Collaborating with descendant communities to design research objectives and tangible outcomes has been a critical aspect of my archaeological practice in Peru since 2009.

Currently, I am a Co-PI for PIARA, the long-term community-collaborative research program within the province of Huaylas (Ancash, Peru). PIARA emphasizes descendant community wants and needs in its research, and organizes educational and medical support for Hualcayán and surrounding communities in Huaylas. As a PIARA project member since 2011, I have taught Peruvian and international undergraduate students, organized and led community workshops and programming, and directed and carried out specialized ceramic and textile analyses.

Between 2017-2018, I co-directed archaeological research at the site of Jecosh alongside colleagues Dr. Emily Sharp and Lic. Denisse Herrera Rondan (Proyecto de Investigación Arqueológica de Jecosh [PIAJ] or Jecosh Archaeological Research Project). In collaboration with the descendant community of Poccrac/Jecosh as well as Peruvian undergraduate students, we carried out site mapping, excavations, and artifact analysis. Our goal was to understand Jecosh’s role in the regional political economy during the rise of Recuay polities and the subsequent expansion of the southern Wari state (ca. 1-1000 CE) through the lens of domestic and mortuary contexts. Following conversations with Poccrac/Jecosh community members about how to turn work at Jecosh into a community resource, we co-curated a temporary museum exhibit (see museum work) to share our findings with the broader public in 2018. More info about our project is here: https://www.facebook.com/PIAJecosh

As PIAJ's co-PI, I secured research funds via grants (NSF, Wenner-Gren); co-designed project objectives and methods; organized community-collaborations; led excavations of household contexts; directed lab analysis of ceramics, lithics, soils, and animal bones; taught students about excavation techniques and lab analysis; and interpreted and wrote up research findings.