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LeadershipThe FARES Leadership team is comprised of wide range of talents, backgrounds and experience. We are bound by a shared commitment to utilizing the cultural and ecological data for the conservation and development of threatened areas while promoting education and vocational training within the local communities. Dr. Richard Hansen, Ph.D - President and FounderHansen is an eminent archaeologist and is the founder and president of Foundation for Anthropological Research and Environmental Studies (FARES). He has published over 107 scientific papers and popular articles and has presented more than 236 professional papers and technical reports in scientific formats throughout the world. He has conducted and directed archaeological research across the world from Israel, the U.S. Great Basin, the U.S. Southwest, and Central America. Currently, Senior Scientist at the Institute for Mesoamerican Research in the Department of Anthropology at Idaho State University, Dr. Hansen is a specialist on the ancient Maya and also a director of the Mirador Basin Project, which investigates the mainly unexplored territory in Petén, northern Guatemala. Most of his achievements have been gained in the Mesoamerican region and early Maya civilization. In 1989, discoveries by Hansen and his colleagues suggested that the ancient Maya had centralized governments far earlier than once supposed, building massive centers as early as 1000-800 B.C. Dr. Hansen has conducted research in the remote rainforests of northern Guatemala since 1978 and directs a long-term, multi-disciplinary investigation of a vast unexplored area of the northern Peten. This on-going project represents a comprehensive scientific study of the ancient Maya and their associated environment, and currently involves scholars from 52 universities and research institutions from throughout the world. As a project, his team has currently published 195 scientific papers, abstracts, and books, and 663 technical reports and scientific presentations. Hansen’s studies have identified some of the largest and earliest ancient cities in Central America, and his work has been an important contribution to the developmental history of Maya civilization. His work has recently been featured in 17 film documentaries, including the Learning Channel, the Discovery Channel, ABC's 20/20, 60 Minutes Australia, ABC’s Good Morning America, ABC’s Primetime Live, CNN International Untold Stories, CNN Global Challenges, The History Channel, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) of London, Guatevison, and National Geographic. He has been a consultant for many national and international television and major motion picture networks. Wayne Howell - Chairman of the BoardWayne Howell lives in Gustavus, Alaska. He received B.S. and M.S. degrees in anthropology from Brigham Young University, and as a young archaeologist first worked at El Mirador in 1978. He has been involved with the Mirador Basin project since 1991, and has served on the FARES Board of Directors since 2000. As an archaeologist he has worked throughout the American Southwest and Alaska. From 1995-2011 he was employed by the National Park Service at Glacier Bay National Park, where, in addition to developing a cultural resource program that included archaeology, history and ethnography, he also had the task of fostering positive relations between the park and its neighboring communities, particularly the Tlingit Indian communities whose traditional lands lie within the park. He is fluent in Spanish and travels extensively throughout Latin America, where he also consults on national park issues. Jody Lynn Hansen - SecretaryJody Lynn Hansen first got involved in archaeological research at Tel Michal, Israel, where she met her future husband, Richard. After their marriage, Jody was a staff scientific illustrator for the Mirador Project under Dr. Ray Matheny, and then as a project illustrator for the RAINPEG and Mirador Basin Projects in the northern Peten from 1989 until the present day. Her scientific illustrations have been published in numerous scientific and popular texts throughout the world. She is the Executive Secretary for the FARES Foundation, and has spent decades hiking through the jungles of the Mirador Basin with her seven children in tow. She lives with her family in Idaho. Kerry Arritt, CPA - TreasurerKerry L. Arritt is a Certified Public Accountant practicing in Southern Idaho for the firm of Anderson Nielson Robins Arritt, CPAs. He received his accounting degree from Brigham Young University in 1983. Mr. Arritt is a founding member of the board of directors and treasurer of FARES. He is married and has six children. Francois Berger - President FARES GuatemalaFrancois Berger, born in Guatemala City, Guatemala, graduated from the University of Florida, at Gainesville, with a degree in Animal Science. After returning to Guatemala, he was involved in establishing cattle feedlots and meat packing plants for export mainly to the United States. Francois applied his agricultural and business knowledge to industrialize the farming of cotton and soybeans, marketing the products all over the country. He grew the business to include the farming and export of bananas, sugar cane, African palm, cattle and horses. In 1980, he established AUTOSAFARICHAPIN, a wildlife park and reserve which breeds many