ABOUT us
Established in 2005, the Australian Network of Student Anthropologists (ANSA) is an initiative of anthropology students and early career researchers. We aim to share knowledge, experience, and support amongst student and early career anthropologists by fostering a community of people who have shared interests.
WE AIM TO
Provide a voice for student interests and encourage student participation within the AAS (Australian Anthropological Society), with specific attention paid to the needs of postgraduate students enrolled at Australian Universities.
Provide resources and information for student and early career research anthropologists.
Foster a welcoming sense of community between students and researchers of shared interest.
Get to know the team!
ANSA Executive — 2025
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CHAIRPERSON (she/her)
Hi, I’m Cindy and I’m a PhD candidate and I’m deeply interested in ritual creativity and the ways we adapt and tinker with rites, particularly the end-of-life gatherings known as living wakes (where the dying host their own funerals before their death). I’m from South Africa and have been living in Melbourne (on and off) for 13 years now. Throughout a career in travel, HR, brand development, as well as founding and running a small business – anthropology never stopped being a nurtured light in my life that I’m now able to fuel, fan and dedicate myself to. I am also a Graduate Research Academic Associate and work within the Critical Ethnography Lab, and Death Tech Research Team. I have found great support and inspiration in the ANSA community and look forward to being part of the exec again this year.
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SECRETARY (she/her)
My name is María Paula Hernández Ruiz and I’m a PhD candidate at La Trobe University. My background in anthropology and development studies has led me to investigate the social production of quantitative gender data. From my professional background, I am passionate about many things, including food sovereignty, migration, postcolonial studies, and critical disability studies, but right now I’m most interested in the critical studies of science and technology, and particularly statistics used in international development. After finishing my ethnographic fieldwork at the end of last year, I am now in my writing period. I look forward to serve as this year’s secretary for ANSA and to the friendships, collaborations and projects that we can all build together in this space!
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WEB & MEDIA OFFICER (she/her)
Hi! I’m Lara, and I just finished my Bachelor of Arts majoring in anthropology at the University of Melbourne. I started my degree planning to major in literature or philosophy, but after doing one anthro subject I was completely hooked. I’m very interested in more-than-human worlds, Indigenous cosmologies, conservation, international human rights law, advocacy and journalism. I grew up in Townsville, North Queensland and moved to Melbourne for university, which I have loved - except for in winter. I am currently working as a research assistant investigating how the ocean is framed in international governance regimes, and also what investment opportunities exist to support First Nations landowners care for Country. I am super excited to be part of the ANSA exec this year and to become a part of this ever-growing community!
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The ANSA Executive is responsible for overseeing ANSA’s activities and funding. We organise workshops and activities, including events at the annual AAS conference, and act as liaisons between local universities and the AAS.
The chairperson acts as a postgraduate representative in the AAS Executive committee (in a non-voting capacity) and reports on ANSA plans, vision, and activities during their quarterly meetings. They also oversee incoming emails and administer grants and scholarships. The chairperson is the main liaison with conference organisers as well.
The secretary liaises with the ANSA Committee, made up of the local university representatives, oversees membership administration, and organises monthly meetings, distributing agendas and taking minutes. The secretary also supports the chairperson with the administration of grants and general communication.
The Web Officer is responsible for everything related to ANSA advertising and social media. They manage the website, organise the visual anthropology competition, and send out our monthly newsletter.
We aim to distribute the workload evenly amongst the executive. We generally spend a few hours a week on our ANSA tasks, running our monthly (open) executive meetings where we discuss and plan events, and we make sure that no email in the ANSA mailbox remains unanswered.
In appreciation of our work, the AAS covers our AAS Membership for the year, and financially supports our conference attendance so we can run our conference events.
Each year a new executive is elected at the AGM. Interested in taking on a role on the Exec? Let us know!
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2024
Chairperson: Nikki Manolakis
Secretary: Cindy Stocken
Web Officer: Pallavi Borkar2023
Chairperson: Jerrold Cuperus
Secretary: Fergus Boyd
Web Officer: Nikki Manolakis2022
Chairperson: Ivan Levant
Secretary: Ainslee Hooper
Web Officer: Elizabeth Fewster2021
Chairperson: Tyler Riordan
Secretary: Sarah Haggar
Web Officer: Catherine West2020
Chairperson: Hanne Worsoe
Secretary: Bronwyn Shepard
Web Officer: Leela Ford2019
Chairperson: Hanna Jagtenberg
Secretary: Alessandra Prunotto/Aqua Hastings
Web Officer: Alice Leggett/Jacob Malouf-Grice
Australian anthropological Society
ANSA receives funding from the AAS, the Australian Anthropological Society. During the Annual AAS conference, ANSA organises several panels and social events. Our goal is to connect students and early-career researchers to established researchers and professionals in the field of anthropology. If you are both an AAS Affiliate, as well as a Member of ANSA, you are eligible to apply for the AAS/ANSA Post-graduate Travel Grant or the Robyn Wood Travel Grant or to enter in the Visual Ethnography competition or any other ANSA competitions that receive AAS funding.
