Meet our students
Gina Alfaro
Gina is a new graduate student at Cal State LA. She returned to the university after obtaining her bachelor’s degree in anthropology. She has experiencing organizing, identifying, and cataloging Marine invertebrate collections for California State Parks and in the Coastal Archaeology Lab on campus. She has presented at the CSU student symposium on Historic-era Alcohol bottles. Her thesis project will focus on what ceramic dishware can tell us about people’s household, community and socioeconomic dynamics.
Advisor/Lab: Amira Ainis, Coastal Archaeology Lab
Kayla Bellipanni
Kayla Bellipanni (She/Her) is a second-year Master’s student in Anthropology at California State University, Los Angeles, specializing in bioarchaeology. Her research examines pathological conditions in ancient human remains, focusing on non-specific stress indicators. A Colorado native, she earned her BA in Anthropology from Metropolitan State University, receiving the Charles W. Fisher Award. Former vice president of the Colorado Archaeological Society, Kayla has presented award-winning research at various conferences and is preparing several publications, including a critical review in the California Sociology Forum.
Dylann Bralley
Dylann Bralley is an Anthropology graduate student focused on physical anthropology and linguistic anthropology and interested in early hunting practices aided in the evolution of humans and the necessity of language.
Heidi Buratti
I obtained my bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from UC Berkeley in May 2024, after transferring from LA Pierce College with associate degrees in Anthropology and Social/Behavioral Science. While at UC Berkeley, I was an Undergraduate Researcher at the Bear Bones Lab focusing on zooarchaeology, remote-sensing, and community-accountable/collaborative archaeology. I participated in fieldwork in Northern California, Northern Channel Islands, Southern Coastal California, and Baja California Sur. My research interests are Coastal and Island Archaeology, Zooarchaeology, Human/Animal Relationships, Historical and Behavioral Ecology, Remote-Sensing, Foodways, and Subsistence Strategies.
Advisor/Lab: Amira Ainis, Coastal Archaeology Lab
Hannah Calistri
Hannah has her B.A. in Anthropology from NYU where she worked as a research assistant in the African Paleosciences Lab. She is continuing her focus in archaeology at CSULA, and has done fieldwork at California State Parks, Channel Islands National Park, and in Ireland. For her thesis project, she is investigating how P-XRF can aid in the repatriation process. Her research interests include portable X-ray fluorescence technology, lithic sourcing, pigment analysis and sourcing, pesticide analysis, repatriation, experimental archaeology, coastal archaeology, Early Medieval and Iron Age archaeology in Ireland.
Advisor/Lab: Dr. Amira Ainis, Coastal Archaeology Lab
James Carter III
James, originally from Baltimore, Maryland, is a graduate student in Anthropology at California State University, Los Angeles. He recently finished a double major in Jazz Studies and Anthropology at Cal State LA and presented at several symposia and conferences. To complete his undergraduate thesis for music, James traveled to Recife, Brazil, for direct observation and to participate in the production of Choro music, thus combining anthropology and music. He is interested in studying settler colonialism, social behaviors in different economic modalities, Black musics, and the study of religion.
Research interests:
Settler colonialism, religious identity, MENA region, perceptions of terrorism, capitalism, neoliberalism, digital primitive accumulation, Black musics/jazz
Scott De La Torre
Bio: Scott graduated from Arizona State University with a B.A. in Anthropology. He has nearly a decade of field experience working in cultural resource management in Arizona and California. Scott is pursuing his master’s degree to further his career in CRM and become a RPA. His research interests include California archaeology, Southwest archaeology, Mesoamerican archaeology, Geographic Information Systems, cultural resource management law, and zooarchaeology.
