Our Team

President

Sean decided to become an Archaeologist when he was six years old, and contrary to his mother’s hope that he become a famous violinist, has not wavered from that lifetime goal. Sean received both his Master’s degree and Ph.D. from the Archaeology Department at the University of Calgary, and spent several seasons in the country of Belize researching the civilization of the Ancient Maya. Since coming to Bison in the early 1990s, Sean has worked in virtually every role in the company, from field and lab work, to administration, to Project Management. As the President of Bison since 2009, Sean’s primary role is to ensure an efficient, cost-effective, and stress-free approval process for each and every client. Sean is also passionate about hiking, gardening, astronomy, and international travel. He makes Calgary his home, together with his wife Laura and many children.

Managing Partner, Senior Project Archaeologist

During her undergraduate days, Michelle was working as a summer student in Rocky Mountain House when she happened upon an archaeology article about Franklin’s lost expedition. “Archaeology is a career option?” was her first thought. That September Michelle registered in all the Archaeology courses she could, and never looked back. Michelle is now one of the Managing Partners at Bison, the Safety Lead, HR manager, and CFO. Michelle is also a Senior Project Archaeologist, and the Indigenous Consultation and Engagement Lead. When she isn’t hiking through the boreal forest with a shovel and screen, you’ll find Michelle training for another half marathon, running dogs and spending time with her family.

Managing Partner, Senior Project Archaeologist

Tommy has almost 30 years of archaeological experience in Western Canada, the U.S. Midwest and Appalachia. He is familiar with the pre-contact cultural areas of the Boreal Forest, Northern High Plains and the Eastern Woodlands. Additional international experience includes a mortuary research project around Lake Baikal, Siberia, and artifact preservation workshops taught to the Shui and Miao ethnic minority groups in Guizhou Province, China, for the Canadian International Development Agency. Tommy is a Managing Partner, Senior Project Archaeologist, and Operations and Collections Manager for Bison.  In his free time, Tommy is an avid hiker and creative writer. He is an active member of the Calgary Search and Rescue Association, the Archaeological Society of Alberta, and the Calgary Chinese Cultural Centre.

Admin and Office Manager, Health and Safety Rep

Sarah wears several hats at Bison, balancing client communication, project administration, and government applications along with OH&S administrative duties, a Health & Safety Representative role, and report editing. Being a great communicator with a background in customer service led to a natural transition into front end client communication and reception, while her archaeological background has proved to be invaluable for assessing projects for archaeological potential when submitting applications for governmental review. Sarah’s academic background began at the University of Calgary where she completed a BFA in Art History, minoring in Archaeology. She then moved to the Netherlands to complete a Masters in Archaeology at Leiden University.  She has been an administrator at Bison since 2013, nearly missing her first day at work due to the historic 2013 floods. When she’s not at work, Sarah enjoys reading, hiking, and spending quality time with her husband Willem and dog Luna.

Senior Project Archaeologist

Sean began his career as an archaeologist when he started his Bachelor’s degree in Archaeology at the University of Calgary in 2004. As an undergraduate, Sean enrolled in the co-op program and worked for Parks Canada, and then began working in the Cultural Resource Management industry in 2005. Sean went on to pursue a Master’s degree at the University of Calgary where he studied housepits in the Canadian Arctic. Sean has been a permit-holding archaeologist at Bison since 2012, where he specializes in large project coordination, household archaeology, lithic analysis, and macro artifact photography. When he isn’t at work you can find Sean at home with his family, or in the woodshop.

Senior Project Archaeologist

Taylor has been working in the CRM industry for 18 years, with extensive experience in all regions of Alberta and some limited work in BC, Saskatchewan, and the Northwest Territories. His areas of specialization include GIS mapping and stone feature visualization, lithic reduction analysis, and a recent foray into pre-contact ceramic analysis. If not in the field or writing reports, you will probably find Taylor in the mountains with his wife Meg, and dog Camina. He enjoys hiking, climbing, fishing, skiing, and all things outdoors. As a self-proclaimed “gear head”, if you are looking for the right tool for an unusual job, he probably has something that can help you out.

Archaeological Technologist

Stephen has worked in the cultural resource management industry since 1995, in a variety of roles ranging from field archaeologist to program manager, with experience primarily in the Midwest US and western Canada. His professional interest in archaeological data has guided his work throughout his career in the use of such digital tools as Geographic Information Systems, databases, and scripting languages. In his current position, he leverages this experience to provide vital data support to office, field, and lab through all the stages of archaeological work. He currently lives in a library with a cat and a bicycle.