Recent and Upcoming  Professional & Public Talks 

“Layers of Encounter: Pilgrimage, Memory, and Meaning in the Colorado Desert,” Sacred Journeys 13th Global Conference, Laval University, Quebec City. July 2026.

“Encountering Early Christianity: Centering the Visual Arts in the Teaching of Christianity in Late Antiquity and the Early Medieval World (ca. 100–600)” National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan, June 2026.

“General Education as a Pathway for Global Encounter, Community Engagement, and International Collaboration.” National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei, Taiwan, June 2026.

‘The Only Other Things is Nothing:’ Survival and Beauty in the Colorado Desert” in From Glory… to Grave?:  “Dead Cities” throughout Time and Space Symposium. June 28, 2025.

“‘Bring Us Back:’ Survival and Resilience in the California Desert.” A Water’s History of the United States Conference. Middelburg, The Netherlands, May 21-23, 2025.

“Topography, Water, and History in the Colorado Desert Region” Anza Borrego Foundation Teacher Symposium (High School Teachers). Borrego Springs, CA. May 2-4, 2025.

“Water and Power in Global Antiquity.” College of Wooster, Dept. of Classics,  April 24, 2025..

“A Cultural History of the Colorado Desert Region,” Anza Borrego Foundation Teacher Symposium (Middle School Teachers). Borrego Springs, CA. , April 11 – 13.

“A Colorado Desert Educational Collaborative,” Mapping New California Histories, UC Irvine, January 24, 2025.

“Encountering the Sacred in the Colorado Desert,” in Experiential Learning in Environmental History: Place-Based Pedagogy session at the American Society for Environmental History Annual Conference.  Denver, CO.  April, 2024. 

“The Sacred Present and the Protest of Memory,” in the Imperial Valley Desert Museum’s “Evening with an Expert” Series, April 20, 2024.

“A Rationale for Teaching Global Antiquity to Contemporary Students:  Reflections from a General Education Program at UC San Diego,” in (Re)envisioning Ancient Worlds, UC system workshop, Institute for Global Antiquity. UC Los Angeles, December 5-6, 2023.

“Memory and the Sacred in the Colorado Desert.” Anza Borrego Foundation. Public Talk Series. August 31, 2023.

“Why I teach Athanasius’ Life of St. Anthony.” Revelle College’s Why I Teach Series. UC San Diego. May 31, 2023.

“Approaching Camphill through a Critical Lens: Dialogues and Intersections,” Camphill Research Symposium, Glenmoore, PA. Nov. 10, 2022.

Commentator and Chair, “Inspectors, Assessors, and Protectors:  A Global Lens at the Overlooked.” Sixteenth Century Society and Conference.  San Diego.  October 30, 2021.

“Desert in World History.”  American Historical Association Annual Conference, sponsored by the World History Association. Seattle.  January, 2021.

“Ancient Foundations,” in a 5-course series entitled “Environmental Humanities: Wildness, Wilderness, and the Human Experience.”   Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. UC San Diego.  April 2, 2020,

“Water and Forest,” in a 5-course series entitled “Environmental Humanities: Wildness, Wilderness, and the Human Experience.”   Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. UC San Diego.  April 16, 2020.

“Desert and Mountain,” in a 5-course series entitled “Environmental Humanities: Wildness, Wilderness, and the Human Experience.”   Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. UC San Diego. April 30, 2020.

“Fossil Fuel Revolution to the Birth of Ecological Ethics,” in a 5-course series entitled “Environmental Humanities: Wildness, Wilderness, and the Human Experience.”   Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. UC San Diego. May 14, 2020.

“Environmental Humanities:  Present and Future,” in a 5-course series entitled “Environmental Humanities: Wildness, Wilderness, and the Human Experience.”   Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. UC San Diego. May 28, 2020.

“Forest, Flood, and the Future (and Past) of Civilization,” Orange County Office of Education, Costa Mesa, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2020.

“Confessions of an Environmental Illiterate:  Wandering at the Juncture of World History and Environmental Humanities.” World History Association presentation at the American Historical Association Annual Conference.  New York City.  Jan. 4, 2020.

“Forest, Flood, and the Future (and Past) of Civilization,” San Diego County Office of Education, San Diego.  Oct. 29, 2019.

“Forest, Flood, and the Future (and Past) of Civilization,” Imperial County Office of Education, El Centro, CA. Oct. 22, 2019.

“Engaging World History through Service Learning.” American Historical Association.  Annual Conference.  Chicago.  Jan. 4, 2019.  

“Disability and Human Rights: Using academic coursework to increase Inclusion and understanding.” with Joanna Boval.  Equity & Excellence: Access in Higher Education (AHEAD) Annual Conference, Albuquerque, NM. July 16-20, 2018.

“The Fundamental Resource: Water and Civilization.” Eco Expo.  Chula Vista Public Library.  Chula Vista, CA. May 24, 2018.

“Water and Civilization: Integrating Water into Social Studies Curricula.” California Conference on Social Studies.  San Diego.  March 28, 2018.

“Water and Civilization.”  Social Studies Trainings.  San Diego Unified School District.   San Diego.  Middle School Teachers, Nov. 3, 2017.  High School Teachers, Nov. 16, 2017.

“Water and Civilization.”  Teacher Training – “Refugee Education and Empowerment.” Changemakers Conference. UC San Diego.  October 25, 2017.

“Teaching World History, Abroad.  World History Global Seminars.” World History Association Annual Conference.  June 23, 2017.  Boston, MA.

“Integrating Water and the Humanities:  Social Studies and World History Teacher Trainings in Secondary and Higher Education.”  International Water History Association.  Annual Conference.   Grand Rapids, MI.   June 15, 2017.

“Disability and Undergraduate Education: Promoting Inclusion and Understanding through General Education and Service Learning” with Lisa Porter, Professor of Theatre and Dance, and Joanna Boval, Director of the Office for Students with Disabilities.    UC San Diego. April 19, 2017.

“The Glory of Byzantium: Reflections on the Byzantine Empire.”  Five-Session Master Class. Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. UC San Diego. May – June 2017. May 10: The Making of Byzantium; May 17: The Age of Justinian; May 24: The Imperial Centuries; May 31: Byzantium in the Age of the Crusades; June 7: From Byzantine to Ottoman:  Interpreting 1453.