Advisor/Lab: Amira Ainis, Coastal Archaeology Lab
Nick De Simone
I studied at Cerritos college and Cal State Los Angeles receiving an A.A. and B.A. in Anthropology. I have done field work in the Mohave, northern California, and the Caribbean. I hold multiple scuba diving certifications and have been trained in underwater archaeology methods. I am a drone pilot and own a business specializing in logistics. I have worked in startups since 2009 and have gotten multiple businesses past their funding goals and into viability. I have also worked with nonprofits such as Red cross, Shriners Childrens Hospital, Meals on Wheels, and Masons of California since 2016, helping faciliate logistics and moderization of systems for these organizations.
My research interests are sacred landscape and cave archaeology in Mesoamerica, remote LiDAR survey methods, and submerged subterranean spaces. My thesis interest is in the ritual pilgrimage on the Island of Cozumel Mexico.
Klara Eddards
I am interested in zooarchaeology focused mainly on the Canidae species. My thesis is on domestic dogs and wolves in Ireland and Great Britain from the Medieval Era to the Modern Era. I have fieldwork experience in the Mojave Desert, the Southern California Coast, Northwestern Ireland and Southern Ireland. Those fieldwork experiences ranged from studying shell middens to obsidian flakes to human burials and ecclesiastical landscapes. I plan on finishing my thesis and doing more archaeological work in Ireland in the future.
Eric Gonzalez
Before entering the M.A. program, Eric graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in Anthropology from Cal State LA in 2024. His research interests include biological anthropology, Mesoamerica cave archaeology, sacred landscapes, and Maya ritual and religion. He presented a paper at the 2025 Society for American Archaeology meetings which will be published in an edited volume on subterranean bioarchaeology. He was awarded the Graduate Equity Fellowship, the David Miller Academic Award of Excellence, a 2025 Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Fellowship Honorable Mention, and he currently serves as a Graduate Assistant.
Advisor/Lab: Dr. Michele Bleuze, Skeletal Biology Lab
Meribeth Hastings
Meribeth is a recent graduate from the University of Washington–Seattle with a Bachelor's in Anthropology. She completed a student internship at the Thurston County Coroner’s Office, gaining first hand experience in forensic odontology and death investigation. Her research interests include forensic anthropology, skeletal biology, bone trauma, biomechanics, mass grave investigation, and museum studies. She is passionate about the intersection of science and human rights, and is committed to advancing ethical, evidence-based practices in the analysis of human remains.
Juan C. Hernandez
My name is Juan C. Hernandez, 3rd year Graduate Student, Sociocultural option. I have worked in homeless services for over 6 years, specifically in housing programs. my experiences helping people find stable housing in a difficult economic environment prompted me to focus my research interests on homeless services. My academic experience continues to impress upon me the importance of Applied Anthropology in homeless services. As I continue to understand the structures and functions of non-profit organizations from a professional and academic perspective, I hope to contribute to new and or already existing approaches that can potentially improve the quality of services being provided to individuals experiencing homelessness.
Raul Hernandez
Raul Hernandez is a fourth-year graduate student in the anthropology program in the sociocultural option. He aspires to do research that focuses on language development of students in the Los Angeles area. As an emergent bilingual throughout most of his public education, he would like to analyze in depth the different programs that are offered to current emergent bilinguals such as dual immersion and what are other ways to improve the way they practice language. In the future he would like to work in education and work with students to help them practice language that uses their full linguistic repertoire.
Raenelle Kathlia M. Irons
Hi! I’m Rae, a third-year graduate student focusing on cultural anthropology, and I got my B.A. in Anthropology at the University of Akron. I'm a half-Filipinx from northeastern Ohio and for my research, I am working with other Filipinos in the northeastern Ohio area to look at transnational relationships with families back “home” in the Philippines, which I will then turn into a graphic novel. Outside of academics, I love to draw, play games (video, board, rpgs), learn new languages, and practice my instruments.
