Applied Anthropologist Profile: Emily Speed, Forensic Investigator Turned Podcaster

 

Emily Speed (Source: Jordan Burch)

Much like the author of this blog Emily Speed was interested in forensic anthropological work early on as an undergraduate student.  She specialized in human osteology while pursuing her undergraduate degree in biological anthropology at the University of Western Florida.  She took advantage of an internship opportunity with the local medical examiner’s office, which cemented her desire to become a Forensic Investigator. This led her to study Forensic Science at the University of Florida, where she earned her Master’s degree. 

 

Shortly after earning her Master’s, she returned to the Florida District One Medical Examiner’s Office.  She was employed as a Forensic Investigator, a job she fell in love with because of the problem-solving aspects of the job.  With a supportive group of colleagues within the Medical Examiner’s office and in other related divisions she excelled in her position.  She attained additional certifications and trainings through Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in New York City and the Forensic Anthropology Center at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, which enabled her to stay sharp in her profession.  Her anthropological and forensic specialties were in forensic archaeology, unidentified cold cases, and Sudden Unexplained Infant Deaths, the latter of which involved liaising with various agencies when cases involved the death of infants or children.  She was considered an expert in this specific area, but she was also involved in various cold cases, including one that may have been tied to Keith Hunter Jesperson, popularly known as the Happy Face Killer.

 

After 14 years in the field, however, Speed realized that she could no longer continue on with her work.  Her specialization in juvenile death investigations began taking a toll on her, particularly after she started her own family.  She made the difficult decision to leave the field, ending her career as a Senior Forensic Investigator.  While she transitioned into various other lines of work she still felt a calling to her previous work in anthropology and forensics, leading her in October 2022 to start a podcast titled, “Death Calls: Experiences of a Death Investigator.” 

 

The podcast addresses her previous experiences as a Forensic Investigator, wherein she discusses specific cases (while omitting information, such as names and locations, out of respect for the deceased and their living relatives), topics related to death, such as post-mortem changes to the body, as well as features a variety of special guests.  She started the podcast to satisfy her interests but also to inform the public that what they see on CSI and other similar shows is not real.  The process of death investigations take longer, are far more tedious, and require a level of sensitivity and professionalism that are not always depicted on the fictional television shows.  The lessons she imparts on the podcast are real and necessary realities that everyone will experience at some point since death comes for everyone.  For example, one thing that people do not consider is the role of the forensic investigator in not only the emotional closure but also the financial ones.  One cannot get a life insurance payout until the Death Certificate is issued, which can take longer than expected.  Having realistic expectations of what the process is like can help people plan accordingly.  In another podcast she and her special guest, a social worker, addressed the options people undergoing the sudden and significant loss of a loved one have regarding handling their pain through counseling and grief support groups.  Ultimately, while she is no longer working within death investigations she is still serving the public through her podcast.

 

 

Bibliography

American Institute of Crime Scene Intergrity. (n.d.). Instructors. Retrieved from American Institute of Crime Scene Intergrity: https://aicsi.com/instructors/

Hof, D. (2024, February 22). The People of Pensacola: Emily Speed. Local Pulse Pensacola.

Victora, W. (2016, March 13). Unidentified bodies present challenge to medical examiner's office . NWF Daily News.

Applied Anthropologist Profile: Dr. Karen Ho, Expert on Wall Street Culture

Dr. Karen Ho (Source: Epic)

 

Like many previously discussed anthropological professionals featured on this blog Dr. Karen Ho did not initially intend on becoming an anthropologist.  In fact, she initially majored in pre-med, following in her father’s footsteps.  It was through taking general education and elective courses that she fell in love with feminist theory courses, which eventually led her to anthropology.  It was her life experiences growing up as a second generation Taiwanese-American in rural Tennessee, wherein she experienced first hand issues related to race, social construction of realities, and social hierarchies, that ignited her desire to better understand power dynamics.  Taken together these led her to become one of the leading experts in the anthropology of business, specifically within the frameworks of Wall Street culture.

 

Dr. Karen Ho earned degrees from Stanford University (B.A. and M.Ed.) and Princeton (Ph.D., Anthropology).  She knew that ethnography and anthropology were tools that she could use to better understand power dynamics within societies, but she was not initially sure in what contexts she wanted to study these processes.  It was while she was reading articles about financial, business, and economic news that she decided upon what she wanted to study: business cultures.  She opted to study the juxtaposition of power within Wall Street, specifically how downsizing companies, a process by which companies reduce their overall size by firing staff and eliminating positions, were simultaneously detrimental (as it negatively affected the employees) but also celebrated (by investors who reaped the profits).  While many scholars believed that these practices were the work of a few actors within the financial world she rejected this idea, instead claiming this trend was part of a larger socio-economic framework that people followed.

