President-Elect
Dr. Katherine Sterner Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Dr. Katherine Sterner is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Towson University and the Director of the Baltimore Community Archaeology Lab there. She received her B.A. in Anthropology at Penn State University in 2009. She completed her M.S. in 2012 and her Ph.D. in Anthropology from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2018. Before becoming a professor at Towson University, she was a principal investigator for Cultural Resource Management Services at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Kat has served as the President of the Council for Maryland Archeology since 2023 and previously served as an Executive Officer for the Midwest Archaeological Conference (2021-2023) and Secretary for the Wisconsin Archeological Society (2016-2021). She has conducted research on pre- and post-contact sites throughout the American Midwest and Middle Atlantic regions. Her work currently focuses on projects around archaeology education, cultural resource management training, and collaborative interpretation with Indigenous communities in Maryland. She has been presenting at the Middle Atlantic Archaeological Conference since arriving in Maryland in 2021 and served as the Peer Review Editor for the Journal of Middle Atlantic Archaeology from 2024-2025. |
Treasurer
Dr. Elizabeth Moore*
State Archaeologist
Virginia Department of Historic Resources
I have 40 years of archaeological experience, most of it in the Middle Atlantic working in CRM (several AE firms), at federal (NMNH) and state (VMNH, DHR) agencies, and have served as an independent consultant in zooarchaeology and collections management and curation. I have served as the MAAC treasurer for years as MAAC underwent the transition from paper to online payment processes and registration, becoming compliant with IRS filing, and for the transition to Wild Apricot as our membership management interface (splendidly led by Greg Lattanzi). I am particularly proud of working with the student sponsorship team to increase the student sponsorship program from 1 or 2 sponsorships a year previously to full student support for all students contributing to the conference in recent years. I currently serve on the SAA committee for Awards in Excellence in Curation and Collections Management, as the SAA’s Virginia co-Coordinator for Public Archaeology (with Bernard Means), on the SHA Heritage at Risk Committee, on the COVA Collections Committee, as a member of the National Association of State Archaeologists, and on the editorial board for American Archaeology magazine. As MAAC treasurer, I have found it important to work closely with the other officers and the conference organizers to participate in discussions on how we spend our money so that our budget matches our priorities. As treasurer, I will assist the organization’s work by supporting further efforts to make our work more efficient so we can focus on the best part of the conference – sharing ideas and enjoying the comradery.
Membership Secretary John Mullen, MA, RPA* Thunderbird Archaeology
I have served as the MAAC Membership Secretary since 2018 and have been involved with the conference since my graduate study days with Dr. William M. Gardner at CUA. I look forward to continuing to work with the MAAC Board and membership as we continue to evolve as an organization. I have over 30 years of archeological research experience in Virginia and the Middle Atlantic region and am the Principal Archeologist/Assistant Manager at Thunderbird Archeology, where I have worked on several of the largest and high-profile urban waterfront archeological sites in the City of Alexandria, Virginia (Hotel Indigo and Robinson Landing). On the local level, I serve as the President of the Friends of Fairfax County Archaeology and Cultural Resources (FOFA) and am the Chair of the Virginia Department of Historic Resources State Review Board. |
Katie Gill, MA
Research Associate & Digital Assets Manager
Chesapeake Crossroads Heritage Area
I received my bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s College of Maryland in 2020 and recently completed the dual master’s program at the University of Maryland in Anthropology and Historic Preservation in the winter of 2024. I have worked primarily in the Middle Atlantic region for nearly 10 years in both CRM and academic archaeological settings.
Currently, I am the Research Associate & Digital Assets Manager for the Chesapeake Crossroads Heritage Area and serve as Hourly Faculty at the University of Maryland in the Historic Preservation Archaeology Lab. I am excited to help MAAC continue to evolve as it has been an educational and beneficial space for me in my career
Recording Secretary
Elyse Adams Program Coordinator University’s Institute for Immigration Research, George Mason University
Her current research interests include the bioarchaeological perspective and examination of the human skeleton to study the complexities of health and biological stressors on past populations. Her thesis work involved the examination of periostosis of the tibia as a skeletal indicator of biological stress, and comparing these data to socioeconomic and political changes in pre- Hispanic and post-Colonial populations recovered archaeologically along the north coast of Peru. Elyse has attended MAAC since she was an undergraduate student and has served as a committee member since 2022 coordinating MAAC’s program ads and bookroom. Elyse is currently employed as the program coordinator at George Mason University’s Institute for Immigration Research under the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. She is also an adjunct instructor at the University of Mary Washington teaching courses in Bioarchaeology and Mortuary Archaeology. She continues to conduct analyses and collect biological data from burials of human remains under the Lambayeque Biohistory Project, which has been funded for two decades by institutions such as National Science Foundation, National Geographic Society, and Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research. |
Member at Large NOTE: This position is appointed by the Executive Board, and not elected by the membership John Martin, RPA
John Martin has been an archaeologist in the Middle Atlantic region for over 40 years and a member of MAAC for most of that time. Much of his professional career has been in the private sector conducting and managing projects for both above- and below-ground resources. Beginning in 2019 he began working for his home state of Delaware. After just under two years at the SHPO, he accepted the position at DelDOT to be the Cultural Resources Program Supervisor, overseeing the staff of archaeologists and architectural historians responsible for historic preservation associated with DelDOT projects and public outreach. John holds a BA from the University of Delaware and an MA from Rutgers University, both in Anthropology. I would like the position of Member-at-Large because I believe that I can bring a variety of perspectives and considerable experience to the board. I have served as an officer of the Archeological Society of NJ and as board member, VP, and interim President of Preservation Delaware, Inc. I also have served on the Delaware State Review Board for Historic Preservation with two stints as the chair. I am currently the President of the Archaeological Society of Delaware and on the Government Affairs Committee of the SAA. In my professional and volunteer positions I am able to interact with many members of the archaeological community including local residents and indigenous groups along with professional and avocational archaeologists. In addition, my network includes historic preservation organizations, consultants, and agency officials, both inside and outside of Delaware. I feel my background as a volunteer and current professional in the field is well suited to assist the MAAC Board and organization in continuing the advancement of MAAC. Shaleigh Howells
Shaleigh Howells (she/they) is the founder and principal consultant of River to Ridge Consulting, LLC, a relationship-centered firm specializing in culturally grounded, community-driven approaches to cultural resource management, interpretation, and conservation. Through this work, they collaborate with Native Nations, public agencies, and community organizations to advance cultural sovereignty, heritage preservation, and environmental stewardship. Shaleigh also serves as the Indigenous Cultural Landscape Research Fellow at the Shenandoah National Park Trust, focusing on cultural and historic preservation, stakeholder engagement, and advocacy for place-based Indigenous knowledge systems. They are the Co-Chair of the NAGPRA Community of Practice, a member of the School for Advanced Research’s Indigenous Collections Care Working Group and serve on the Southeastern NAGPRA Community of Practice’s Split Collections Workgroup and Conference Committee. Shaleigh is also a member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors for the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, a Virginia Master Naturalist with the Roanoke Valley Chapter, and an Ambassador for Girls Who Hike Virginia. Originally from The Berkshires of Massachusetts, they have resided in Virginia for over a decade and hold degrees from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (BA, History) and Harvard University (ALM, Museum Studies). |
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*Incumbent |