Olga Stavrakis

Olga holds a Ph.D. in anthropology specializing in tropical agriculture, an M.A. in ancient Maya archaeology and undergraduate degrees in geology, history and classics. She worked for many years in the Maya region in Central America, first excavating the legendary ancient city of Tikal in the Guatemalan jungle, and later moving to village studies in the remote areas of the Yucatan Peninsula studying the effects of agricultural change upon the nutrition of indigenous women and children. Her research in tropical forest agriculture led to work with international agencies, including the United Nations, implementing development projects for small farmers in Belize, Mexico, the Caribbean, India, and Bangladesh.

A native of Ukraine, Olga took advantage of the opening of archives formerly closed by the Soviet authorities to do historical research in Kiev after the collapse of the Soviet Union. She also spent 15 years running a biological laboratory in her home city of Minneapolis, but never lost her love for studies of culture and history--or her sense of adventure. Recent years have taken her whitewater rafting in Chile, hiking in the Falklands, exploring archaeological sites in the Society Islands, walking the Inca trail to Macchu Pichu in Peru, exploring the canals of St. Petersburg by boat, studying volcanoes in Hawaii, and tracking game on safari in South Africa.

A serious student of ballroom dance, Olga speaks Russian, Spanish, and French and lectures widely for the travel industry in South and Central America, the Mediterranean, Russia and Ukraine, the Black Sea, the Panama Canal, Oceania, and Africa.