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I graduated from Cal State Fullerton in 1998 with a M.A. in Anthropology. My research emphasis in graduate school was Physical/Biological Anthropology, primarily primate behavior and conservation. The focus of my master's project was the rehabilitation and reintroduction of ex-pet gibbons to the wild in Southeast Asia, particularly the pair-bonding behaviors necessary for successful adaptation and survival after release. Another topic I'm interested in is the successful implementation of environmental enrichment for primates that spend the rest of their lives in captivity. As a graduate student I worked at a sanctuary in Thailand that was home to gibbons being prepared for release to the wild, as well as various monkey species. I was an intern at the Gibbon Conservation Center in Santa Clarita and the Los Angeles Zoo, where I worked with chimpanzees, siamangs and geladas. I also have an interest in forensic anthropology and have participated in a number of forensic searches.
I'm the first (and only) individual in my family born in the USA. My parents immigrated to California from the Netherlands, so I grew up straddling two cultures and speaking two languages (Dutch and English). I've been very fortunate to have had travel opportunities to various countries within Western Europe, the United Kingdom, Central America and Asia.
In the summer 0f 2007 I participated in a faculty research trip to China. My El Camino colleagues and I visited cultural and historical sites in Beijing, Shanghai, X'ian, Suzhou, Tai'an and Qufu. My husband and I also traveled to Yunnan Province (SW China), where we visited the charming, ancient town of Lijiang, home to the Naxi ethnic minority (one of the last groups in China to practice matrilineal descent, and whose shamans use the only living pictographic writing system in the world).
I began teaching at El Camino College in Fall 2005. Prior to that, I taught at several community colleges in Orange County, as well as at Cal State Fullerton. I've taught a variety of courses including Physical Anthropology, Physical Anthro Lab, Cultural Anthropology, Language and Culture, Traditional Cultures of the World, and Primate Behavior.
I live in North Orange County with my husband, dog and bird. In my spare time I enjoy reading, spending time in the outdoors, traveling and hanging out with family and friends.
PS - the little guy sitting on my shoulder in the photo is not a pet monkey! This photo was taken in the Netherlands at Apenheul, a zoo dedicated solely to primates (many of which are free-ranging).
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