THE RIFRAP TEAM
Jon Spenard, PhD – Project Director
Jon is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at California State University San Marcos. He has over 25 years of experience in Maya archaeology. Prior to co-founding the RiFRAP in 2018, he worked on projects in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico. Trained as a landscape archaeologist with a focus on ancient Maya ritual cave use, and specializing in digital archaeology, his expertise also includes settlement studies, and ancient Maya granite quarrying and groundstone tool manufacture.
Em Mirro – Project co-founder, Field Director, GIS Specialist, and Digital Archaeology
Em has worked on numerous cave archaeology projects in Belize since 1996. They completed their Master’s research at Barton Creek Cave, one of the primary outlets draining the Mountain Pine Ridge. For the RiFRAP, Em is the project jack-of-all trades, from digital modeling, and GIS, to expert climbing and mapping.
Javier “Javi,” “Chiich” Mai – Project Foreman
Shannon Black – Project Bioarchaeologist (SDSU and Palomar College; joined summer 2026)
I graduated from SDSU with a M.A. In anthropology with an emphasis in bioarchaeology, and I completed field school in Warner Springs and have worked in both Collections Management at SDSU and worked at SCIC. I also participated in bioarchaeology field school in Kampsville, IL through ASU, and I have also worked as a field and lab osteologist with Statistical Research, Inc on the JCC project in Tucson, AZ. I am currently an adjunct professor in the Behavioral Science Department at Palomar College and a lecturer in the Anthropology Department at SDSU.
Alysa Ransom – Project Archaeologist (joined January 2023-present)
Hi! My name is Alysa. I have always had a fascination of people/places/things, so naturally I fell in love with Anthropology while attending SDSU. I graduated with a B.A. in anthropology and pursued archaeology afterwards. I attended a field school in Galway, Ireland where we surveyed medieval tower houses and excavated on the grounds of a 15th century castle. I have been a proud member of the RifRap crew for 3 seasons and am excited to be a crew member for a 4th season this summer! I currently work for a CRM company in Southern California where I monitor construction, conduct field surveys, excavate test units, and participate in laboratory analysis / cataloging collections. My areas of interest are in pre-contact lithic and ground stone technology.
Justin Defreitas – Project Archaeologist (2025-present)
Justin Defreitas graduated from CSUSM in May of 2025 with a BA in Anthropology with an emphasis on Archaeology. He is currently employed as an archaeological technician at a CRM firm in San Diego. This will be his second time volunteering with RiFRAP in Belize. When he isn’t working he enjoys cooking, hiking, and playing guitar.
Brooke Olivier – Project Illustrator and Archaeologist (2024-present)
Matt Scibetta – Virtual Archaeology Specialist and Project Archaeologist (2025-present)
Fatima Sabeih – Project Archaeologist (2025-present)
Project alumni
Joel Aspetia (2018)
Andres Berdeja (2019, 2023-2024)
Jay Dubois (2018)
Jessica Garcia (2019)
Joe Gravino (January 2023)
Lorrie Gregory (January 2023)
Adam Niesley (January 2023, Summer 2023
Alisha Pico (January 2023)
Franklin Quiros (2022, January 2023)
Mikaela Weber (2022-2023)
Jaime Wojak (2023-2024)
Ariana Yanez (2019)