Faculty

Anne Zonne Parker
Department of Environmental Studies
Naropa University
2130 Arapahoe Ave
Boulder , CO 80302
aparker@naropa.edu
303-546-3558(w) 303-545-6006(h)

Education

Ph.D. University of Oregon, Geography, 1991
M.A. University of Oregon, Geography, 1987
M.A. Indiana University, Inner Asian Studies, 1985
B.S. University of California at Berkeley, Conservation of Natural Resources, 1974

Work Experience

Faculty (1996 -present), Co-Chair and Director of the MA Program (2005- present) and Department Chair in Environmental Studies (1997- 2003), Naropa University, Boulder Colorado. Full-time faculty member teaching MA and BA courses, advising MA students and participating in Institute-wide committees. Course titles: Culture/Nature Partnership (a year long service learning course on Ecological Restoration), Water Quality and Watersheds, Sustainable Communities, Environmental Problem Solving, Indigenous Peoples and Environmental Issues, and Masters Thesis Seminar. I also lead occasional pilgrimages and journeys through Extended Studies to Tibet, Bhutan and other areas, as well as leading our annual wilderness solo for the MA students.

Academic Advisor for the Naropa Program in Sikkim (2001-present). Review and consultation for the Naropa University’s International Education Program in Sikkim.

Consultant for the National Organization for Atmospheric Administration, Office of Global Programs, consulting on the Himalayan region and RANET Project 2002-2003

Program Director , Interface, Cambridge, Massachusetts (1994-1996)
Oversight of entire program design, course offerings and long term planning. Conference design and faculty relations. Taught seminar in Cross Cultural Understanding and led a month long trip around Mt. Kailash in Western Tibet.

Part-time teaching in Boston: taught Tibetan Buddhist Meditation for Cambridge Continuing Education and at Wellesly College at request of the Zen Buddhist Chaplin. (1995-96).

Instructor in Geography and International Studies , University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon (1991-1994) Designed and taught the following courses and graduate seminars: Geography of the Third World, Development and Social Change in Southeast Asia, Geography of South Asia, and Cultural Geography.

Fulbright Research Fellow , Department of Geography, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon (1989). Conducted one year of independent doctoral research in eastern Nepal on traditional farming systems including data collection, government liaison and supervision of research assistant.

Graduate Teaching Fellow , Department of Geography, University of Oregon, Eugene (1984-1988) Taught courses in Map Reading and Interpretation, and Introductory Cultural Geography. Taught labs for a wide range of classes in Geography Department.

National Science Foundation Research (1985 and 1986/two summers)
Co-researcher on Research Project in Bhutan, Sikkim, Darjeeling and eastern Nepal on traditional and changing farming systems throughout this region.

Co-Director , Marble Mountain Expeditions , San Diego, California (1978-1988)
Planned, organized and led wilderness expeditions for UC San Diego and UC Riverside Extension, Indiana University Continuing Education and the University of Oregon. Instruction in map reading, rescue skills, first aid, plant identification etc.

Community Development Worker , Docker River Aboriginal Settlement, Northern territory, Australia (1978). Liaison between the community and the Department of Aboriginal Affairs. Assisted community with decision making and community projects on farming and outstation projects.

Tutor in Environmental History , Murdoch University (now part of the University of Western Australia), Western Australia (1976-1977). Assisted in creating the first course in Australian Environmental History. Taught on campus and via correspondent-student program for students living in remote parts of Australia.

Research Ranger , Yosemite National Park, California (1972-1974)

Carried out research on Park carrying capacity and assisted in devising the Park’s wilderness permit system. Participated in impact survey of the entire Yosemite backcountry.

Research and Field Experience

Nepal : Extensive studies of traditional agriculture in eastern Nepal. Fulbright Research Fellow, Department of Geography, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon (1989). Conducted one and a half years of independent doctoral research in eastern Nepal on traditional farming systems including data collection, government liaison and supervision of research assistants.

PhD Dissertation: Multi-ethnicInterface in Eastern Nepal: Culture Change in Sidha Pokhari.
Study and practice of traditional Tibetan Buddhism at Kopan Gompa with Lama Thubten Yeshe (Fall 1978 and ‘79) and in Bodhanath with Tulku Urgyen, ChoKyi Nyima and Namkai Norbu (Fall 1989 and 1992).

Bhutan : National Science Foundation Research (Summer1985) Co-researcher on Research Project in Bhutan on traditional and changing farming systems in this region.
Co-led a three-week tour to Buddhist cultural and pilgrimage sites in western and central Bhutan for Naropa Continuing Education (Summer 2002). 2003 visit to explore recent cultural and environmental changes

Himalayan India ( Sikkim and Darjeeling): National Science Foundation Research (Summer1986) Co-researcher on Research Project in Sikkim, Darjeeling and eastern Nepal on traditional and changing farming systems in this region.
I am the academic advisor for Naropa’s International Studies Program in Sikkim. I reviewed the program and traveled extensively throughout Sikkim surveying current environmental issues during fall 2003.

India : Interview work with Tibetan refugees (prior to the opening of Tibet) about land use changes and agriculture in Tibet after 1959 (Summer 1984). MA Thesis:The Human Geography of Central Tibet: Changing Patterns of Land and Resource Use.
Residence and study of Tibetan Buddhist practice at the Tibetan Library of Works and Archives in Dharamsala and with His Holiness the Dalai Lama (Summer 1982, ’83 and ’84)

Australia : Research funded by the Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies on ethnobotany and traditional uses of plants by Aboriginal communities in the Leonora area of Western Australia (1977).

