WORK EXPERIENCE
11/11 – Present. Executive Director, Burlesque Hall of Fame, Las Vegas, NV
- Oversee all aspects of the day-to-day operation of a start-up museum devoted to the history of modern burlesque performance. Plan, write, and install exhibitions, develop programming and special events, manage 4000+ piece collection, handle all financial and compliance matters, supervise staff of 4 part-time employees and small volunteer pool.
8/10 – 7/12. Collection Manager, UNLV Barrick Museum, Las Vegas, NV
- Managed collection of ethnographic and archaeological material for university museum; curated exhibitions on comic book history, Frida Kahlo, and local artists; worked with manager to re-orient museum from natural history to arts, resulting in re-assignment of museum to UNLV Fine Arts department in 2012.
1/06 – 5/11. Part-Time Instructor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
- Teach multiple sections of general education requirement “Gender, Race, and Class”
7/07 – 3/10. Managing Editor, Lifehack.org
- Oversaw creation, editing, and publication of content for Technorati 100 website with ~250,000 monthly readers
9/03 – Present. Adjunct Instructor, Community College of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas, NV
- Teach multiple sections of introductory anthropology
11/04 – 5/05. Webmaster, Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice, The Hague, The Netherlands
- Updated and maintained website for International Criminal Court-based NGO
3/01 – 6/02. Assistant Web Editor, Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs, New York, NY
- Maintained and updated educational website
1/01 – 5/02. Research Intern, New York Academy of Science, New York, NY
- Located, copied, and archived materials relating to the history of anthropology at the New York Academy of Science, 1895-present
3/99 – 3/00. Administrative Assistant, The Jewish Museum, New York, NY
- Assisted the Director for Programs in all aspects of acquisition, education, and exhibition
EDUCATION
2015 – 2018. University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Division of Educational Outreach
- Certificate in Nonprofit Management
1997-2004. New School for Social Research, Graduate Faculty, New York, NY
- ABD, May 2002; M.A.. December 2000 (Outstanding MA Graduate)
- Major: Cultural Anthropology
1994-1995. University of California at Santa Cruz
- B.A., June 1995 (Honors in the Major)
- Major: Anthropology
1992-1994. MiraCosta Community College, Oceanside, CA
- Major: General Studies
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2003-Present. Adjunct Instructor, Community College of Southern NV, Las Vegas
- ANTH 101, “Introduction to Cultural Anthropology”
- ANTH 201, “People and Cultures of the World”
- WMST 113, “Gender, Race, and Class”
2006-2011. Part-Time Instructor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
- WMST 113, “Gender, Race, and Class” (classroom and distance education)
2002. Teaching Assistantship
- “Scale and Complexity” (Graduate core course, taught by Prof. Judith Friedlander)
1997-1998. SAT Tutor, The Princeton Review, New York, NY
- Taught general mathematics and test-taking skills to high-school juniors and seniors in Harlem and Brooklyn in preparation for the Scholastic Aptitude Test.
EXHIBITIONS CURATED
Dancing the Revolution: Feminism in Burlesque History (co-curated with Sailor St. Clair, Pedi Bourgeois, Tas Al-Ghul, Emmie Pappa Eddy, Darby Fox), Burlesque Hall of Fame, May 2018 – Present (ongoing exhibition)
Body of Work: Midcentury Burlesque Through the Lens of F. Roy Kemp (co-curated with Darby Fox), Burlesque Hall of Fame, April 2019 – Present
Curves Ahead: Burlesque Superstars Gypsy Rose Lee and Dita Von Teese (co-curated with Dita Von Teese and Darby Fox), Burlesque Hall of Fame, July 2018 – January 2019
Becoming Burlesque, Burlesque Hall of Fame, April 2018 – Present (permanent exhibition)
A Half-Century Half-Undressed: Celebrating 50 Years of The Burlesque Hall of Fame, Burlesque Hall of Fame, April 2015 – September 2016
Just a Peek: Highlights from Recent Acquisitions, Burlesque Hall of Fame, June 2-2014 – May 1, 2015
Not-So-Hidden Histories: Performers of Color in Burlesque (co-curator), The Burlesque Hall of Fame, May 2013 – May 2014
Las Vegas Stripped: 60 Years of Burlesque in Sin City, The Burlesque Hall of Fame, May 2012 – May 2013
Let Them Eat Cake (co-curator), UNLV Marjorie Barrick Museum, September 16 – December 9, 2011
The Fiver: 5 Photographers, Blackbird Studios, September 2011
Spectacular, Erotic, and Slightly Shocking: A Timeline of American Burlesque, The Burlesque Hall of Fame, May 2011 – Present (permanent exhibition)
Sereno: Paintings and Sculpture by Kd Matheson, UNLV Marjorie Barrick Museum, May 20 – July 2, 2011
Countenance: Self-Portraits by Jerry Shawback, UNLV Marjorie Barrick Museum, May 20 – July 2, 2011.
