Dan

Daniel Sandweiss, PhD, RPA, President (2025)

I am a professor in the Climate Change Institute and the Department of Anthropology at the University of Maine. My research focuses on archaeological contributions to understanding climate change (mainly El Niño), human-environment interaction, and maritime adaptations. Most of my field work has been on the coast of Peru. I have been a member of SAA for over 40 years and have served on many committees and task forces as well as the board. From working with students and colleagues, I have come to believe that equity issues, professional development, and advocacy for the archaeological record need to be at the core of what we do moving forward.

Dan can be reached at president@saa.org

Chris

Christopher D. Dore, PhD, MCIfA, RPA, President-elect (2027)

Today I consult on heritage business, law, and policy through Heritage Business International/Cultural Heritage Experts. I also serve as Adjunct Professor of Anthropology at the University of Arizona and Adjunct Professor of Archaeology at Simon Fraser University. Earlier in my career I investigated Maya settlement and community organization, both archaeologically and ethnoarchaeologically, in the Puuc Region of Mexico. I was an early adopter and user of geospatial technologies (satellite remote sensing, spatial statistics, lidar, GIS, GPS, etc.) and used these as research tools to understand both the visible and invisible spatial components of the archaeological record. It is important to me to be accessible to SAA members. Please feel free to contact me to tell me how SAA can do a better job in helping you be more successful in your career.

Chris can be reached here.

Barbara

Barbara J. Roth, PhD, Secretary (2025)

I am a professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. I received my PhD in Anthropology from the University of Arizona and have done fieldwork in the Southwest US, Wyoming, Colorado, and France. My research has focused on the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture in the Southwest, and I currently work in the Mimbres Mogollon region of southwestern New Mexico examining household and community organization during the Pithouse and Classic period pueblo periods. I have also been doing work in the Mojave Desert examining prehistoric hunter-gatherer land use.

Terry

S. Terry Childs, PhD, RPA, Secretary-Elect (2025)

I am retired after spending 10 years of writing policy and guidance on the curation of 200+ million museum objects and records owned by Department of the Interior bureaus, and over 15 years of national-level database and policy development to protect National Park Service archaeological sites and collections. I look forward to helping shape the future of the organization. SAA is working on its new strategic plan. Both my involvement with the development of that strategic plan and my background with archives will help to understand, acknowledge, and contextualize the SAA as critical issues are tackled and informed choices are made in the future. The issues of concern to me are: ethics reform; improving relations with descendant communities; diversity and safety of the membership; collections preservation and accessibility; effective communication with membership; open access in publishing; curriculum reform; and professional development.

Reymundo

Reymundo Chapa, MA, RPA, Treasurer (2026)

As Executive Director of the Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands at Colorado State University, I lead 600+ environmental professionals imbedded on federal facilitates around the world, oversee cooperative agreements and contracts that total more than $100 mil per year; and manage an annual operating budget of over $2 mil. I am an appointed member of the Mayor’s Budget and Finance Advisory Committee for the town of Timnath, CO. I work closely with the SAA Executive Committee to resolve financial issues that confront the Society.

Kurt

Kurt E. Dongoske, MA, Director-at-Large (2026)

I have been a professional archaeologist for the past 45 years; 31 of which have been dedicated to working with descendant Native American tribal communities (Zuni and Hopi). I am currently the Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Pueblo of Zuni, where I’m also the principal investigator for the Zuni Cultural Resource Enterprise.

Desireé

Desireé R. Martinez, MA, RPA, Director-at-Large (2025)

Jerry

Jerry Howard, PhD, RPA, Director-at-Large (2026)

I am currently the Cultural Resource Manager for San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. I am an African American scholar with experience across several subfields of archaeology. In addition to my work with SMBMI, I have worked as a museum curator, assistant professor, outreach coordinator, and Cultural Resource Management field and laboratory technician. These experiences have afforded me a unique perspective into the world of archaeology and the issues facing the field.

Anna Marie

Anna Marie Prentiss, PhD, Director-at-Large (2025)

I am professor and graduate program coordinator in the anthropology department at the University of Montana.  I have also worked as a cultural resource management professional in public and private sectors.  My research concerns uses of archaeology to understand ancient Indigenous history and the cultural evolutionary process.  I am the SAA Board liaison to the Committee on Awards and Scholarships.  

Ken

Kenneth E. Sassaman, PhD, Director-at-Large (2027)

I am the Hyatt and Cici Brown Professor of Florida Archaeology and Director of American Indian and Indigenous Studies. For the first time in its history, my home institution is offering an M.A. degree with a concentration in Public Archaeology. The new program with was designed considerable input from colleagues in federal and state government, private-sector firms, non-profit organizations, and tribes. I will serve the SAA Board by helping the organization prepare for continued growth in public archaeology by attending to pressing needs for more and better student training; increased participation and collaboration with colleagues in the private sector and government; and greater commitment to the prerogatives and well-being of Indigenous people throughout the western hemisphere, particularly in their efforts to develop heritage capacity in support of sovereignty.

Marcela

Marcela Sepúlveda, PhD, Director-at-Large (2027)