Tibet : Led two tours to cultural and pilgrimage sites in central and western Tibet– (Summer 1996) with Interface and (Summer 2000) with Naropa University Extended Studies. Research visit to Amdo, eastern Tibet 2005.

China : Two five-week research trips in China (1991 and 1998) with Professor Johannessen of the University of Oregon exploring archeological and archival evidence of early crop plant material. Return visit to China in 2005 – for a brief documentation of cultural,. environmental and religious trends.

Trainings  

• Group Leadership Training with Amina Knowlan and David Patterson - a year long program in group dynamics and group leadership 1997-8
• Matrix Group Leadership , 1998 training and 1999-2005 staff member in this innovative program for professional training in group leadership
• Year long Training in Community Ritual Design with Malidoma Some 1999
• Wilderness First Responder Training
• Training in Restorative Justice 20001
• Two years of Diversity Trainings at Naropa University-on race, class and gender issues in society, educational settings, and curriculum design 2000-2001
• Community Based LearningInitiative Training – guidelines for teaching and leading community service learning projects 2004
• Coursework in Sacred Geometry 2004,2005
• Non-Violent Communication Training 2005

Achievements, Awards and Service  

• Elected Chair of Faculty Executive Council for Naropa University (2004- present)
• Numerous Faculty Development Grants from Naropa University for Himalayan research
• Appointed Community Representative, Citizens for a Healthy Community, Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center, Boulder, Colorado (2001)
• Appointed Faculty Representative, President’s Council, (University President’s Advisory Board), Naropa University (1999-2001)
• Sierra Club Trip Leader, Burro Trip Sub-Committee, Outings Department, Sierra Club (1992-1996)
• Commission Member, Eugene-Katmandu Sister Commission, The City of Eugene (Mayor’s Appointee) (1992-1993)
• Chairperson, Eugene- Katmandu Sister City Committee, The City of Eugene, (1990-1991
• Secretary/Treasurer, Cultural Geography Specialty Group, Association of American Geographers (1990-1993)
• Oregon Merit Scholarship & Jacob Javits Fellowship, University of Oregon (1990-1991)
• Fulbright Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship , US Education Foundation (1989). Also awarded USIA Fulbright Fellowship for Nepal.
• Graduate Student Services Award, University Of Oregon (1985)
• Graduate Teaching Fellow Award, University of Oregon (1984-1988)
• Research Grant for Ethno-Botanical Study of Western Desert Aboriginal People, Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies (1977)

Publications  

Parker, Anne Z., “Pilgrimage in Tibet”, Himalayan Research Bulletin, 2006

Parker, Anne Z. and Penjor, Tshering, “In Footsteps of Naropa”, Naropa Magazine, 2002.

Parker, Anne Z., Stories From the Origin, (book proposal under consideration).

Parker, Anne Z., Blessings Along the Body of the Goddess: Stories from the Himalayas (book in progress)

Parker, Anne Z., “Body Prayer”, Prayers for a Thousand Years, ed Elias Amidon and Elizabeth Roberts, Harper San Francisco, 1999. (Body Prayer was among four selections from the book to be adapted to music and performed by Ysaye Barnwell and Sweet Honey and the Rock)

Johannessen, Carl J, and Parker, Anne Z., “Des Epis de Mais en Inde sur des Sculptures des XII-XIIIemes Siecles?”, Kadath Chroniques des Civilizations Disparus, v.89, Automne-Hiver 1997.

Parker, Anne Z., Multi-Ethnic Interface in Eastern Nepal, Dissertation available through Ann Arbor Michigan, 1991.

Parker, Anne Z., “Book Review of Mountain Environmental Management in the Arun River Basin by John Dunsmore”, Mountain Research and Development, Vol.11, No. 3, p.p. 273-274, 1991

Parker Anne Z. and Ukyab, Tenzing, “Reflections on a Primitive Ritual”, Talking Leaves, July, p.8, 1990

Parker Anne Z., “The Many Meanings of Sherpa: an evolving Social Category”, HimalayanResearch Bulletin, No.3, 1989.

Johannessen, Carl J, and Parker, Anne Z., “Maize Ears Sculpted in the 12 th and 13 th Century A.D. India as Indicators of Pre-Columbian Diffusion”, Economic Botany, 42 (2), pp. 164-180, 1989.

Parker, Anne Z., “ Sakya College: A Teacher Training College in the Sakya Tradition”, Cho-YangThe Voice of Tibetan Religion and Culture, Vol. 1, No. 1, Sept., pp. 67-69, 1986

Parker, Anne Z., “An Ethnobotany of the Western Desert, Leonora, Western Australia”, Newsletter of the Australia Institute of Aboriginal Studies, New Series, No.13, March 1980.

Parker, Anne Z. and Malin, Lucy, “Part III Subalpine Soils and Wilderness Use”, Ecological Carrying Capacity Research, Yosemite National Park, 1976.

Beard, J.S. assisted by Anne Z. Parker, Vegetation Survey of Western Australia, Perth 1976 (a monograph series)