Where does one start their story if not from the beginning? My personal history has wildly influenced my identity, my academic path, and my creative endeavors. From a childhood steeped in a highly patriarchal religion, to an early marriage at 17, the joys and sorrows of motherhood with three children, one of whom I lost, to navigating a cancer diagnosis and a life-altering divorce just as the pandemic unfolded—each of these experiences has carved a part of who I am. Etched me like wind and rain on porous stone. Yet, to focus our discussion, I’ll begin with my academic career.

With an interest in journalism and social change, I began my studies at MSU Billings. In 2015, I completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Public Relations, immersing myself in the roles of media in wartime, its profound impacts on public perception, and the complex interplay of public dialogue. This stage refined my abilities in strategic communication and analytical thinking, paving my way towards a deeper engagement with anthropology.

As the pandemic introduced global instability, my personal life mirrored this turmoil with a divorce after three decades and a battle with compromised health. I found solace and insight in academia, earning a Master’s Degree in Anthropology and Social Change from the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS) in 2022.

In my master’s research, I focused on the interconnected narratives of witches, women, and wolves—groups often sidelined or attacked under the pretext of maintaining social order and purity. My investigations revealed that fears of uncontrollable femininity and the natural world are common threads in the narratives that justify their persecution. These insights shed light on the broader patterns of aggression that enforce control over those considered ‘other’ by the dominant societal structures.

Exploring through the prisms of anarchist and radical anthropology, I examined how cultural norms and institutional behaviors maintain disparities, and I looked at communities that strive to dismantle and redistribute power. My exploration celebrated the power of community support, collective effort, and ecological mindfulness—foundations for a sustainable future. Anthropology, for me, is not just an academic discipline but a tool for real-world impact and societal transformation.

These influential years have shaped my current PhD research at CIIS, where I peer through a microscope at the intricate relationships between humans and the broader ecological world. My research now centers on the SARS-CoV-2 virus and the COVID-19 pandemic, investigating entities that blur the lines between life and non-life, and how the blend of the tangible and the invisible molds our understanding of the world. I am particularly fascinated by thresholds and margins, the edge-spaces, areas where resilience is not merely reactive but a characteristic of dynamic systems and organisms adapting to ongoing changes.

In conjunction with my studies, I founded MoonGather Women’s Circles in 2015, inspired to create a forum where women can come together to support, heal, and empower one another. This initiative merges theoretical exploration with practical experience, nurturing a community dedicated to comprehensive wellness and collective advancement.