Current graduate students

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.

Email Dylann

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

Email Heidi

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

Email Hannah

I attended Cerritos college and Cal State Los Angeles for my undergraduate studies in Anthropology. I’m a scuba diver and trained in underwater archaeology methods. I am a drone pilot and own my own small business.

I’m a Freemason and 32* Scottishrite Mason.

My research interests are sacred landscape and cave archaeology in Mesoamerica, remote LiDAR survey methods, and submerged subterranean spaces. 

Email Nick

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.

Email Klara

My name is Juan C. Hernandez, 3^rd 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. 

Email Juan

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. 

Email Raul

Hi! I’m Rae, a second-year graduate student focusing on cultural anthropology, and I got my B.A. in Anthropology at the University of Akron. As a half-Filipina from northeastern Ohio, I moved to LA to experience a wider range of diversity and work with Filipinos in the area. Research-wise, I am interested in looking at transnational family relationships, specifically between Filipinos here (US/LA) and their families back “home” in the Philippines. Outside of academics, I love to draw, play games (video, board, rpgs), learn new languages, and practice my instruments.

Email Raenelle

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.

Email Amanda

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. 

Email Adriana

Jennifer holds a B.A. in Photo-Communications from St. Edward's University and certifications in Archaeological Field Work and GIS. She has documentary, ethnographic, and archaeological field experience in France, Utah, Oaxaca, and Baja California. She is interested in how visual expressions connect to cultural, social, and environmental contexts. Other research interests include Coastal and Island Archaeology, Environmental Archaeology, Visual Anthropology, GIS, Rock Art, Cultural Landscapes, Human non-human interactions, Ecotourism, Cultural Heritage, Ethnobotany, Museum Studies, Mesoamerica, Biodiversity Hotspots, Zooarcheology, Creativity & Memory studies in s Archaeology, Anthropological Film, Archives. See her profile at the Borderlands Center: Comparative Rock Imagery Studies in a Cultural Transition Zone. 

Advisor/Lab: Dr. Amira Ainis, Coastal Archaeology Lab

Email Jennifer

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

Email Matthew

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

Email Kathryn

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.

Email Josephine

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.

Email Johanna

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.

Email Alicia

Graduating from San Francisco State's Anthropology program and originally focusing on Biological Anthropology specifically primatology, my graduate research is now delving into Linguistic Anthropology with the interests of language revitalization, colonial impacts to indigenous languages & linguicide and evolutionary linguistics. Born and raised in Southeast Los Angeles I love being involved in my community and some side hobbies include DJing, climbing and swimming!

Email Natalia

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.

Email Isaac

 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

Email Stephanie

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. 

Email April

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

Email Jeff

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. 

Email Ulysses

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.

Email Maria

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.

Email Nathalie

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.

Email Abigail

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.

Email Yu