I've taught and lectured on evolutionary biology, social networks, anthropology, sustainability and communication for groups ranging from junior high school students to advanced university and professional audiences. I've studied animal behavior, evolutionary biology, tropical ecology, and social networks, and I'm actively involved with groups that focus on applied complexity science and the future of technology and society. I'm especially interested in experiential and team-based education. I currently teach Anthropology courses (including "Surviving the Future: The (Re)Emergence of Sustainable Cultures") and supervise students working on sustainability assessment projects at Cabrillo College.
My graduate research centered on the evolution of cooperation, social learning, culture and the origins of technology through the study of non-human primates. I studied Bonobos at the Language Research Center and in a rainforest in Congo (Zaire) and orangutans in the Sumatran rainforests. My Ph.D. dissertation (Duke University, 2004) was on orangutan sociality and the question of orangutan cultures. I am currently researching and writing a book on culture change, eco-literacy and sustainability.
In 2005-2006, I was involved in the replication project for the Digital Bridge Academy (http://www.cabrillo.edu/academics/wdba/replication/). In this work, I learned more about experiential and team-based education and the experience of at-risk students in community colleges. I continue to work occasionally as an eco-literacy consultant with Emergent Systems (http://www.emergentsystems.com).
