Pre-College
Anthropology
Dialogues
Our Story
The Pre-College Anthropology Dialogues (PCAD) is a student-led initiative that facilitates dialogue between members of the professional anthropological community and pre-college scholars with a demonstrated interest in anthropology, with the goal of better engaging the next generation of anthropologists.
PCAD was co-founded in April 2026 by seven pre-college members of the American Anthropological Association (AAA) from California, New York, Virginia, Alabama, and New Jersey. Our research interests span biological and sociocultural anthropology and our experience includes doing college-level coursework, attending an AAA Annual Meeting, doing an AAA internship, receiving the AAA Junior Anthropologist Award, preparing submissions for peer-reviewed journals, and publishing a book of short stories related to anthropological principles.
We all recognized significant untapped potential in building stronger connections between pre-college anthropologists and the professional community, especially compared to other fields, and came together to address this opportunity.
PCAD Initiating Steward Anna Ovchinnikova attending her first AAA Annual Meeting in New Orleans in November 2025
Our People
Anna Ovchinnikova
Anna is Co-Founder and Initiating Steward of PCAD. She is currently a Sophomore at Oakland School for the Arts in Oakland, California. She completed anthropology coursework through Brown University’s Pre-College Program and at Laney College. Her research examines the recurrence of Puritan providence narratives in contemporary American political discourse.
Fiona Allendorf
Fiona is Co-Founder of PCAD and a Sophomore at Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua, New York. She has interned on American Anthropological Association-affiliated podcasts and published a book of short stories inspired by core anthropological principles. Her research examines bipedalism, footwear practices across cultures, and the relationship between shoe-wearing habits and human foot arch development.
Averie Chiang
Averie is Co-Founder of PCAD and a Sophomore at The Nueva School in Hillsborough, California. She took the Anthropology 101 course, where she explored ethnographic methods, cultural frameworks, and the relationship between environment and identity. Her research examines how environmental change shapes cultural loss, community identity, and environmental justice initiatives.
Vaishali Alapati
Vaishali is Co-Founder of PCAD and a Junior at The Madeira School in McLean, Virginia. She is particularly interested in cultural anthropology and the histories of underrepresented communities in the United States. Her research examines the First Transcontinental Railroad and how the experiences of marginalized communities connected to it have been documented or excluded from historical narratives.
Leah Mordehai
Leah is Co-Founder of PCAD and a Junior at San Francisco University High School in San Francisco, California. She has conducted civic and policy research through the Stanford Deliberative Democracy Lab while serving as a youth commissioner for the City and County of San Francisco. She is interested in examining how culture shapes institutions, political decision-making, community identity, and responses to systems of power.
Rachel Pierce
Rachel is Co-Founder of PCAD and a Senior at Sparkman High School in Harvest, Alabama. She completed dual-enrollment coursework in anthropology through the University of Alabama, where she first discovered her passion for the field. Her research examines the intersections of history, biology, and social science in understanding human societies and cultures.
Cecilia Elena Caligiuri
Cecilia is Co-Founder of PCAD and a Senior at The Pingry School in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. She is a recipient of the Junior Anthropologist Award from the American Anthropological Association. Her research examines human evolution, population genetics, biological adaptation, and the relationship between evolutionary history and modern health outcomes.