President - Lisa Sonnenburg
Lisa has been studying submerged archaeological landscapes in the Great Lakes since 2004 and has managed to work on projects related to four of the five Great Lakes. Her goal in the next five years is to add the last Great Lake (Michigan) to the list. She first became interested in submerged landscapes during her undergraduate degree at Lakehead University, when she found out that a stone tool was recovered off the coast of Haida Gwaii. This led to her learning about fluctuating global water levels, deglaciation, and isostatic rebound, and the rest as they say, is history. She was fortunate to pursue submerged landscape archaeology research during her graduate degrees at McMaster University, working on the Rideau Canal and Rice Lake. She then received a SSHRC Postdoctoral fellowship which enabled her to work with Dr. John O’Shea on submerged caribou hunting structures in Lake Huron. She then spent five years at Stantec Consulting as a project archaeologist and research coordinator before joining Parks Canada in 2020.
Currently, Lisa is the Cultural Resource Management Advisor for Lake Superior National Marine Conservation Area and is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Anthropology at Lakehead University. She first fell in love with Lake Superior’s north shore in a past life as a figure skating instructor over 25 years ago, and is very happy to be back living and working on this beautiful landscape on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe people.
As a member of the Ontario Maritime Heritage Committee and Save Ontario Shipwrecks, Lisa is hoping to work towards more collaborations between those working in the maritime and terrestrial realms of archaeology as she learns more in her role as President. She currently lives in Nipigon with her partner Ken and two cats, Emmett and Kellie.
Past President - Jill Taylor Hollings
Currently, Jill is an adjunct professor and postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Anthropology at Lakehead University, as part of the Six Seasons of the Asiniskaw Ithiniwak SSHRC partnership grant project centred in Manitoba Rocky Cree communities and the University of Winnipeg. Since moving to NW Ontario in 2001, she has been working for Lakehead in different capacities and has been on the OAS Thunder Bay Chapter executive since 2007.
Jill is passionate about studying, protecting, and promoting Canada’s heritage. Her PhD (University of Alberta, 2017) focused on archaeological research with Lac Seul, Little Grand Rapids, and Pikangikum Anishinaabe communities and Ontario Parks personnel along the Miskweyaabiziibee (Bloodvein River) in Woodland Caribou Provincial Park, which is now part of the Pimachiowin Aki UNESCO World Heritage site. She also completed a Masters of Arts at the University of Saskatchewan and Bachelor of Arts Honours at Brandon University in Archaeology. Her research interests include precontact pottery, Indigenous archaeology, and lithic raw material studies. She has over 25 years of academic, CRM, and museum experience in four Canadian provinces and Tasmania.
When not working, Jill enjoys raising champion Standard Long-haired Dachshunds and replicating traditional crafts such as pottery, textiles, and beading. Her other passion is drivable artifacts, as she owns a rare 1969 Acadian 350 SS car. She is married to Peter Hollings, who is a geology professor at Lakehead University. Jill has a mixed Euro-Canadian and Indigenous background, originally hailing from southern Manitoba.
President-Elect - Amanda Black
Amanda has always been fascinated by history and exploration of the past. Her initial interest in archaeology was sparked in 2006 when she attended a field school at the Max One-Onti Gros-Louis site, BeGv-3 (Formally known as Thomson-Walker site). Amanda found the experience so rewarding that she returned as a teacher’s assistant in 2008, working at the Ellery site, BdGx-8.
Amanda’s engagement with the OAS began during her undergraduate studies at Laurentian University, where she attended her first Symposium in 2006. She continued her involvement by volunteering for the 2009 Symposium in Killarney, working the registration desk. In 2011, Amanda became President of the Windsor Chapter, a position she held until 2024. Throughout her tenure, she organized chapter meetings and helped coordinate three symposiums. Amanda was a strong advocate for local archaeology, participating in meetings with the City of Windsor Heritage Planner and fostering engagement with Indigenous Communities. One of Amanda’s favourite aspects of her archaeological work is participating in public archaeology and giving presentations to the public, particularly grade school and high school students, opportunities she found through her volunteer work with the Windsor Chapter. In 2022 Amanda was the recipient of the Charles and Ella Garrad Award for Outstanding Service, an award given in recognition of the continuing long-term support and active participation of OAS members.
Amanda began her career in Cultural Resource Management in 2009 as a field technician on the Windsor Essex Parkway Project. She obtained her Applied Research Archaeological License in 2011. Since then, Amanda has served as an archaeological field director for several firms involved in large-scale projects in the Windsor-Essex area. She contributed to the excavation and documentation of prominent archaeological sites in the region. Amanda has worked at TMHC for the last several years as a field director and has recently started a full-time position as Specialist -Archaeology
Outside of her professional life, Amanda enjoys spending time outdoors, regularly visiting Point Pelee National Park and camping. For years she has attempted gardening, mostly able to keep alive the easiest houseplants. She is known to bake delicious deserts for her friends and family, and of course for her crew!
Treasurer - Than Homerski
Than received their BSc (Honours Science, 2021) and MA (Public Issues Anthropology, 2022) from the University of Waterloo. Their thesis was focused on the use of advances in consumer technology to aid in the representation of diverse voices in bioarchaeological research. From then on, they have been an active advocate of archaeological education. They recently coordinated a national outreach campaign with FIRST Robotics Canada and the OAS to teach elementary school students about archaeology and aid them in developing technological innovations in the field. They are continuing this volunteer partnership with FIRST to mentor school students in STEM education.