endangered species, like jaguars, pumas, and other Guatemalan cats, along with White tail deer, Brocket deer, Central American Tapirs, and other species of national and international fauna. Francois has been the founder of several agricultural organizations in Guatemala, has served on the board of directors for Cementos Progreso since 1985, and has been an active advisor to the Secretaries of Agriculture and Presidents of Guatemala. Francois is the founder and president of APANAC, Association for the Natural and Cultural Patrimony of Guatemala. He has been an active supporter of FARES International, and is presiding President of FARES Guatemala. Francois has traveled the world extensively- as a dedicated conservationist, avid pilot, and international polo player. He is the Guatemalan ambassador for the Federation of International Polo, and currently serves on the FIP Council of Administration. A member of Aeroclub de Guatemala, he has flown airplanes and helicopters since childhood and serves on the board of directors of Aviateca airlines, member of grupo Taca. Leland S. McCullough - Board Member & Legal CounselL. S. (Lee) McCullough received his law degree from the University of Utah and was admitted to the Utah State Bar in 1973. Lee is a Fellow and former State Chair in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), a member of the Utah State Bar and the American Bar Association. He is a past member of the Advisory Counsel on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans for the U.S. Department of Labor, having been appointed to said Board by former President Reagan. Lee is also past President of the Estate Planning Section of the Utah Bar Association. He is Chairman of the law firm Callister Nebeker & McCullough, which law firm specializes in banking, corporate, tax and commercial law. Lee’s areas of practice include tax, estate and asset protection planning. He is a past Chairman of the Board of a federal savings and loan association, having been appointed to this position by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and he is a member of the Board of Trustees of various college and hospital foundations. Lee has written and lectured in professional and trade associations such as The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, The Utah Association of Certified Public Accountants, The Utah Bar Association, The Phillip Heckerling Institute, real estate associations, and other trade associations. Lee is also been nationally recognized by "The Best Lawyers in America" and "Madison Who’s Who." Mel Gibson - Chairman of the Board EmeritusMel Gibson is most known as an actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art. After appearing in the Mad Max and Lethal Weapon series, Gibson went on to direct and star in the Academy Award-winning Braveheart. In 2006, he directed the action-adventure film Apocalypto, his second film to feature sparse dialogue in a non-English language. Apocalypto is set in Mesoamerica during the early 16th century against the turbulent end times of a Maya civilization. Mel became involved with FARES and the Mirador Basin Project in 2004. Gibson and his former wife Robyn have contributed a substantial amount of money to various charities, including support for Mirador and donations for medical assistance for Guatemalan indigenous societies. Ken Hitz – Board MemberKen is a computer systems architect and winemaker. He received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and M.B.A. from Washington University in St. Louis. He was a manager for Price Waterhouse Management Consulting specializing in large system architecture and implementation before becoming an independent consultant. He has worked in numerous U.S. cities, Venezuela and Hong Kong. Mr. Hitz is currently serving on the boards of Chamber Music San Francisco, the Foundation for Anthropological Research and Environmental Studies and the Hitz Foundation. Mr. Hitz is the winemaker for Chteau dHitz winery in Los Altos Hills, California. He travels extensively and is fluent in both Spanish and French. Dr. Herbert Maschner, Ph.d - Board MemberDr. Herbert Maschner is Research Professor of Anthropology, Director and Curator / Division Head of Anthropology at the Idaho Museum of Natural History (IMNH), Director of the Center for Archaeology, Materials, and Applied Spectroscopy (CAMAS), Senior Scientist at the Idaho Accelerator Center (IAC), and Associate Editor of the Journal of World Prehistory. In 2006 he was named ISU’s Distinguished Researcher; in 2011 he was named the Idaho Academy of Science Distinguished Scientist. He has had ˜$7.256 million in grants and he has nearly 100 publications. He did his PhD at the University of California-Santa Barbara, his MS at the University of Alaska, and the BS at the University of New Mexico. His primary research interests include using trans-disciplinary data to investigate human biocomplexity and the environment, resource and community sustainability, long-term human impacts and interactions with marine and terrestrial ecosystems, human ecosystem engineering, Darwinian Theory and evolutionary psychology, warfare and inequality, 3d virtualization and database construction, elemental and isotopic analyses, and global historical ecologies. His primary research area is the North Pacific Rim and Western North America. Advisory Board Members
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