Writing
Below is a selection of writing samples that I’m particularly proud of, most of which are from my current work for University of Arizona News.
Santa Cruz River moves closer to national designation with guidance from U of A experts
U of A ecologists, landscape architects and other experts are working with community partners to help designate part of the Santa Cruz River an urban national wildlife refuge. (U of A News, March 4, 2025)
How did humans and dogs become friends? Connections in the Americas began 12,000 years ago
A U of A-led study based on archaeological remains in Alaska shows that people and the ancestors of today's dogs began forming close relationships as early as 12,000 years ago – about 2,000 years earlier than previously recorded in the Americas. (U of A News, Dec. 4, 2024)
Weather trucks search for answers about extreme heat in Tucson's 'data deserts'
As part of a U.S. Department of Energy-funded project to better understand the effects of extreme heat, U of A experts will translate the data into public reports and policy recommendations. (U of A News, July 2, 2024)
Searching for answers to today's questions in Native communities' venerable traditions
Edward A. Jolie's research as an anthropologist at the Arizona State Museum involves finding ways to make his discipline more inclusive, particularly to Indigenous communities. (U of A News, Nov. 21, 2023)
UArizona researcher at the forefront of Indigenous data sovereignty
Stephanie Russo Carroll is a leading expert on Indigenous data sovereignty, which emphasizes that Indigenous Peoples have the right to control the collection, application and use of data about them, their lands and their cultures whether it originates via research, government programs, corporate efforts or other means. (U of A News, May 22, 2023)
UArizona expert among first to see Easter Island's recently discovered statue
University of Arizona archaeologist Terry Hunt, a leading expert on the island natively known as Rapa Nui, arrived a day after islanders discovered a previously unknown statue. It's the latest chapter in the isolated island's long story of sustainability against the odds. (U of A News, March 13, 2022)
Researcher will showcase Native American sign language in Super Bowl performance
Colin Denny, a research assistant in the College of Education, will perform a sign language interpretation of the song "America the Beautiful" during the Super Bowl pregame show on Sunday. The performance, he said, is an opportunity to show millions of people that North American Indian Sign Language, despite being centuries old, is still here. (U of A News, Feb. 6, 2022) (Photo by Lyle Begay)
Indigenous Resilience Center is a 'seed' for tribal leaders to water and nurture
Since it was established last year, the University of Arizona's Indigenous Resilience Center has added to its roster experts who have long worked with and for Native American communities. Now, the center's leaders hope tribes can guide their next moves. (U of A News, Nov. 16, 2022)
UArizona to provide tuition-free education for Native American undergraduates in Arizona
The new Arizona Native Scholars Grant program, the first of its kind for a public Arizona university, will cover tuition and mandatory fees for full-time undergraduate students from Arizona's 22 federally recognized tribes who are studying on the main campus. (U of A News, June 27, 2021)
A Woman's Dying Wish Leads to Returning a Piece of History
An intriguing voicemail left for a UArizona archaeologist in the spring led to the repatriation of artifacts to Mauritania – and became the first step toward a new partnership. (U of A News, Dec. 15, 2021)
Algorithms are Making Many of Your Decisions – and You Might be OK With That
A new study by UArizona law professor Derek Bambauer suggests that most people are content to let big data-produced algorithms decide many – but not all – of their day-to-day decisions. (U of A News, Dec. 6, 2021)
Those Earrings Are So Last Year – But the Reason You're Wearing Them is Ancient
Shell beads found in a cave in Morocco are at least 142,000 years old. The archaeologists who found them say they're the earliest known evidence of a widespread form of human communication. (U of A News, Sept. 22, 2021)
UA Printmaker's Path Began Under a Bridge With Spray Paint in Hand
Not even two decades ago, Aaron Coleman was spray-painting trains. The Washington, D.C., native is now an assistant professor of art and a printmaker whose lithography and mezzotints are in collections and exhibits all over the world. (UA@Work, Jan. 24, 2018)
Recycled bottles help rebuild reservation, one man's life
A project that first set out to address a housing shortage on the Tohono O’odham Nation eventually led its organizers, and others, to confront a troubled piece of the reservation’s past. (Arizona Daily Star, Oct. 22, 2014) (Written for Arizona Sonora News, a capstone project for the U of A School of Journalism)