Candidates for Nominations & Elections

Shirley Fiske

Shirley J. Fiske

Department of Anthropology
University of Maryland
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Experience and History with SfAA

I am a long-term member and Sustaining Fellow of SfAA and the Society has meant a lot to me, both from a practitioner perspective and also from a substantive perspective on climate change, environmental justice, disasters, and immigration, among many topics. SfAA has allowed me to network with other anthropologists, colleagues and friends with the same commitment to applied work that I share. Now that I am re-located from Washington, and working part time, I want to “give back” with my time and experience.

Historically, I have been involved with the leadership in SfAA. I served on the Program Committee and Finance Committee from 1987-88, and then on the Executive Board from 1988-1992. I did an evaluation of Practicing Anthropology for the Board (was then a young publication) and a survey of members and readers of PA for the Board. I also lead an initiative for outreach to LPOs to give them a voice in the governance of SfAA.

Over the years I have continued to participate in virtually all the annual meetings (until Covid), TIGs, and plenary sessions -- organizing panels, marine anthropology brown bags (until Trish took over a leadership role with the TIG formation), special sessions, and giving papers.

Interests & Strengths – Why I want to run

As I mentioned above, it’s a question of life cycle and giving back.

My interests and strengths are involving practicing, policy, and applied anthropologists into SfAA and representing their interests and encouraging collaboration. Practicing Anthropology continues to be an important venue for academic and non-academic anthropologists; I would like to help keep it strong. I want to make the reception and presentation of awards more of a draw for SfAA participants and improve the remote presence.

Activism and equity have become more important and palpable interests and I would like to help SfAA develop initiatives for social equity and environmental justice in the context of climate change, development of energy infrastructure, oil and gas extraction and equity for frontline communities.

The other thing I would like to focus on is remote presence and hybrid meetings. I’ve now been a participant in two SfAA hybrid meetings. My goal is to have a seamless annual meeting that can be accessed remotely and in a professional manner – and one where on-site members will also have a successful, insightful and meaningful meeting.
 

Andrew Gerkey

Andrew Gerkey, Ph.D.

Associate Professor Anthropology
Oregon State University
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The Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA) plays a crucial role in supporting the efforts of anthropologists and other like-minded social scientists to address pressing social problems, using anthropological research. I am honored to be considered for service on the SfAA Nominations and Elections committee. If elected, I will work with my fellow committee members and the SfAA board of directors to coordinate elections for SfAA officer positions. I also commit to engaging with SfAA members and leadership to solicit nominations that represent the diverse forms of professional and personal experience embodied in our membership. To this role, I bring experiences gained from serving as an elected board member for the AAA Anthropology & Environment section (2016-2018) and treasurer for the AAA Evolutionary Anthropology Society (2020-2022), as well as my current appointments as Program Director for the Oregon State University Applied Anthropology Program (2021- Present) and Chapter President of the Oregon State University chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society (2020-Present). As an applied environmental anthropologist, I also bring experiences from more than a decade of research collaborations with Indigenous communities, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations that address issues related to natural resource management, conservation, and Indigenous knowledge, culture, and institutions. My work as a scholar, teacher, and applied researcher has been enhanced considerably by the opportunities provided by the SfAA. I am excited to offer my service to SfAA and help ensure my colleagues and future generations of applied anthropologists continue to benefit from this important organization.