I was born in Quito Ecuador; obtained a Licenciatura in Archaeology at the Escuela Superior Politecnica del Litoral. In 1985 entered the PhD program in Anthropology at SMU. As a graduate student worked as Laboratory Instructor at the Grasshoper Archaeological Field School in Arizona. Upon graduation I worked in Egypt and Argentina and then immigrated to the United States where I was hired in BARA-UA. At BARA I have worked with Native American tribes in the Southwest, Great Basin, Great Lakes, Great Plains, and Columbia Plateau. My projects integrate archaeology, ethnohistory, and ethnography in an effort to support cultural preservation and revitalization. My projects are collaborative with tribal members as partners in research, outreach, and publication of scholarly research.