Kate Manning earned her M.A. in anthropology from Mississippi State University. Kate has over a decade of experience on all phases of archaeological investigations in the southeast with extensive work in Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee. She is an FAA Part 107 sUAS licensed drone operator, with over six years of experience in drone photography and mapping. Kate’s primary research interests are lithic technologies, prehistory of the southeast with a focus along the Tennessee River Valley, and the application of GNSS and RTK mapping in Cultural Resource Management.

Rebekah Reeder received her M.A. in ancient Near Eastern archaeology from Wheaton College and has over 9 years of experience in all levels of archaeological excavation throughout Israel, as well as the southeastern United States. Rebekah has published research on ritual zoomorphic figurines in Palestinian Exploration Quarterly, as well as presented at various conferences. Her research interests include domestication as a technology, the chaîne opératoire of equid culture in the ancient world, as well as the use of animals in divine symbolism and ritual.

Kristen Koors received her B.A. in anthropology and a Master of Library Information Studies from The University of Alabama. Ms. Koors has 24 years of experience in the Cultural Resources Management field and has facilitated government-to-government consultations between 19 sovereign American Indian nations and tribes and various federal agencies (National Guard, Dept. of Defense, the Federal Highway Administration, and the Tennessee Valley Authority) since 2007. Ms. Koors has experience working with the National Park Service; the U.S. Corps of Engineers, Mobile and Savannah Districts; and the Alabama Department of Transportation, as well as managing cultural resources projects for the Army Environmental Command; Army Medical Command, Hampton Roads Naval Museum; Great Lakes Naval Museum; Fort Benning and Fort Stewart Military Installations; and several private engineering and environmental companies. She brings her experience, organizational skills, and reputation as a well- respected advocate for American Indian issues. She has also served as lead co-author on one of the first Traditional Cultural Properties (TCP) identification studies in the State of Alabama. The study resulted in the location and documentation of five TCPs along with a written record of the late eighteenth to early nineteenth century history of a little studied area in the state.

Ashley Stewart received her Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Alabama, where her research focused on bioarchaeology, dental anthropology, and mortuary analysis. She has over 15 years of archaeological experience in all phases of archaeological investigation, with ten of those years dedicated to osteological and bioarchaeological analysis.

Ross Butz is an Afghanistan war veteran who served as an infantryman in the US Army.  He received his B.A. and M.A. in anthropology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Ross has experience working on CRM projects in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Virginia. His regional areas of interest include the Tennessee River Valley and the northern Gulf Coastal Plain. His topical areas of interest include Mississippian archaeology, social organization, geoarchaeology, lithic technology, political economy, and the history of archaeology.

James Roncki earned his B.A. in anthropology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He serves as a field director for TVAR. James has worked on archaeological projects of various phases across the southeastern United States.

Dylan Colucci earned his M.A. in applied anthropology from Mississippi State University, where he also earned his B.A. Dylan’s area of interest is primarily the southeastern United States, with a specific focus on the Tennessee and Lower Mississippi River valleys. His research interests include Pleistocene archaeology, environmental archaeology, lithic technological adaptation/innovation, and hunter gatherer settlement and mobility throughout the Eastern Woodlands.

Keenan Drake earned his MSc. in Mediterranean Archaeology from the University of Edinburgh with a focus in Bronze Age and Early Iron Age civilizations in the Aegean and Levant. He earned his B.A. at the University of Alabama with a degree in anthropology. His current research interests include fortification systems in Bronze Age Crete and Jordan, as well as landscape archaeology and settlement patterns in Neolithic Crete. Keenan has five years of Cultural Resource Management experience in the Southeast, including all levels of archaeological field work. In Europe, Keenan has participated in the Mochlos Archaeological Project for three field seasons where he has led field crews in their excavation of trenches, sorted residue, and partaken in Middle Minoan pottery typology research.

Jonah Vitollo has over five years of CRM experience. He has worked on all levels of archaeological field work, including cave mapping and shoreline investigations, throughout the southeastern United States. Jonah’s interests include prehistory of the southeast and historical archaeology.

Roberto Ortega received his B.A. in classics and anthropology from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. His interests lie primarily in Mesoamerican, Ancient Near Eastern, and Medieval Spanish art, architecture, and ethnography.

Jarod Duke received his B.A. in anthropology from Mississippi State University. His interests are primarily in the prehistory of Mississippi and Alabama. He is also interested in in the prehistory of both the southeastern and southwestern United States.

