Old Pueblo Archaeology Center Officers and Board of Directors Members as of January 2021
OFFICERS
President: Monica Z. Young (Re-elected to this office 1/5/2021 for a one-year officer term; board term continues through 1/2023)
Vice President: Samuel Greenleaf (Re-elected to this office 1/5/2021 for a one-year officer term; board term continues through 1/2022)
Secretary: Patricia Wiedhopf (Re-elected to this office 1/5/2021 for a one-year officer term; board term continues through 1/2023)
Treasurer: Monica Prillaman (Re-elected to this office 1/5/2021 for a one-year officer term; board term continues through 1/2023)
Executive Director: Allen Dart (Ex officio Board of Directors member; appointed as Executive Director (Chief Executive Officer) on 1/11/1994)
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Martina M. Dawley, Ph.D.: Elected to Board 1/8/2019, current term expires 1/2022. Dr. Martina Dawley is the Senior Archaeologist with the Hualapai Nation’s Department of Cultural Resources. From 2010-2019 she served as Manager for American Indian Relations at the Arizona State Museum (ASM), Assistant Curator for American Indian Relations for ASM, Adjunct Faculty member of Pima Community College in Tucson, and Lecturer in American Indian Studies at Arizona State University. Since 2013 Martina has served on the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office’s “Tribal Consultation Work Session” Planning Committee, the University of Arizona (UA) Native Faculty Group, the Mellon Opportunity for Diversity in Conservation Advisory Board in the UCLA/Getty Conservation Department, Community + Museums Collaboration Guidelines Core Group at the School of Advanced Research: Indian Art Research Center in Santa Fe, and founder and CEO of Neoglyphix: The All Indigenous Aerosol Artists Collective. She received the UA Southwest Institute for Research on Women Thesis Award in 2009, the UA Centennial Achievement Doctoral Award in 2013, and the UA Cooperative Extension and UA Life & Work Connections Walk across Arizona Challenge Award in 2015, and was a winner in the 2015 Tucson Youth Poetry Slam’s Educator Competition Slam competition. Martina received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology with a focus on southwestern archaeology in 2006, and her Master of Arts and Doctorate degrees in American Indian Studies from the UA in 2009 and 2013,
respectively.
Charles R. Farabee: Elected to Board 1/9/2018, current term expires 1/2024. “Butch” Farabee is a 1960 graduate of Tucson High School, then the University of Arizona with a BS in Zoology, an MS from California State University, Fresno, in Public Administration, and then the FBI Academy. In addition to serving three years on the Tucson Police Department in the mid-1960s, he retired from 35 years with the National Park Service in 1999, serving in 11 different areas, rising through the ranks from field park ranger to superintendent. In several of these national park areas he was either directly responsible for protecting archaeological and historical sites and in two others had overall responsibility for these culturally significant treasures. Butch has four books published on various aspects of park rangers and search and rescue, with a related fifth book at the publisher. He loves the Southwest, Arizona, and northern Mexico and is very interested in the prehistory and history as well as the natural history these areas have to offer.
William Gillespie: Elected to Board 1/8/2019, current term expires 1/2022. Bill Gillespie received his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Anthropology from the University of Colorado at Boulder. While at Colorado he spent four summers doing archaeological survey at Mesa Verde National Park and excavating in Mancos Canyon on the Ute Mountain Ute homelands. Bill was a member of the Chaco Project, doing research for the National Park Service in Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico. He moved to southern Arizona in 1984 and began working as an archaeologist for the Coronado National Forest in 1989, continuing in that capacity until retiring at the end of 2015. As Forest Archaeologist he was responsible for overseeing the preservation and management of the numerous and varied heritage sites on the Forest’s 1.8 million acres. Among his longtime interests are the relationships of past peoples and the landscapes and environments they lived in, the history of indigenous peoples in the Southwest and their interactions with European Americans, zooarchaeology, historical archaeology, and the history of the Forest Service and other land-managing agencies. He also enjoys continuing work with Arizona Site Stewards and other volunteers, including rock-art researchers in the Tucson area and at Chaco Canyon.
Samuel Greenleaf: Elected to Board 1/27/2004, current term expires 1/2022. Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s longest-serving board member, Sam Greenleaf is a retired building engineer and general contractor, and an active avocational archaeologist who teaches Old Pueblo’s arrowhead making and flintknapping workshops and volunteers a lot of his time on Old Pueblo children’s education, construction, and maintenance projects. He is a former member of the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society’s Board of Directors.
