NAGPRA implementation is an administrative function of the University. The NAGPRA Project reports to the Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor (see NAGPRA Project Org Chart)
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Mary Croughan serves as the Chancellor’s designee for campus oversight NAGPRA Program in compliance with the UC Policy on Native American Cultural Affiliation and Repatriation. Email: Provost@ucdavis.edu; Phone (530) 752-2065
Megon Noble, M.A., Repatriation Coordinator and Senior Strategic Advisor
Email: mnoble@ucdavis.edu | Phone: (530) 752-8501
Megon Noble serves as the Repatriation Coordinator in compliance with the UC Policy on Native American Cultural Affiliation and Repatriation. Megon Noble was hired in 2014 to develop and manage the campus’s NAGPRA Project. Megon is responsible for ongoing NAGPRA compliance efforts and establishing a proactive consultation program with Native American tribes to facilitate repatriations. Megon serves as the point of contact for all NAGPRA inquiries. Megon teaches NAGPRA courses across the country to museum, agency, and tribal staff and representatives through the National Preservation Institute.
Prior to UC Davis, Megon served as the NAGPRA Coordinator for University of Washington’s Burke Museum. In addition to NAGPRA work, Megon has taught museum collections management coursework through the University of Washington Museology Graduate Program and Northwest Indian College.
Carrie Cohen, M.A., NAGPRA Specialist
Carrie Cohen joined the UC Davis NAGPRA Project in 2016. She assists with consultations and CalNAGPRA/NAGPRA reporting and is responsible for the curatorial management of NAGPRA-related collections. Carrie received her BA (2010) and her MA (2016) in Anthropology from California State University, Sacramento with an emphasis on museum collections management. Prior to coming to UC Davis, Carrie worked for the Bureau of Reclamation (NAGPRA/Archaeological Museum Technician), at the California State Parks Statewide Museum Collections Center (Graduate Curatorial Assistant), and at the Natural Resources Conservation Service (Archaeologist).
Lisa H. Barrera, M.A., NAGPRA Assistant
Lisa H. Barrera joined the NAGPRA Project in 2022. As the NAGPRA Assistant, she will assist with documentation and consultation to comply with California NAGPRA and Federal NAGPRA. Lisa received her BA in Anthropology from the University of California at Berkeley and her MA in Anthropology with an emphasis in Museum Studies from the California State University at Chico. Prior to joining the NAGPRA Project, she was the collections manager at the Indian Arts Research Center at the School for Advanced Research in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Prior to that, she was a Graduate Curatorial Assistant at the California State Parks Museum Collections in West Sacramento. She worked with the California Indian Museum, Sutter’s Fort, and the California Railroad Museum collections.
Ella Heaton, M.H.S.P.H., NAGPRA Assistant
Ellie Heaton joined the NAGPRA Project in 2023. In her role as NAGPRA Assistant, she assists with collections management, documentation, and consultation with Tribal Nations under NAGPRA and CalNAGPRA. Ellie received her BA in Classics, with minors in Anthropology and History, from Macalester College. She earned her Master's in Heritage Studies and Public History in the Archaeological Heritage track from the University of Minnesota. Prior to joining the staff at UC Davis, she served as a Contract Registrar for the Weisman Art Museum where she completed the museum's inventory of their NAGPRA-related collection of Ancestors and belongings from the Mimbres Valley, furthering repatriation efforts. Ellie has also held positions at the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, Native Governance Center, and the North Dakota State Archives.