Than previously worked at the Bank of Montreal as a Personal Banking Associate, and BMO Investments Inc. as a Mutual Funds Representative. There they had the opportunity to work with businesses of all sizes to assess and recommend solutions to their financial needs. Than looks forward to bringing their fiscal experience and insight to the OAS as its new Treasurer.
Than has now returned to Ontario CRM as a Field Technician with TMHC Inc. to continue their passion for learning and understanding our shared history.
Director of Education - Penny Young
Penny is currently a Senior Cultural Heritage Specialist at Archaeological Research Associates Ltd. She has been involved in cultural heritage management, land use planning, environmental assessments and archaeology with provincial and municipal governments, local historical sites and archaeological consulting firms for many years. Her government experiences include work as a Regional Archaeologist with the Ministry of Transportation, the Archaeological Data Coordinator with Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport and a Heritage Coordinator with the cities of Burlington, Brampton and Mississauga. She volunteers at Willowbank School of Restoration Arts as an Instructor and project archaeologist and was with the Toronto Chapter of the OAS as president and vice-president/program convenor.
She is very proud to say she has received her OAS 25 year pin. Her MA and BA are from McMaster University, and she has worked in archaeology in Ontario, England and Mexico. When not working, Penny is an avid reader and enjoys everything outdoors including canoeing, biking, skiing and Ultimate frisbee. She lives with her sons Sam and Max and husband John.
It is an honour and pleasure to be part of the OAS Board and to work to help conserve and protect our fragile and irreplaceable archaeological heritage.
Director of Member Services - Sarah Clarke
Sarah is a Project Archaeologist and Cultural Heritage Research Specialist with Archaeological Research Associates, Ltd. (ARA). She has 20 years of experience in Ontario archaeology and has worked on projects in Ontario, Bermuda, and Virginia. Sarah has an Honours BA in North American Archaeology with a Historical/Industrial Option from Wilfrid Laurier University and is a member of the Canadian Association of Heritage Professionals (CAHP).
Sarah has a passion for public archaeology and had the opportunity to lead a three-year volunteer archaeological project at the former Mohawk Institute Residential School in Brantford, ON. Additionally, Sarah regularly participates in the LEARN archaeological program as a volunteer at James Madison’s Montpelier in Orange, VA. Sarah is a member of various archaeological and heritage associations, was a council-appointed citizen volunteer with the Brantford Heritage Committee (2011-2020) and is currently on the Board of Directors with the Brant Historical Society. In 2023 she received the OAS’ Peggi Armstrong Public Archaeology Award.
In her spare time, Sarah enjoys travelling around North America to further understand the interconnectedness of our shared history, doing archaeology and chilling with her husband, 2 daughters, and 2 crazy dogs.
Director of Outreach - Arwen Johns
Presently, Arwen is the faunal specialist for TMHC Inc., where they are also responsible for Indigenous artifact identification and archaeological report writing. In the past, they have acted as a field director on large-scale projects alongside Indigenous communities and stakeholders, organizing, coordinating, and supervising the performance of the field component of archaeological projects across Ontario in the cultural resource management sector.
Arwen earned her Master’s degree in anthropology, specializing in archaeology, from Western University in 2017, having previously completed her Bachelor of Arts with Distinction in anthropology at the same institution. They have acted as the principal investigator on two multi-year research projects funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Counsel (SSHRC) of Canada, as part of the Virú Polity Project in Peru, and worked as an archaeologist for Parks Canada in Newfoundland. Arwen’s research specializes in social zooarchaeology, which takes a holistic view of human-animal relations, especially as these interactions relate to the diets of past populations.
When not working, Arwen enjoys reading and writing short horror fiction, camping and kayaking, as well as gardening, where they focus specifically on plants and trees native to their area of Ontario. Arwen is also a passionate advocate for mental health awareness, holding multiple professional certifications in mental health crisis de-escalation, anti-oppression and anti-racism, and teaching at the university level – earning an award for greatness in teaching from Western University.
Director of Heritage Advocacy - Lara Wood
Director of Publications - Samantha Walker
Samantha Walker is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Lakehead University. She specialized in Archaeology during her BA at the University of Toronto and completed her MA at Trent University, where she undertook a regional study of land use and placemaking during the Late Archaic and Middle Woodland periods in the Trent Valley, Ontario. She received her PhD in Anthropology from McGill University in 2024, where her dissertation examined the social production of ancient landscapes in Nunavut.
Since joining Lakehead in January 2026, Sam has been exploring the development of new community-centered research and student training projects in Ontario to build alongside her continued research. She also runs educational and outreach programs for young people in the communities where her research takes place, including archaeology summer camps for children. Sam is looking forward to supporting the Society’s publications and connecting with archaeologists and communities across Ontario.
Director of Chapter Services - Susan Dermarkar
Susan is currently a Research Associate at Trent’s TUARC and the University of Toronto’s Archaeological Resource Centres. She completed her PhD in Iroquoian ceramics and social network analysis at U of T in 2019. Her 1985 Master’s degree from Trent University in Mayan Archaeology investigated two Postclassic Colonial era residential platforms at Tipu, Belize. She received her B.A. in Iroquoian Archaeology from Wilfrid Laurier under Dean Knight, and has been involved in both academic and CRM field research in Ontario, British Columbia, Belize, and Greece since her first dig at the Seed-Barker site in 1977.
She has lived and raised her children in the small hamlet of Burketon on the Oak Ridges Moraine since the late 1980s, and has been the Commissioner of 1st Enniskillen Scouts for over 25 years. Susan’s passions include canoeing, hiking, and travelling both across Canada and internationally