Director
Dr. Kate Liszka is the Benson and Pamela Harer Fellow in Egyptology and Associate Professor of History at California State University San Bernardino. She received her PhD from the University of Pennsylvania in 2012 and was a Cotsen Fellow in the Society of Fellows at Princeton University from 2012-2015. She enjoys studying questions of labor, administration, identity, and Egyptian-Nubian interactions in the ancient world.
Co-Director
Bryan Kraemer is a Research Egyptologist at the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (CSUSB) and is currently completing his PhD in Egyptology at the University of Chicago. His dissertation looks at Abydos in the Ptolemaic Period, integrating textual, archaeological, and archival data. His archaeological experience has brought him to Italy, Greece, and Egypt. He’s the co-director, chief surveyor, and chief epigraphist for the Wadi el-Hudi Expedition.
Co-Director
Dr. Meredith Brand is an Instructor in the Rhetoric and Composition Department at the American University in Cairo. She completed her PhD at the University of Toronto in 2019 on the socio-economic organization of pottery production in New Kingdom Egypt. Her research focuses on understanding the economy of ancient Egypt in terms of daily life, labor and industry, and the economics of religious practice. She served as the W. Benson Harer Egyptology Scholar in Residence at California State University San Bernardino (Spring 2022).
Rais Omer El-Qeftawi
House and Site Manager
Omer Farouk has served as Reis for the Wadi el-Hudi Expedition since 2014. In addition to Wadi el-Hudi, Omar has worked with archaeological excavations in the Luxor area and also sites such as Naqada, Amarna, Lisht and Elkab.
Assistant Ceramicist & Digital Content Manager
Brooke Norton is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures at UC Berkeley and the Associate Curator at the Badè Museum of Biblical Archaeology. She has excavated in Egypt and Jordan, Israel, Italy, and the USA.
Magdalena Włodarska
Chief Field Archaeologist and Surveyor
Magdalena Włodarska graduated from the Department of Archaeology of Ancient Egypt and Nubia at the University of Warsaw. She has worked for projects in Egypt and Sudan and is interested in Early Dynastic, Old and Middle Kingdom architecture in Egypt and Kerma burial tradition in Nubia.
Magdy Ali
Chief Administrator
Magdy Ali works for the American University in Cairo and has spent years assisting several archaeological and epigraphic missions in Egypt. Among others, he has worked for the Theban Mapping Project, Ancient Egypt Research Associates, and the Karnak Great Hypostyle Hall Project.
Our Invaluable Team
- Nicholas Brown, Surveyor and Archaeologist, Seasons 1, 2, 3
- Per Storemyr, Geoarchaeologist, Season 3
- Carly Pope, Surveyor and Archaeologist, Seasons 3, 5
- Amy Wilson, Surveyor and Epigrapher, Seasons 2, 4, 6
- Sema Berkiten, RTI Specialist, Season 2
- Vicky Hioureas, Assistant Illustrator and Archivist, Season 2
- Edna Bomhomme, Photographer, Season 2
- Michael Kraemer, Photographer, Seasons 2, 5, 6
- Nancy Kraemer, Assistant Ceramicist, Season 2
- Sara Ahmed Abdul Aziz Mostafa, Ceramics Team, Season 4
- Bianca Van Sittert, Ceramics Team, Season 4
- Matthew Treasure, 3D Modeling Team and Surveyor, Seasons 4, 5
- Will Feltz, 3D Modeling Specialist, Season 5
- Maia Mattheu, Survey and Excavation Team, Seasons 5, 6
- Evelyn Hildebrand, Survey and Excavation Team, Season 5
- Christopher Brito, Survey and Excavation Team, Season 5
- Jessica Howe, Survey and Excavation Team, Season 5
- Marmar Zakher, Survey and Excavation Team, Season 5
- Kate Grossman, Faunal Specialist, Season 5
- Elizabeth Hart, Lithic Specialist, Season 5
- Beatriz Jimenez Moreno, Volunteer in Egypt, Season 6
- Christina Alu, Survey and Excavation Team, Season 6
- Erico Peintner, Senior Stone Conservator, Season 6
- Marion Devigne, Volunteer in Egypt, Season 6
- Alexander Groh, Volunteer in Egypt, Season 6
- Dr. Amr Shahat, Paleoethnobotanist, Season 6
- Dr. Nahed Waly, Charcoal Specialist, Season 6
- Mary Sadek, Season 7
Arabic Translation Team
Thank you to our Arabic language translators!
Sara Ahmed Abdul Aziz
Hassan Hesham Maher Elzawy
Maryan Ragheb
Ahmed El Sandabasy
Spanish Translation Team
Thank you to our Spanish language translators!
Beatriz Jimenez Meronno
Thank You Volunteers!
- William Contreras
- Amber Ward
- Carly Pope
- Marmar Zakher
- Jessica Howe
- Marion Devigne
- Marlene Liszka
- Consuelo Moreno
- Maia Matheu
- Cindy Moreno
- Brooke Norton
- Erika Kelley
- James Martin
- Nathaneal Gonzales
- Abrianna Newton
- Fernando Sanchez
- Miguel de Avila
- Beatriz Jimenez Meronno
- Cynthia Smith
- Emily Foster
Our Colleagues
We are very fortunate to work alongside many talented colleagues in Egypt. In our work, we intend to cooperate with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities to study, preserve, and promote the cultural heritage of Egypt for generations to come. All aspects of our work depend highly on the collaboration with the Ministry.
We extend a heartfelt thanks to his Excellence the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Dr. Khaled el-Anani, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Dr. Mostafa Waziri, General Director of Foreign Missions Affairs & Permanent Committees Dr. Nashwa Gaber, and Director of the Permanent Committee Mr. Mostafa Hasan Abd Elrhman.
The work at Wadi el-Hudi would not be possible without the support and efforts of the members of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the Museum Sector, and the Aswan Inspectorate, especially the Director of the Aswan Inspectorate Dr. Abd Elmon’am Sa’aid, the General Director of the Archaeological Registration and Documentation Department Mr. Hany Ahmed Abo El Azm, the Head of the Central Administration of Upper Egypt Mr. Mohamed Abdelbadie, Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim, Mr. Abdul Minhem, Mr. Nasr Salama Ibrahim, Mr. Osama Abd Ellatief Abd Elhalim, Mr. Shazly Ali Abd Elaziem, Ms. Ilham Salah al-Din, Mr. Hany Salakh, Mr. Sayed El-Rawy, and Mr. Adel Kelany.
We are also grateful for the Director of the Aswan Magazine Kareema Fehmy and the supportive inspectors in the Aswan Magazine.
We would also like to thank all of our Ministry Inspectors who happily worked with us on a daily basis, even when we told them we had to leave Aswan at 4:30am to make it to the site on time. Thank you for your support and dedication, especially Moataz Sayed, Mahmoud Mokhtar, Takhseen Mohamed Ateia, Mohammed Saleh, and Mohamed Mamdouh Mokhtar.
We would also like to thank our friends out at the granite mines, especially Mahmoud and Adel.
We also want to thank our landlord in Egypt, Mr. Mahmoud Hussein, who accepted every crazy aspect of living with an excavation team in his house.
Wadi el-Hudi Expedition 