 

Ho did not take a traditional trajectory toward her career in anthropology, although the steps she did take in the completion of her doctoral research match the expected methods of anthropological study.  She opted to take a literal participant observer approach in that she took a job within Wall Street.  While being employed as an analyst, a position that positioned her directly between the supervisors (who make the downsizing decisions) and the workers (who produce the work and products and are adversely affected by downsizing), she was able to observe the inner workings of workplace culture.  She also gained access to cultural informants on both sides of the issue.  It was through these intimate work experiences on this job that she got a true understanding of workplace culture on wall street, realizing that downsizing and job precarity was accepted and normalized.  She also came to the conclusion that people were focused on the short term profits, not the long term productivity and quality of products and institutions.  She identifies this as the central flaw in the current attitudes on Wall Street and within business cultures generally, particularly as these attitudes lend themselves to job losses and ultimately economic recessions.

 

Ho has published widely on her research.  She has written a few books, such as the popular title, Liquidated, and several articles.  She has given interviews to various news organizations, including business and financial platforms.  She is currently employed at the University of Minnesota where she is responsible for educating the next generations of business anthropologists, but she continues her applied anthropological work. 

 

Works Cited

Fleming, Rachel C. "Ethnographer on Wall Street: Karen Ho / A Profile." n.d. EPIC: Advancing the Value of Ethnography. Electronic. 3 December 2024.

Ho, Karen. An Anthropologist Explains Wall Street Culture Joe Weisenthal. 1 November 2019. Electronic.

—. "Karen Ho, Professor of Anthropology." 2024. University of Minnesota. Electronic. 4 December 2024.

 

Anthropologist Profile: Dr. Ayana Flewellen, Black Feminist Archaeologist & More...

 

Dr. Ayana Flewellen (Source: Stanford University Department of Anthropology)

Dr. Ayana Flewellen almost did not go into the field of archaeology, an area of study that they are truly dedicated to and accomplished in. Growing up they were not aware of the possibility of becoming an archaeologist because they never saw Black archaeologists, only White archaeologists. It was by chance that they ended up in the field, and it is a blessing they did because they are a rising star within the field. This blog post is dedicated to addressing their career and accomplishments thus far.

Dr. Ayana Flewellen identifies as a Black, queer, nonbinary person who uses the pronouns they/she. Growing up they fell in love with history when their mother took them to various museums, including the Smithsonian. These activities were born out of a need to entertain themselves with limited funds, but for Flewellen it was an opportunity to explore their interests, igniting a passion in history at an early age. They began to explore that passion further as an undergraduate student at the University of Florida, where they spent the first two years of study as an undeclared student. This led them to take various courses to see what they were ultimately interested in, and it was by chance that they took a cultural anthropology course one summer. They became hooked on the field, leading them to take as many cross-listed anthropology and African American Studies courses as possible. When they took a course called, “Archaeology of African American Life,” Flewellen knew what they wanted to be when they grew up: an archaeologist.

Flewellen went onto graduate school in Texas, earning a Masters and then Ph.D. from the University of Texas. They met up with various other up and coming scholars, as well as learned from some of the best scholars in anthropology. Together, these experiences informed Flewellen’s scholarly approaches, leading them to pursue Black Feminist archaeology (among other related areas of study). Over the years they have accomplished a variety of achievements, including becoming the co-founder and current Board Chair of the Society of Black Archaeologists (a position shared with Justin Dunnavant), a Board Member of Diving With a Purpose, a member of the inaugural cohort of the Called By Water, and more. In 2022 Flewellen became an Assistant Professor at Stanford University, where they continue their studies in archaeology and maritime archaeology.

Flewellen, however, finds the most fulfillment in how their work touches the lives of those outside of the field. In 2020 they were part of a project involving diving into the Great Lakes to recover the remains of Tuskegee Airmen who crashed their plane during a WWII training mission. The opportunity to talk about that project with local students was fulfilling for Flewellen, meeting a life long goal of theirs to talk about histories that are very rarely addressed and brining humanity to people and populations that are often ignored and dehumanized throughout history. As Flewellen is a newer scholar it will be amazing to see where they go next and the next achievements they make in the field.

Bibliography

California Academy of Sciences. (2024). New Science: Ayana Flewellen. Retrieved from California Academy of Sciences: https://www.calacademy.org/new-science/ayana-flewellen

Flewellen, A. (n.d.). About. Retrieved from Ayana Omilade Flewellen: https://www.ayanaomiladeflewellen.com/about-1

Flewellen, A. O. (n.d.). Ayana Omilade Flewellen, Assistant Professor of Anthropology. Retrieved from Stanford Department of Anthropology: https://anthropology.stanford.edu/people/ayana-omilade-flewellen

The Explorer's Club. (2021). Ayana Omilade Flewellen: Archaeologist. Retrieved from The Explorer's Club: https://50.explorers.org/community/ayana-omilade-flewellen/

Applied Anthropologist Profile: Edward C. Davis IV, Educator, Linguist, and More...

Dr. Edward C. Davis IV

 

Dr. Edward C. Davis IV has and continues to have a varied career, drawing upon her educational experiences in anthropology, linguistics, and African studies. Davis is a Chicago native, but he proudly declares his family’s historical role in building various Underground Railroad homesteads in southern Illinois.  He also has genetic and historical evidence that traces his family’s lineage back to royal individuals from Angola, another point of pride for himself and his family. 

