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Our Staff

Below is a full list of all Research and Collections staff, in alphabetical order..

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Our Staff

Collections Manager, Entomology
Giar-Ann Kung

Giar-Ann Kung is one of the Entomology Department's Collections Managers. She is responsible for the care and maintenance of the entomology collection.

Collections Manager, Mineral Sciences
Kriss Leftwich

Kriss is responsible for the management of the Mineral Sciences collection, including assisting visiting researchers.

Collections Manager, Anthropology (Archaeology)
Amber Lincoln, Ph.D.

Dr. Amber Lincoln is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Archaeology collection and assists with the museum’s responsibilities under Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) and California NAGPRA. Amber aspires to support descendent communities as they endeavor to share knowledge of their histories, cultures and material practices.

Associate Curator and Excavation Site Director, Rancho La Brea
Emily Lindsey, Ph.D.

Dr. Lindsey's research integrates information from past and modern ecosystems to understand how Ice Age animals and environments functioned.

Associate Curator, Ichthyology
Bill Ludt, Ph.D.

Dr. Bill Ludt is the Assistant Curator of Ichthyology. His research aims to understand how Earth’s history and variation in global climate conditions have influenced the diversity and distribution of fishes on our planet.

Associate Vice President, Research & Curator, Crustacea
Joel W. Martin, Ph.D.

Dr. Joel W. (Jody) Martin joined the Natural History Museum in 1988. Dr. Martin is also an adjunct professor at both USC and UCLA, where he occasionally teaches and oversees graduate student research.

Collections Manager, Vertebrate Paleontology
Samuel A. McLeod, Ph.D.

Sam leads Vertebrate Paleontology staff in maintaining, enhancing, and caring for NHM's significant vertebrate fossil collection.

Database & Reports Manager
Bill Mertz

Bill administers NHM’s collections management system.

Senior Collections Manager, Marine Biodiversity Center
Kathy Omura

Kathy was the first person to join the Marine Biodiversity Center when it opened in 2000. She earned a B.S. in Wildlife Management from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and came to the Natural History Museum with 13 years of marine invertebrate taxonomy experience.

Senior Manager, Community Science
Miguel Ordeñana

Miguel Ordeñana, who joined NHMLAC in April 2013, is an environmental educator and wildlife biologist.