Michele Wilson
I joined the PCC community in 2007, and teach in the Race, Indigenous Nations, Gender Studies, and Anthropology departments. Before coming to Portland, I spent 16 years at Linn-Benton Community College leading their Anthropology and Women’s Studies programs, and several years teaching Anthropology at Chemeketa Community College. I’ve also provided classroom instruction in the Ethnic Studies and Anthropology Departments at Oregon State University. I received a B.S. in Anthropology from Longwood University in Virginia, and a M.A.I.S. from Oregon State University in Applied Anthropology and Public Health. I have also received several anti-discrimination, human rights, cultural competency, and equity certifications.
My areas of experience are diverse. Formally trained as an archaeologist, I’ve participated in and managed many preservation projects – both research and contract – primarily in Polynesia, and the Pacific Northwest, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and Prairie-Plains regions of the United States. I am deeply invested in Indigenous and Aboriginal, gender-based, and race-based self-determination, liberation, and justice. My research interests and curriculum center the intersections of identity formation and expression, social location, and cultural systems and institutions. Projects are framed by my belief in human rights, and I only adopt and design curricula that strategically center the experiences and voices of people who come from traditionally underserved communities. This framing is fundamentally human-centered and liberatory.
I see learning as an opportunity to empower people – to develop their agency and to be critical thinkers – and I strive to create purpose-driven opportunities for people to align what they have learned with their personal and professional commitments. Education (and access to it) is a human right, and my aim is to co-learn with all of the people with whom I work. I was awarded the Declare Award for Outstanding Faculty Activism in 2011 because of these and other principles that I believe are integral to building just and inclusive communities.
In addition to my instructional duties, I am the Director of the Title III Grant Program and I lead and facilitate critical anti-oppression, cultural humility, and cultural competence workshops and presentations. Until recently, I proudly served on the City of Portland’s Human Rights Commission for 6 years.
Pronouns: she/her