Mitchell Kagen: Elected to Board 1/15/2016, current term expires 1/2022. Mitch Kagen fell in love with archaeology while growing up in New York. As an undergraduate college student, he participated in his first dig in 1975, at the Street archaeological site outside Oneonta, New York. Continuing his study of anthropology, Mitch transferred to the University of Arizona where he participated in the excavation of the Hardy archaeological site at Fort Lowell Park from 1977 to 1979. A career change led to a Bachelor of Science in Public Administration and a Master of Science in Education. Although Mitch has been employed in the legal field for over 30 years, he still maintains his passion for archaeology. He has been a longstanding board member of a neighborhood association that helped establish and continues to maintain and preserve an award-winning City of Tucson park dedicated to the rich, ancient Hohokam village below. In addition to his ongoing role as a steward of the site, Mitch has partnered with Old Pueblo Archaeology and the Tohono O’odham Nation to conduct educational programming for children and adults about the early inhabitants in southern Arizona and the need to both preserve and respect all archaeological sites.
Lynda Klasky: Elected to Board 1/16/2015, current term expires 1/2024. Lynda Klasky, originally from Toronto, moved to Arizona as a child for the sunny climate. She traveled to Africa, Asia, South America, Central America, and most of Mexico in pursuit of a lifelong passion for history and archaeology. Her retirement from a 30-year career at the University of Arizona created time to volunteer with the Arizona Site Stewards, Pima Community College Archaeology Centre, Old Pueblo Archaeology Center, Produce on Wheels Without Waste (Pow Wow), Tucson Deep Freeze food and lodging for the homeless, the Tucson Museum of Art Library, and Pima County Library. Lynda also is a docent at the historic San Xavier Mission and an ambassador for Tucson Audubon Society.
Maegan K. Lopez: Elected to Board 5/5/2020; current term expires 1/2023. Maegan Lopez comes from the small community of New Fields, Arizona, on the Tohono O’odham Nation at the edge of the U.S./Mexico boundary. She wrote, “I am passionate about Tohono O’odham lands – understanding how to help preserve and revive traditional agriculture practices, preserve the sacred knowledge, maintain on-going life of our language and traditions that have been held valuable, I am passionate about learning everything I can, as well as sharing my own experiences.” Maegan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Family Studies and Human Development from the University of Arizona, and works fulltime as a teacher aide in the Special Education Department at Tucson’s Ha:sañ Preparatory and Leadership High School (a bicultural public high school designed for Tohono O’odham youth and Native students interested in a college preparatory curriculum), saying she is “honored to be a part of a team of individuals who foster our traditional history alongside contemporary curriculum.” In her spare time she also works as a Gardener’s Assistant for the Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace at Mission Garden in Tucson, noting “I started as a volunteer and began to form a strong connection to this amazing and resilient space. A strong resonance of my own childhood, my personal bond with cultivating plants comes from experiences and memories of my grandpa and his gardens.” For several years prior to her Ha:sañ and Mission Garden work, Maegan worked in the Tohono O’odham Nation’s Health and Human Services Department, providing health education, intervention, and management, and wellness through understanding traditional foods and practices, and working with all ages across the Nation and contributing in many ways to the wellness of the O’odham. Maegan was added to Old Pueblo’s Board of Directors in a May 2020 special election.
Monica T. Prillaman, CPA: Elected to Board 1/27/2004 and 2/3/2017, current term expires 1/2023. Nica Prillaman is self-employed as a Certified Public Accountant providing accounting and tax services for individuals and small businesses. A member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Arizona Society of Certified Public Accountants, Nica has over 25 years of experience in public accounting and 15 additional years in business. She first became involved with Old Pueblo Archaeology Center in 2002 when, through a former employer, she worked with then-Treasurer JoAnn Cowgill to provide accounting and tax services to Old Pueblo. She was first elected to Old Pueblo’s board in 2004 and served as Treasurer from then until 2006. Nica has had limited exposure to anthropology through a course at the University of Arizona and through a tour of the Hopi reservation, but she respects the mission of Old Pueblo Archaeology Center to educate and promote the appreciation of the history of traditional cultures.
A. J. Vonarx: Elected to Board 1/15/2016, current term expires 1/2022. Amy Jo “A J” Vonarx is a preservation archaeologist and science educator, originally from central Pennsylvania. She holds anthropology degrees from Penn State (BA) and the University of Arizona (MA), with a Master’s Degree in Secondary Science Education (MS) from the University of Michigan. She currently works as an on-call forensic mapping and documentation specialist, serving fire and law enforcement agencies in the Southwest. With over 10 years of archaeological survey and excavation experience in Mexico, Guatemala, and the Southwest, her previous employers include the Arizona State Museum, the Drachman Institute for Land and Regional Development, the University of Arizona AMS Radiocarbon Laboratory, and a number of cultural resource firms. As an educator, A J is passionate about experiential education, service-learning, engagement with public lands, and opportunities for cross-generational community building. She has served on the Public Education Committee of the Society for American Archaeology, as Vice President for Membership of the Society for Archaeological Sciences, and as Old Pueblo’s Treasurer.
