ARA Staff
Dean Knight, Managing Principal
Dean serves as both the Managing Principal of Archaeological Research Associates Ltd. and as a Professor Emeritus of Archaeology at Wilfrid Laurier University. In a career spanning more than 40 years, he has taught and inspired hundreds of students, served as President of both the Canadian Archaeological Association (CAA) and the Eastern States Archaeological Federation (ESAF), and supervised the 25-year-long excavation of the Ball Site, the most significant Iroquoian site in north-eastern North America. Dean holds a P level archaeological licence with the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sport.
Paul Racher, Vice-President, Operations
Aside from his management duties at ARA, Paul teaches Cultural Resource Management at Wilfrid Laurier University. He has a B.A. in Prehistoric Archaeology from Wilfrid Laurier University and an M.A. in anthropology from McMaster University. He began his career as a heritage professional in 1986. Over the two and a half decades since, he has overseen the completion of several hundred archaeological and cultural heritage contracts. Paul is a professional member of the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals (CAHP), the Canadian Archaeological Association (CAA), and the Ontario Archaeological Association (OAS). Paul holds a P level archaeological licence with the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sport.
Sarah Bolstridge, Laboratory Assistant
Sarah graduated with distinction from Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) in 2011 with an Honours BA in North American Archaeology. She has been excavating in Ontario for five years and has traveled to Bermuda to work as part of a joint project between WLU and The College of William and Mary in Virginia. She recently was a supervisor for WLU's field school at the Ruthven Park National Historic Site. Sarah is looking to continue her education in the near future by obtaining her master's degree in historical archaeology, with a focus on archaeology in urban settings.
Kathryn (Katie) Brightwell, Cartography and GIS
Katie began her career in archaeology as a member of an excavation crew in 2005, later serving as a Teaching Assistant at the Baumann Site Field School in 2007. After graduating from Wilfrid Laurier University in 2008 with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in North American Prehistoric Archaeology she attended Niagara College in 2011, earning a Post-Graduate Diploma in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Geospatial Management. Katie is looking forward to applying GIS technologies to cultural heritage resource projects, and archaeological excavations.
Harley Brown, Field Operations Manager
Harley has a B.A. in Historical/Industrial Archaeology from Wilfrid Laurier University. With over 10 years experience in field archaeology he has worked across Ontario, Newfoundland, and Bermuda. He is our resident field methods expert and a true guru with GIS rover equipment. Harley is a member of the Ontario Archaeological Association (OAS) and holds an R level archaeological Licence with the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sport.
Andrea Carswell, Laboratory Manager
Andrea graduated in 2009 from Trent University with an Honours B.A. in Anthropology with an emphasis in Archaeology. Her passion for the subject
led her to an excavation in South America and a Post Graduate Diploma in
Collections Conservation and Management from Fleming College. During her
studies she was involved in various community heritage projects. She spent
over a year working and volunteering in the Conservation Laboratory at the
Waterloo Region Museum. She is a member of the Canadian Museum Association
(CMA), the Ontario Museum Association (OMA), and the Canadian Archaeological
Association (CAA).
Christina Gohm, Project Manager
Christina received her Honours B.A. in Archaeology in 2002 from Wilfrid Laurier University,. That same year, she began working for ARA, first as regular field crew but soon as a crew supervisor. By the end of the year she had become so indispensable that she was hired on as permanent staff. Since then she has risen steadily in the company, moving from Field Director to Field Operations Manager to Project Manager. Christina is a member of the Ontario Archaeological Association (OAS) and holds an R level archaeological licence with the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sport.
Christopher J. Gohm, Deliverables Manager
Christopher plays a key role in the production (both research and writing) of all of our archaeological reports. In addition to his duties at ARA, he teaches sessional courses in Near Eastern archaeology and history at Wilfrid Laurier University; is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Toronto, and supervises excavations at Khirbat al-Mudayna ath-Thamad in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. He received a B.A. from Wilfrid Laurier University in 2000, and an M.A. from University of Toronto in 2002. His areas of specialization include the archaeology of Jordan, iron metallurgy, copper metallurgy and radiocarbon dating, and his most recent publication, Developmental Trends in Chalcolithic Copper Metallurgy: A Radiometric Perspective, can be found in Culture, Chronology and the Chalcolithic: Theory and Transition (Oxbow 2011). Chris is a member of the American Schools of Oriental Research (ASOR).
Caitlin Hanson, Technical Writer and Assistant Project Manager
Originally from Edmonton, Alberta, Caitlin earned her B.A. (Hon) at the University of Victoria in 2006 studying anthropology and film. She holds an M.A. in Archaeology from the University of Western Ontario, where her research focused on the Early Paleo-Indian occupation of southern Ontario. Caitlin also has a Bachelor of Journalism (B.J.) from the University of King's College in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In her spare time, Caitlin is a freelance writer and volunteers at the Kitchener-Waterloo Humane Society.
Patrick Hoskins, Project Manager
Patrick received his Honours B.A. in Archaeology in 2007 from Wilfrid Laurier University. In 2011, he completed his Anthropology M.A. degree at Trent University where his thesis focussed on Late Woodland settlement patterns in Ontario. Patrick began working at ARA in 2005 as a member of the field crew. He was a field supervisor for the Baumann Field School run by WLU in 2007. He has been a part of ARA's full-time staff since 2009. He is currently working on obtaining his Professional Archaeological Licence.
Stephanie MacLeod, Admin and Human Resources Coordinator
Stephanie joined us 4 years ago and brings more than 15 years of experience in her field. In her position at ARA, she supervises all accounting, bookkeeping, human resources, and policy-related activities. Her efforts to guide a motley collection of academics through the intricacies of the business world are what keeps us in business.
Amanda Wong, Research Coordinator
Amanda has a B.A. in Anthropology and Prehistoric Archaeology from Wilfrid Laurier University. She began her career as a field archaeologist in 2003. Amanda is a member of the Ontario Archaeological Association (OAS).