Frida Kahlo’s Mexicanidad, UNLV Barrick Museum, October 27 – December 18, 2010
Drawn in the Dust, UNLV Barrick Museum, October 22 – December 10, 2010
PRESENTATIONS
2019. “Interpretation for Multiple Communities”. Nevada Museums Association annual meeting. October 11, 2019. Boulder City, NV.
2019. “Messaging Major Museum Changes”. Nevada Museums Association annual meeting. October 11, 2019. Boulder City, NV.
2019. “Roundtable: Earned Income”. Nevada Museums Association annual meeting. October 11, 2019. Boulder City, NV.
2018. “History of Burlesque”. Friends of Nevada State Museum, June 21, 2018, Las Vegas, NV.
2017. “Pasties as Protest: The History of Burlesque as Resistance”. BurlyCon X. Seattle WA.
2017. “Museums in the Age of Alternate Facts”. Nevada Museums Association annual meeting, October 5, 2017, Elko, NV.
2016. “The History of Burlesque in Las Vegas”. Las Vegas Library, August 4, 2016, Las Vegas, NV.
2015 – 2018. “Discover Your Local History”. Multiple venues.
2014. “Telling Tales with Tassels” In Panel Cultivating Kitsch Collections. Western Museums Association annual meeting, October 6, 2014. Las Vegas, NV.
2014. “Sassy Lassies Unite: The History of the Exotic Dancers League”. Southwest Burlesque Festival, Albuquerque, NM.
2014. “Putting the Sin in Sin City: 60 Years of Burlesque in Las Vegas”. Las Vegas Library, March 20, 2014, Las Vegas, NV.
2013. “Elements of Successful Crowdfunding”. In Panel “Dos and Don’ts of Fundraising”. 2013 Nevada Museums Association annual meeting, Reno, NV.
2013. “Behind the Scenes at the Burlesque Hall of Fame”. 2013 Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekender, Las Vegas, NV.
2013. “How I Learned to Stop Lifehacking and Start Living”. February 2013 Catalyst Week, Las Vegas, NV.
2012. “Behind the Scenes at the Burlesque Hall of Fame”. BurlyCon V, Seattle, WA.
2012. “Sassy Lassies Unite: The History of the Exotic Dancers League”. BurlyCon V, Seattle, WA.
2009. “Are We Ready Yet for Action Anthropology?” Reconsidering American Power, University of Chicago, April 23-25, 2009.
2008. “The Uses of Anthropology in the Insurgent Age”. Anthropology and Global Counterinsurgency, University of Chicago, April 25-27, 2008.
2003. Anthropology at the Dawn of the Cold War, 2003 AAA Annual Meeting (Organizer and Chair)
2003. “Organizing Anthropology: Sol Tax and the Professionalization of Anthropology”. In Panel Anthropology at the Dawn of the Cold War. 2003 AAA Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL.
PUBLICATIONS
Forthcoming. “Introduction”. In James Courtney, Untitled Burlesque Coloring Book, Level Up Books.
- “Preface”. In The ABC Double D’s of Burlesque. Fresh Meat Publishing. Vancouver, Canada.
2010. The Uses of Anthropology in the Insurgent Age. In Anthropology and Global Counterinsurgency, eds. John D. Kelly, Beatrice Jauregui, Sean T. Mitchell, and Jeremy Walton. Chicago: U of Chicago Press.
2008. Anthropology at the Dawn of the Cold War. Dustin M. Wax, ed. New York: Pluto Press.
- “Introduction: Anthropology at the Dawn of the Cold War”, Pp. 1-16.
- “Organizing Anthropology: Sol Tax and the Professionalization of Anthropology”, Pp. 133-142.
2007. Book Review: Sex and Pleasure in Western Culture. Archives of Sexual Behavior 37(3): 471 – 472.
2006. God Gene. In Encyclopedia of Anthropology. H. James Birx, ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Pp. 1093-4.
2005 (ongoing). Founding member of and contributor to website Savage Minds: Notes and Queries in Anthropology. URL: <http://www.savageminds.org>
AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS
2002
- Smithsonian Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, National Museum of Natural History
2002-2003
- PhD Maintenance of Status Scholarship, New School for Social Research
2001
- Outstanding MA Graduate Student Award, Anthropology, New School for Social Research
2000
- Research Assistantship, New School for Social Research
1995
- BA with Honors in the Major, Anthropology, University of California, Santa Cruz
1992-1994
- Phi Theta Kappa, MiraCosta Community College
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Native American Culture and History
- History of Anthropology
- Gender and Sexuality
- Internet and Education
- Cold War
- Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration
- Ethnic and Cultural Identity
- Museum Studies
- Fine Arts
- Popular Culture
- Science and Technology