Maureen Sacchetti, who served as our Office Assistant for 20 years, will retire at the end of this month. During her time of employment at HRAF, Maureen played a crucial role supporting various departments including electronic publications, document production, membership, and marketing. Maureen has been instrumental to our success as an organization. She is an irreplaceable colleague and friend who will be dearly missed by all.

In October we welcomed Haley Brown as our new Office Assistant, taking over the duties of Maureen Sacchetti. Haley received her master’s degree in Archaeological Studies from Yale University. Her master’s thesis was titled “Presenting the Ancient Andes: Archaeological Illustration in Ecuador and Peru”. This project represented her unique take on re-imagining and presenting the ancient past through illustration. On October 20th, Haley will present a workshop that introduces archaeology through illustration at HRAF’s annual Archaeology Day celebration.

HRAF is pleased to welcome Louise Toutée as our new Research Assistant. She is working on HRAF’s grant project “Response to Shocks and Hazards Associated with Climate.” Louise holds a master’s degree in Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology from Oxford University. During her time at Oxford, she had the chance to take part in a field school focused on primatology and paleoanthropology in Mozambique. Her master’s dissertation worked on expanding the theory of Morality as Cooperation developed by Dr. Oliver Scott Curry by applying it to the value of honesty. To do so, Louise used eHRAF World Cultures to carry out a broad survey of how honesty is valued across cultures.

This fall HRAF also welcomed two new Melvin Ember Interns. Isana Raja holds a B.A. in Sociocultural Anthropology and International Studies from the University of California San Diego. Her undergraduate honors thesis focused on how gender inequality affects the implementation of sanitation and water policies in India. Stefania Becerra Lavado received a B.A. in Anthropology from Arizona State University. She took part in fieldwork research in Guatemala that investigated mental health services and bullying.

HRAF extends a warm to our newest additions. We are honored and proud to have such an esteemed group of colleagues.