Zasha Jasso
As a Los Angeles native, Zasha ventured out to the Inland Empire where she earned her Bachelor's of Science at the University of California, Riverside in 2025. While earning her BA at UCR she volunteered for the Alta Heritage Foundation, where she applied archaeological techniques in support of humanitarian efforts during the Los Angeles fires. She is currently pursuing a Master’s in Anthropology at Cal State LA, after which she hopes to pursue a PhD in forensic anthropology. Her goal is to work with non-profits in search and identification of human remains lost to the U.S./Mexico border region.
Amanda Jokela
Amanda is a recipient of the 2024-2025 CSU Sally Casanova Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, with research interests in forensic anthropology and bioarchaeology. She is conducting bioarchaeological research with her faculty mentor, Dr. Michele Bleuze, on Maya skeletal material deposited in caves across Mesoamerica. Amanda has over 10 years of professional experience working in CRM throughout Southern California, with several years spent on the California/Mexico border. Her time in the borderlands has brought her back to school, where she aims to pursue a Ph.D. in forensic anthropology and work with organizations to help address the humanitarian crisis by identifying and repatriating human remains discovered near the U.S./Mexico border.
Adriana Kahwaji
I am Los Angeles native who graduated from USC in 1995 with a Bachelor's in Sociology and a minor in Spanish. I worked in the Entertainment Industry for 12 years and then left the workplace to stay at home with my three children. After a lot of volunteer work within LAUSD and the Girl Scouts of Los Angeles, I decided to pursue a Master's in Anthropology which is something I have been meaning to do for the last 25 years. My focus is on sociocultural studies.
Prab Kaur
Prab has a B.A. in Global Studies and Geography from UC Berkeley. She has worked as a
research assistant analyzing the housing market impacts of flood buyouts through eligibility criteria and spatial analysis. Her current research interests focus on visual anthropology, particularly the use of visual surveys and photography to support community-based initiatives.
Research Interests:
Visual ethnography, climate change, urban anthropology, archaeology (jewelry, textiles), and media anthropology.
Jennifer Leiva
Jennifer C. Leiva is a 2025-2026 CSU Sally Casanova Scholar. She has archaeological, ethnographic, and documentary field experience in Baja California, Oaxaca, California, Utah, and France. Her thesis analyzes rock art in northern Baja California through pXRF and photogrammetry and Leiva is particularly interested in how visual expressions are connected to cultural, social, and environmental contexts. She holds certifications in Archaeological Field Work and GIS and is the founder and president of the Anthropology Film Club at CSULA. See her profile at the Borderlands Center: Comparative Rock Imagery Studies in a Cultural Transition Zone (https://www.calstatela.edu/nss/urban-ecology-center/comparative-rock-imagery-studies-cultural-transition-zone).
Advisor/Lab: Dr. Amira Ainis, Coastal Archaeology Lab
Matthew B. Lowry
I am interested in the archaeology in riverine, wetland, and coastal environments, and am an educator in biological anthropology (TA for lab classes). My thesis focuses on mapping the Zanjas system in the greater LA region from the Spanish colonial period through the Mexican and Anglo-American periods. I have fieldwork experience on the Pacific North American Coast, Northwestern Ireland, and in Bulgaria. I am also proficient in R and GIS mapping. I am interested in learning more about human interaction with waterways both natural and anthropogenic throughout history.
Advisor/Lab: Amira Ainis, Coastal Archaeology Lab
Kathryn E. S. Lucas
I earned my BFA in Studio art from the University of South Florida. After undergrad I moved to Colorado where I started a career in Art and Artifact Restoration. I worked for a private art restoration company and local museums in the Denver area, specializing in historic-era and paleontological collections, registrar, and conservation. My research interests include post-disaster Cultural Resources Recovery and artifact conservation. I am also working to develop a methodology of sourcing patterns commercially produced China on damage ceramics using AI to recreate incomplete designs.
Advisor/Lab: Dr. Amira Ainis, Coastal Archaeology Lab
Josephine Maldonado
I was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. I earned my BA in History in 2023 at Cal State LA and am now working and studying for my MA in Cal State LA's Anthropology Department. My study focuses specifically on comparative studies of folklore. I am also part of a graduate project called the "Yatee Zapotec Revitalization Campaign," which focuses on revitalizing and promoting the Zapotec Language, which is at risk of extinction. Please see some of our work at LADORES.
