Archaeology & Research

Institutional Research Roles

Editor - Studies of Biblical Interest (2023–present)
Studies of Biblical Interest is an academic journal publishing original scholarship on biblical texts and the ancient world in which they were written. The journal fosters open and pluralistic inquiry across comparative biblical studies, textual criticism, etymological research, archaeology, anthropology, and the study of religious and cultural texts worldwide. Unusually for an academic publication, each volume also reserves space for art, literary fiction, music, opinion pieces, photography, and poetry, reflecting a conviction that the study of foundational texts benefits from voices beyond the academy.

As editor, I oversee review, editorial direction, and the curation of each issue’s scholarly and creative content.

Research Assistant – Becker Friedman Institute

(formerly the Becker Center on Chicago Price Theory), University of Chicago (2011)

Contributed to research on non-profit financing and donations, including data entry, roster gathering, and transcription of research materials. The insights gained into the economics of non-profit resource distribution have informed later thinking on funding structures within heritage and cultural organizations.

Legal Researcher & Writer - Center for Ethical Solutions, Lovettsville, Virginia (2010)

The Center for Ethical Solutions is a non-profit organization engaged in addressing pressing ethical issues in medicine, including organ donation and end-of-life choices. In this capacity, I wrote and edited articles for Legal Trends in Bioethics, conducted research on end-of-life decision frameworks, and contributed to the publication of a report on organ procurement policy. The ethical and legal frameworks I encountered here, especially around ownership, stewardship, and competing claims over human remains, connect to ongoing debates in cultural heritage law I would later engage in.

Researcher - Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures

(formerly the Oriental Institute), University of Chicago (2009)

The Institute’s photographic archive contains over 100,000 negatives documenting archaeological activities across West Asia and North Africa from 1892 to the present. These images capture vanished temples and tombs, landmark discoveries, and scenes of life now lost to the modern era, taken by expedition photographers during excavations of the early 20th century.

As a researcher working with the archive, I compiled caption information and organised materials within the photographic database, contributing to the cataloguing and accessibility of this exceptional collection for ongoing research use.

Scriptwriter & Museum Experience Researcher - Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures

(formerly the Oriental Institute), University of Chicago (2007)

Developed the Institute’s audio tour programme, selecting artefacts for discussion, researching comparative methods and equipment at peer organizations, and writing interpretive scripts for public audiences. Also contributed to a donor engagement initiative centred on personalised audio tour devices.

Archivist - Institute for the Study of Ancient Cultures

(formerly the Oriental Institute), University of Chicago (2006)

The Amuq Valley in Turkey's Hatay province has been occupied since at least 6000 BCE. In the 1930s, Robert Braidwood (on behalf of the Oriental Institute) and Leonard Woolley conducted landmark archaeological surveys, discovering 178 ancient settlements and establishing a chronological sequence of cultural material that remains foundational to Near Eastern archaeology. The Institute returned to the Amuq in 1995 before suspending fieldwork in 2005, with publication of findings continuing.

Working with materials from the original expeditions, I digitised paper survey documents and photographic plates, including aerial photography of archaeological sites, and accessioned the collection for the first time, bringing formal archival order to materials that had before been stored but never classified.

Education

SOAS University of London MA, International Law (2013–2014) - Distinction

Thesis: "You Call This Archaeology?": Colonial Legacies and the International Governance of Egyptian Antiquities

University of Chicago BA, Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations (2008–2012) - Dean's List with Honours

Thesis: "That Belongs in a Museum!": The Legal Status of Egyptian Artefacts in Foreign Collections

PhD by Publication - In Preparation

Currently developing a body of peer-reviewed publications toward a PhD by publication in the fields of archaeology, ancient Near Eastern studies, and international cultural heritage law.

Languages

Egyptian (Old, Middle, and Late, formal study); Biblical Hebrew; working familiarity with related ancient Near Eastern languages including Ugaritic, Aramaic, Akkadian, and Hittite, primarily in transliteration and with reference to lexical tools. Elementary Latin. As is standard in the arena, all ancient language work is scholarly and text-based rather than conversational.