Design + Anthropology

for Social Good

I head a narrative media and design collaborative dedicated to socializing and translating the power and value of social science research for businesses, educators, and social impact-oriented organizations. We connect the dots between research, data, design, and public media. We especially love working with community and educational organizations, non-profits, museums, and cultural institutions that want to spread public benefit through media.

Services include all levels of media and narrative production, website design and digital branding, cultural strategy, and public media outreach.

Teaching Courses: Design Discourse,

Design Thinking + Research,

Digital Culture

College of Art and Design

Civic Media Methods: Participatory Design

Civic Media Arts and Practice Masters Program

Products and Marketing

Olin College of Engineering

I teach courses that help emerging professional designers and civic practitioners understand who they are designing for, how to understand their own values as designers and to apply them, to question universalizing claims, and to contextualize design in cultural specifics.

I also teach design research and thinking that focuses on methodologies, techniques, and tactics for design research including observational research, empathy building, ideation, and prototyping.

Designed and manage the Business Anthropology Community website, a thriving initiative the brings together the best of business practices, design, career networking, teaching, and visibility for anthropology in business. The community is a venue for sharing knowledge and resources and for enlarging the discussion on the value of business anthropology both intellectually and as an applied practice.

Following my design values of simplicity, attention to detail, and information clarity, this site demonstrates some of my aesthetic inspirations with clean lines, breathable space, and inviting visual design. I regularly consult with users and stakeholders to iterate and improve site mechanics and interaction experience.

As a field anthropologist and research fellow, I ran and coordinated the 2015-2016 Payments for Agrobiodiversity Conservation Services (PACS) program with six Aymara and Quechua communities supporting the cultivation and conservation of five endangered ecotypes of quinoa for future generations. I also work in survey design and implementation including field experiments, total economic value surveys, and multiple incentive mechanisms.

Early Client Scouting for food startup, Problem and Product Definitions, Observational Research, Fact Checking

Specializations: Public and Design Anthropology, Biodiversity Conservation, Food Studies, Science and Technology, Climate and Environmental Change

My work as a Cultural Anthropologist and PhD Candidate focuses on researching, developing and implementing conservation methodologies for at-risk Andean crops in southern Peru. Working between academic and applied realms, I combine ethnographic methods, design anthropology, research development, conservation best practices and market studies to improve communication and insight between multi-lateral stakeholders including government ministries, international NGOs, agricultural agencies, and farming communities to improve farmer livelihood, ecosystem maintenance, and food security outcomes.

Dissertation: Designing the Future of Food: Quinoa Agrobiodiversity in 21st Century Highland Peru