 

He earned his Master of Philosophy in Anthropology at the University of Cambridge, which he followed up with earning his Master’s and Ph.D. in African Diaspora studies at the University of California-Berkley.  His dissertation drew upon his previous anthropological training in historical linguistics as he examined pharmacology, lyrical ads, and dynastic kinship.  Upon earning his degrees, he landed a position at Malcolm X College.  He restarted the Africana and Anthropology curriculum at the school, as well as became the youngest tenured faculty member at the institution.  He left this position after eight years.  He currently teaches African American studies and anthropology at Southland College Prep Charter High School in the Chicago area.  In this role he also was responsible for the dual-credit programming with Loyola University Chicago. 

 

In addition to his academic positions he formed Uloño Geolinguistic Praxis Services, Inc. based on the Umbundu principle of intergenerational knowledge.  He also serves on the Executive Board for the Association of Black Anthropologists.  Given his age and achievements thus far it is suspected that he will continue to grow in his career, expanding his successes and creating a greater impact for all those he works with.

 

Works Cited

Association of Black Anthropologists. ABA Executive Board. n.d. Electronic. 26 November 2024.

Davis IV, Edward. "Graduate Alumni: Edward Davis IV." 2024. African American Studies & African Diaspora Studies. Electronic. 26 November 2024.

Anthropologist Profile: Dr. Chelsea Carter, Applied and Research Medical Anthropologist

 

Dr. Chelsea Carter

 

To describe Dr. Chelsea Carter in one word is difficult, but if forced to do so that word would be: phenomenal.  Carter, a native of St. Louis, Missouri, has established herself as one of the premiere medical anthropologists in the discipline.  Her passions lie within breaking down barriers faced by Black individuals within the American healthcare system, but she has also been instrumental in overcoming obstacles placed upon her and other young anthropologists as they advance the concepts of what it means to be an anthropologist.  Today’s blog post will discuss Dr. Chelsea Carter’s experiences and career further, including her on-going applied anthropological research projects.

 

Dr. Chelsea Carter was born and raised in St. Louis.  She reported that she went to predominantly White schools, wherein she was exposed to primarily Eurocentric subject matter.  She felt stifled in this environment, but she was able to explore her interests further upon enrolling in an introductory anthropology course at Emory University.  She felt a connection with the material, particularly the questions concerning cultural differences and diversity.  She was being exposed to ideas and ways of being that were different from what she had grown up learning, and she was excited to learn more.  She ultimately majored in Anthropology and Spanish at Emory, eventually becoming a recipient of the Majorie Shostak Award for Excellence in Ethnographic Writing and the Heart of Emory award.  She went on to graduate with high honors.

 

After graduating with her undergraduate degrees she eventually returned to St. Louis and enrolled in the anthropology graduate program at Washington University.  It was here that she earned her master’s and Ph.D., while also simultaneously earning her Master’s in Public Health.  Her research focused on Black patients’ experiences with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), popularly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, a neurodegenerative disorder that affects the brain and of which there is no cure.  Earning those degrees did not come easy.  In an interview with the American Anthropological Association Carter got candid about the challenges she faced during her time as a graduate student.  These challenges included “family health emergencies, advisor changes, an unsupportive academic community, and an abusive relationship.”  With the support of friends, family, anthropology mentors, and her therapist she was able to overcome here hardships and graduate in six years, a monumental feat in and of itself without the added obstacles.

 

Currently, Carter is employed at Yale University as an Assistant Professor of Public Health in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences.  She was previously employed as a Postdoc at Yale prior to landing her academic position.  When she is not teaching she is working on turning her doctorate into a book, which focuses on Black American patients with ALS and their experiences within the medical system, particularly as they face issues related to race, gender, class, and bias.  She is also involved in several other medical anthropology projects, including the Black Genome Project out of St. Louis, of which she is a Co-Principal Investigator. 

 

The purpose of the Black Genome Project is to survey Black populations throughout St. Louis and the greater metro area to understand their views of their genetic information and the impacts of genetic studies on individuals and their communities.  The project leaders seek to educate Black community members about genetic information and genomic data, specifically how it is used within healthcare and how they can utilize this information to better their own health and well-being.  There are additional goals of the project, such as seeking to destroy myths concerning race as a biologically supportable concept and educating people about the role this idea plays in medical racism and bias.  Ultimately, the Black Genome Project seeks to empower Black communities in having greater stewardship in their genetic data and research related to those data and their health.  This is in line with Carter’s own personal and professional goal for herself as anthropologist: “Overall, our goal should be to support positive societal change and liberation for historically marginalized people worldwide, whether or not we are situated within the academy.”

 

Works Cited

Black Genome Project. Black Genome Project. 2021. Electronic. 26 November 2024.

Carter, Chelsea. "Career Spotlight: Chelsey R. Carter." 21 February 2023. Anthropology Careers and Employment (American Anthropology Association). Electronic. 26 November 2024.

—. Chelsea Carter. 2020. Electronic. 26 November 2024.