Katherine Harris

Working in my capacity as an Anthropological researcher for the University of South Florida's African American Burial Ground Project, I have had the opportunity to engage directly with individuals and experts in communities of interest, as well as broaden my skill set as a historical researcher. The scope of this role includes:

• conducting in person interviews with informants
• locating and working with experts to build accurate narratives based on empirical research
• conducting surveys and providing accurate documentation of field sites
• generating field reports and follow-up recommendations for further action

As a subsidiary of the Kellogg Foundation, the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Foundation takes pride in building community bridges through fostering healthy and constructive communication between community leaders, community organizers, and community members. This affords me the unique opportunity to work with individuals across the greater Tampa Bay area, at all levels or governance and organization. To support the Foundation in accomplishing these goals I attend to the organization's administrative duties, which include:

• maintaining personnel and community partner records
• updating internal databases and supporting document management
• organizing workflow for committees
• coordinating meetings and events for Foundation
• record keeping
• setting agendas for upcoming programs
• facilitating continued communications with all branches of the organization and their partners

As an academic, my research interests comprise a wide range of behavior-centered and relational fields of study within the larger discipline of Anthropology and Psychology. These interests are largely concerned with the emotional, cultural, environmental, political, and legal contexts surrounding human conflict. As a researcher, I have been fortunate to be able to pursue these interests through independently undertaken projects, including:

• anthropological case studies of landmark criminal trials
• theoretical presentations on large-scale Cultures of Conflict and Genocide
• environmental hardships and human migrational patterns
• the cultural, political, and economic significance of contra-legal economies
• conflict theory development

As an Intern Investigator, I assisted the the primary investigators in case management and work flow duties including:

• accurate record keeping
• archival research
• genealogical research
• maintaining up-to-date data bases
• data upload and retrieval from Sharepoint and STAC
• minute-taking for meetings and phone calls
• investigation lead generation
• off-site investigation

During this time, I gained valuable insight into the role of primary investigators in the Collateral Appeals process, as well as the protocols and expectations under which they operate on a day to day basis. I also gained the skills necessary to navigate industry standard file sharing and archival programs.