Logan Ostrom earned a B.A. in anthropology with a minor in GIS at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He has an interest in the effects of climate change to prehistoric societies. He is also interested in historic archaeology from the 19th century.

Riley Dale received his B.A. in anthropology from Mississippi State University. He has experience doing all phases of CRM Archaeology.  His interests lie in historic archaeology, especially historic firearms and their innovations, trade, and impact.

Emily obtained her B.S. in anthropology with a focus in archaeology from Troy University and is working towards her M.A.. Emily has experience working on all phases of CRM in the southeast.  Her interests in archaeology include pre-contact societies, zooarchaeology, and religious symbolism in material culture.

Arik Daly completed his M.A. in history from the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) in 2024. After graduating from UAH with an undergraduate degree in history, he worked with public libraries before joining TVAR in 2022. Arik has worked on all phases of archaeology in the southeastern United States. His research interests are in public and cultural history, primarily in the United States.

Robert McBride graduated from the University of Tennessee with a B.A. in anthropology focusing on Southeastern archeology and religious practices. After graduation, Robert has undertaken surveys in the Cumberland Plateau region searching for those places that spiritually connected people to the land.

Hayden Horsley graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a B.A. in anthropology as well as a minor in Art Studio, and completed his archaeological field school at the Moundville Archaeological Park. Hayden has experience in all phases of CRM throughout the southeast. His interests include southeastern prehistoric archaeology, photography, and ethnocynology.

Michael Lee worked for 30 years in construction before joining TVAR as an Archaeological Mechanical Excavator. He has eight years of experience in mechanical stripping and trenching at over 40 Native American, African American, and Euroamerican sites in Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

Preservation & Research Team

Brittney Carnell received a B.A. in international relations and global affairs with minors in French and anthropology from Eckerd College. She also received a M.A. in history with a concentration in secondary education from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and taught Advanced Placement world history prior to joining TVAR. Brittney’s research interests include southern history, historical archaeology, and mortuary practices.

Shanda Davidson received her M.A. in history with a concentration in public history and historic preservation from the University of West Georgia. Ms. Davidson was the Historic Programs Assistant at the Alabama Historical Commission before moving to the private sector of cultural resource management. Ms. Davidson’s professional experience covers an array of survey and Section 106 compliance projects for federal, state, and local entities as well as private sector clients. Ms. Davidson also worked as a docent at the Frank Lloyd Wright-Rosenbaum House in Florence, Alabama where she researched and studied the Usonian architectural style and the concept of organic architecture. Her other research interests include the development of Ranch house subdivisions after World War II and transportation architecture including buildings and structures related to both the automobile and railroads.

John O’Brien received a B.A. in history with cognates in Public History and Global Studies from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He later earned an M.A. in history from the University of Alabama in Huntsville where his work focused on urban renewal in Alabama. Mr. O’Brien has extensive experience in archival work and historic research across Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi. He has presented original research at the Alabama Historical Association’s annual conference and contributed to the Encyclopedia of Alabama. His research interests include ecological history, commodity history, and the urban history of the southeast.

Laboratory Team

Mindy Rogers received her M.A. in anthropology from Texas State University. She has twelve years of combined field and laboratory experience in forensic anthropology, bioarchaeology, terrestrial and maritime archaeology throughout the southeastern United States, Texas, and the Dutch Caribbean. Her research interests include biological anthropology with an emphasis in forensics and dental anthropology, bioarchaeology, and maritime archaeology.

Emily McMillon received her M.A. In Historical Archaeology and B.A. in anthropology from the University of West Florida. She has eleven years of combined experience in archeological lab and field work for both terrestrial and maritime sites. Her interests include conservation and colonial archaeology.

Evan Fausz graduated from the University of South Alabama with a B.A. in Anthropology and is currently completing a Masters in Anthropology from the University of North Carolina Charlotte. He is interested in various forms of experimental archaeology.

Grace English graduated with a B.A. in Art History and English from the University of Alabama at Huntsville. Her interests include 19^th and 20^th century historic archaeology.

GIS & Mapping Team

Katie Weis received a B.S. in anthropology from Troy University and minored in GIS. Her primary interests are GIS applications in anthropology.

Katie Breiding received a B.S. in earth systems science with a concentration in human dimensions and societal impacts from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Her main interest is in the use of GIS technologies in monitoring resource management and the interactions between societies and their environments.