Claudia Itzel Marquez
After graduating with a BFA/BA from California State University, Fullerton, Claudia Itzel Marquez earned an M.A. in Marriage and Family Therapy, from Loyola Marymount University. She has six years of professional experience working as a mental health therapist with a focus on art therapy. She entered the graduate program in Anthropology with an emphasis on Archaeology in 2025. Her academic interests include Mesoamerican archaeology and iconography, craft production, ceramics, bioarchaeology, zooarchaeology, and experimental archaeology. She currently serves as a Graduate Assistant.
Advisor: Dr. James E. Brady
Johanna Martinez
Johanna obtained her B.A in Anthropology and B.A in English Literature from UC San Diego in 2014. Johanna has over 10 years of experience working within the education field in the San Fernando Valley, ranging from teaching adult ESL classes to working as an English Language Reading specialist. She is currently a graduate student at Cal State LA with a research focus on social identity development of youth labeled as English Language Learners. Her research focuses on their schooling experiences and the negotiations youth employ to gain social citizenship.
Alicia Melich
Alicia is a Master’s student in Anthropology with a focus in Primatology. Her research centers on primate behavior with a particular interest in decolonizing approaches to the study of primates. She is committed to exploring the intersections of primatology with critical perspectives on the relationship between humans and non-human primates, seeking to challenge traditional frameworks in the field. Through her work, she aims to contribute to a more inclusive and ethically engaged approach to understanding primates in both academic and applied settings.
Marineh Mousalu
Marineh is originally from Tehran, Iran, and comes from an Armenian cultural background. She received her B.A. in Anthropology from California State University, Los Angeles, where she is now pursuing her graduate studies and is a Sally Casanova pre- doctoral scholar.Her current research focuses on human dentition using dental non-metric traits for investigating population history and structure. She also researches evidence for conscious and unconscious dental modifications in human populations in the past.
Advisor/lab: Dr. Michele Bleuze. Skeletal Biology Lab.
Natalia Ramirez (they/them)
Natalia (they/them) has their B.A. in Anthropology from San Francisco State University where they originally focused on Biological Anthropology with the subfield of Primatology. Now being in the M.A. Anthropology program here, they are focusing on Linguistic Anthropology specifically in language revitalization, language patterns and evolution, and language diverse communities. Their thesis/project will focus on the linguistic diversity of the Chinese community of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico, and what the language patterns currently are/what they have evolved to with the mixture of Spanish, Chinese, English, and diverse Indigenous languages spoken there. They are also involved with the language revitalization program, LADORES and is frequently in the linguistics lab!
Advisor: Aaron Sonnenschein
Isaac Recinos (He/Them/Their)
I’m a graduate student enrolled in the socio-cultural tract of anthropology here at CSULA. As an Angelino, I wanted to come back and do research with my community. My research area can be described as an interest in the ways that Guatemalan immigrant communities form Hub centers in Los Angeles. I also enjoy discussions of food, histories, and various forms of games amongst many other topics of conversation.
Stephanie Kough Renaud
I completed my BA in Anthropology at UC Santa Cruz and worked as a State Parks Interpreter before becoming a CRM archaeologist. I have field experience across California and Arizona and am passionate about connecting communities with their local cultural and archaeological resources. My thesis work centers around the process of nominating Crystal Cove State Park as a District to the National Register of Historic Places conducting archival research, pedestrian survey and site updates. Research interests include non-destructive survey techniques, remote sensing technologies, lithic technologies, pre-contact archaeology and public archaeology.