Patricia Wiedhopf: Elected to Board 1/17/2014, current term expires 1/2023. The retired Special Staff Assistant to former Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall, Pat Wiedhopf actively participates in organizations that create opportunities for women’s growth, leadership, and power; increase women’s participation in the political process; address the changing needs of education; and work to eliminate racism. Pat received her B.A. in Secondary Education with a major in English literature and minor in art from The University of Arizona. She serves on several boards including the Southern Arizona Children’s Advocacy Center, Girl Scouts of Southern Arizona and is president of the Vista Del Rio Residents Association. The Vista Del Rio Cultural Resource Park at the entrance to Pat’s neighborhood was established to ensure archaeological preservation and protection of what is left of a large Rincon-phase Hohokam village inhabited between 1000 and 1150 CE. Support to preserve this site was initiated and spearheaded by the VDRRA’s Board of Directors, who continue to provide ongoing stewardship of the park. Pat was one of the VDRRA board’s several members who received site stewardship training. In 2007 the VDRRA received a $65,000 grant from a portion of the Tohono O’odham Nation gaming revenues to assist with park up-keep, stewardship, and education programs. VDRRA has partnered with Old Pueblo Archaeology Center since then to educate children and adults about the ancient Hohokam who lived at Tucson’s Vista Del Rio archaeological site and elsewhere in southern Arizona. Under the leadership of the VDRRA Board the park received the 2005 Governor’s Heritage Preservation Honor Award, the 2007 Tucson Xeriscape Contest Award, and the 2009 Historic Preservation Certificate from the Tucson-Pima County Historical Commission.
Monica Z. Young: Elected to Board 1/25/2011, current term expires 1/2023. Monica Zappia Young is an Arizona native, having received her B.A. in 1984 and her M.A. in Anthropology in 2010 at The University of Arizona. She works as Curatorial/Museum Specialist in the Office of Ethnohistorical Research and Research Specialist in the Archaeological Records Office at the Arizona State Museum, serves as Secretary/Treasurer on the Board of Directors for the nonprofit Southwestern Mission Research Center, and does administrative outreach for the nonprofit Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace (Mission Garden). Monica received the 2022 Alexander J. Lindsay Jr. Unsung Hero Award from the Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society (AAHS). Her research interests include ethnohistory, historical archaeology, Spanish colonial borderlands, documentary editing, and genealogy. She has been President of Old Pueblo Archaeology Center since January 2014.
Biographical Information
Executive Director Allen Dart, RPA:
Allen Dart, a Registered Professional Archaeologist, earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees in Anthropology from the University of New Mexico and the University of Arizona, respectively. From 1975 to 2019 Al was employed as a professional archaeologist with the Arizona State Museum (University of Arizona), the Museum of New Mexico, Pima Community College, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, the US Bureau of Indian Affairs, private cultural resources consulting firms, and Old Pueblo Archaeology Center. He cofounded Old Pueblo in 1993 with Carolyn O’Bagy Davis and Marc Severson, was appointed full-time Executive Director when the Board of Directors was formed on January 11, 1994, and since 2008 has volunteered his time as Old Pueblo’s Executive Director for a salary of $1 per year. Al serves on the nonprofit Southwestern Mission Research Center’s Board of Directors and is a member of Old Pueblo Archaeology Center (charter member) and the Albuquerque Archaeological Society, Archaeological Conservancy, Archaeology Southwest, Arizona Archaeological and Historical Society (AAHS; life member), Arizona Archaeological Council, Arizona Archaeological Society (AAS), Arizona State Museum (charter member), Friends of Pueblo Grande Museum, Grant County (NM) Archaeological Society, New Mexico Archaeological Council, Pinal County (AZ) Historical Society (life member), Register of Professional Archaeologists, Society for American Archaeology, and Texas Archeological Society. He has served as a presenter for the Arizona Humanities AZ Speaks program since 1997 and has received the AAS Professional Archaeologist of the Year Award, the AAHS Victor R. Stoner Award, the Arizona Governor’s Archaeology Advisory Commission Award in Public Archaeology, and other honors for his efforts to bring archaeology and history to the public.
Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s Mission, Internal Revenue Service Status, and Corporate Status
Old Pueblo Archaeology Center’s mission is to educate children and adults to understand and appreciate archaeology and other cultures, to foster the preservation of archaeological and historical sites, and to develop a lifelong concern for the importance of nonrenewable resources and traditional cultures. Old Pueblo is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization incorporated in the State of Arizona.