolian Civilizations (ANAMED) in Istanbul, Turkey and earned my PhD in Anthropology from the University of Pennsylvania.

My extensive field experience includes survey projects in Oman, Turkmenistan, and Hungary, as well as excavations in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Mississippi. From 2017-2019, I co-produced and edited twenty episodes of Anthropological Airwaves, a podcast that surveys multi-modal and politically-engaged anthropological scholarship. I have also done freelance research, writing, and editing for clients at think tanks, non-profits, and academic presses.