December 2011 Meeting

Fieldwork Inside-Out: A Strategy for Making the Most of Your Professional Opportunities

Sumner School, 7:00 pm

Dinner, Beacon Bar and Grill, 5:30 pm

Speakers:  Ruth Sando and Lucy Laufe

Description:

The economy poses unique challenges to people starting their career, desiring to make a change or develop their career to the next level.  Anthropologists, who have never been highly sought after, have additional hurdles to overcome.  If you are applying for scholarships or are job hunting, learn about approaches and tools to make yourself more successful.  This presentation will help you to frame your training in a way that shows its value to others, and will be followed by an opportunity to ask questions related to your situation.  As opportunities become fewer and more competitive, you need to create a strategy for presenting yourself effectively for scholarships, college and graduate school applications, and jobs.  Find out how to use the tools of your discipline to maximize your success.

Speakers:

Ruth Sando is a cultural anthropologist with 20 years of professional experience in private industry.  She is principal and owner of Sando and Associates, a consulting firm working with clients in a variety of private, public and non-profit organizations.  Her expertise includes strategic research and direction in areas such as consumer research, market assessments and evaluation.  Prior to founding Sando and Associates in 2003, she worked in several large financial service firms, where she conducted organization and industry analysis.  Earlier in her career, she also worked in Poland, Hungary, Russia and Greece providing technical assistance under USAID and World Bank contracts in the areas of housing and finance.

Dr Sando earned a B.A. in anthropology from The George Washington University, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in anthropology from The University of Hawaii. For seven years she was an adjunct faculty member in the School of Public Policy at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA where she taught qualitative research methods.

Lucy Laufe has been a Professor of Anthropology and Sociology at Montgomery College for 19 years.  She has served in numerous functions involving scholarships and honor societies, including faculty advisor to the Germantown campus chapter of Phi Theta Kappa, the 2-year college honor society; Germantown campus Honors Coordinator; and college-wide Honors Director. Dr. Laufe has mentored many students for prestigious scholarships and was one of three mentors in the country to have two winners of the Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship in 2011.  She has served as a scholarship reader for the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation and the Phi Theta Kappa Hites Foundation Scholarship. She is also a member of the Executive Board of the Maryland Collegiate Honors Council, and Co-Chair of the Major Scholarship Preparation Committee of the National Collegiate Honors Council.

Dr Laufe earned a B.A. from Grinnell College and M.A. from Northwestern University, both in anthropology.  She also has a Graduate Certificate in Latin American Studies and a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Pittsburgh. She has conducted anthropological research in Costa Rica and Mexico. She has led travel study programs for students, to Colombia, to Oaxaca, and to Cambridge University’s International Summer School.

How to get there:  The Sumner School is located at 1201 17th St NW (corner of 17th St and M St NW).  The entrance to the meeting area is on 17th St under the black metal stairway. Directions from Metro Red Line: From Farragut North station, take either L St exit, walk one block east to 17th St, turn left and walk 2 blocks north.

Dinner:  5:30 pm at the Beacon Bar & Grill (one block north of Sumner School).  All are welcome.

How to get there:  The Beacon Bar & Grill is in the Beacon Hotel located at 1615 Rhode Island Ave NW (corner of Rhode Island and 17th St).  Directions from Metro Red Line: From DuPont Circle station, take the south/P St exit, then walk 2 blocks southeast on Massachusetts Ave to 17th St. Cross 17th St and turn right (south) for two short blocks. From Farragut North station, take either L St exit, walk one block east to 17th St, turn left and walk 3 blocks north.