Advisor/Lab: Dr. Amira Ainis, Coastal Archaeology Lab
April Rice
I received my bachelor's degree at Cal Poly Pomona in May of 2021, majoring in anthropology and minoring in sociology. I am focused on bio-archaeology with an interest in forensics and have researched the field of ethics and policies involving disinterred remains and their repatriation. This topic inspired my undergraduate capstone project. My most memorable contribution to academia was my work as an editorial assistant for American Anthropologist at the end of 2020 and through 2021.
Sandra Rivas
Sandra earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology, with a focus in Archaeology and a minor in History, from California State University, Los Angeles, graduating Cum Laude in 2025. Her field experience encompasses diverse archaeological and paleontological research contexts, including excavations at sites in western Belize, paleontological investigations in Piura, Peru, and historical archaeology at Crystal Cove State Park in California. In 2024, she was awarded the Vera Campbell Scholarship, which facilitated her fieldwork in Belize. She also serves as a volunteer preparator at the La Brea Tar Pits and Museum, where she assists in fossil preparation and curation. Her forthcoming thesis will center on the Lucas Museum Site Artifact Collection, housed at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, contributing to the broader understanding of the region’s material culture and archaeological record.
Research Interest
Sandra’s research interests include Historical Archaeology, Zooarchaeology, GIS, Experimental Archaeology, and Pre-Columbian Maya Archaeology.
Jeffrey A. Rosa Figueroa
Jeff is a graduate student finishing an artifact analysis on Midnight Terror Cave, Belize for his thesis. He has 10 years of field experience in Chichén Itzá, the Great Basin, Sierra Nevada, the Colorado and Mojave Deserts, and the San Bernardino Mountains. He has presented multiple professional papers at the Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology and others. He currently works in CRM at Environmental Resources Manaement (ERM).
Advisor/Lab : Michelle Bleuze
Mesoamerican Laboratory
Ulysses Salcido
Ulysses uses food as a theoretical framework to speak on the experiences of immigrant street vendors in Los Angeles. With the goal of teaching in higher education, Ulysses’ experience, whether it be as a student, filmmaker, writer, or food and culture tour guide in Los Angeles – is informed by the need to make storytelling inclusive, not only in participation but in the dissemination of lived experiences from marginalized individuals and communities.
Maria D. Velasco Vasquez
Linguistic Anthropology graduate student at CSULA. B.A in History from CSU Northridge. Interned at Tremolo Productions and NBC Universal Compact Lab. Participated in the 2019 ACLS Digital Extension Grant project. One of the 15 Co-authors involved in the creation of Caseidyneën Saën. Participating in LADORES, promoting the Zapotec language through social media. Appeared on LAist and two YouTube channels. Academic focus is on audio and video documentation of transnational community languages through research.
Nathalie Velasco-Quiroz
Nathalie Velasco-Quiroz is a graduate student that specializes in the biological/cultural aspect of Anthropology. Her research interests include Medical Anthropology, specifically in the frameworks of Intersectionality and Cultural Competence. She aims to explore how healthcare systems could apply these frameworks to provide a better experience to both patients and healthcare workers. She is also interested in Japanese Media and its influences in Western culture, particularly in its impact on diverse communities when bringing multicultural individuals together.
Abigail Whitenack
Abigail is a current graduate student in the Anthropology Department at Cal State LA. Previously, she was a California Community College student and transferred to UC San Diego, where she earned her B.A. degree in Anthropology. She now works at UC San Diego in Graduate Admissions and enjoys helping prospective students at her home campus. Her research interests include human evolution, paleoanthropology, and the relationships between climate, population history, and cranial traits in our hominin ancestors.
Yu Zhang
I was born and raised in China and have been studying in the US for the past eight years. I earned my bachelor's degree in anthropology from UC Santa Barbara and am currently pursuing a master's degree in sociocultural anthropology at California State University, Los Angeles. Passionate about techno music and dance, I am also a part-time DJ. My research focuses on the cultural dynamics of underground techno parties in Los Angeles, examining the complex relationships between different groups and how these roles shape and influence urban music culture.