Newsletter
My mission is to foster a strong relationship between the US, Canadian, and European excellent researchers. And just as the support from women in the Chicago area was instrumental in Marie Curie’s career, I would need the help of all the MCAA members in the Americas chapters, the MCAA board, and the ExComm Team to envisage this dream.
Bionote
Sabina Cveček is a Marie SkłodowskaCurie Global Fellow at the Field Museum in Chicago and the Austrian Academy of Sciences (10/2023–09/2026) and a new Chair of the MCAA North America Chapter. As an interdisciplinary trained socio-cultural anthropologist, she researches ways of being related in ancient societies. Sabina holds a PhD from the University of Vienna (2021) and is the author of Çukuriçi Höyük 4. Household Economics in the Early Bronze Age Aegean (2022, Austrian Academy of Sciences Press). She is an elected Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute and co-chair of the Archaeology and Gender in Europe Network of the European Association of Archaeologists.
Why did you decide to run as Chair of the North America Chapter?
As soon as I started my MSCA Global Fellowship at the Fields Museum in Chicago, I got involved with the MCAA as a Midwest coordinator and member of the North America Chapter Board of Directors (BoD). The turning point for me was attending the 2024 MCAA Annual Conference in Milan. There, I learned about the MCAA’s important role in building a community of excellent researchers across disciplines and advocating for mental health and sustainable careers in academia and beyond. As these objectives resonate with me, I wish to be more closely involved with the MCAA in my new role as a North America Chapter chair. I have to thank the members who supported me on this journey. In particular, Iryna Mykhailova, the outgoing chapter chair, for inviting me to the North America Chapter Board and enabling a smooth transition into my new role, as well as Cristina Florea, a former and current vice-chair, whose knowledge of the MCAA, and longterm involvement in North America Chapter is invaluable.
What will be the objectives of the Chapter under your tenure?
I am a socio-cultural anthropologist with interdisciplinary training, working on the topic of prehistoric kinship. As making kin is an important way to create households and communities, I wish to build on my professional experience and knowledge to serve, make an impact, and become a voice for researchers across all disciplines. I am committed to forwarding MCAA activities in the US, Canada, and beyond and serve as a liaison between the MCAA and Euraxess. My mission is to strengthen ties between the community members and stakeholders while fostering community, creativity, and change toward sustainable careers for MCAA members across all disciplines and career stages.
What are your plans for the development of the Chapter?
I would be delighted to bring together the MCAA community members in the US by organizing a one-day workshop in Chicago in the summer of 2025. Why? First, to strengthen ties between the MCAA “Americas” chapters and second, to promote the Midwest as an excellent research environment alongside the US East and West Coast. After all, Marie Curie herself visited Chicago to accept an honorary degree from Northwestern University in 1921. On this occasion, women from the Chicago area, including Mrs. Marshall Field, raised $100,000 to purchase one gram of radium Marie Curie needed to continue her experiments. Without overstatement, the Field Museum, a world-class museum at which I am currently based, has indirectly supported an excellent European scholar more than a hundred years ago. Today, most of us face challenges with navigating through the red tape between European and US/Canadian institutions during our fellowships. However, there are many wonderful achievements that MCAA North America Chapter members have reached in North America, and I would like to create an opportunity to celebrate and promote their accomplishments.
Apart from bringing members together in person, I wish to hold chapter-wide, monthly virtual meetings. In those, our members will be encouraged to share their experiences as MSCA fellows, of working in different sectors in North America, and raise their wishes for future engagement. With these virtual meetings, I wish to narrow the gap between members spread across the MCAA’s largest chapter in terms of geographic area.
Do you already have plans for events and activities? Can you tell us some?
We have already hosted a webinar in association with the Communication Working Group on the “Power of Networking for Scientists.” In due time, alongside organizing the first Chapter-wide in-person meeting in Chicago, the North America Chapter is planning to host a few more webinars for instance “Design Thinking: From Ideas to Medical Product and Services.” Apart from this, our Chapter’s board members and regional coordinators will participate in virtual monthly meetings, continue organizing local networking events for the MCAA members in different cities across North America, as well as planning in Chicago in 2025.
How will you cooperate with other Chapters and Working Groups?
Having already begun my cooperation by hosting a webinar with the Communication Working Group, I would be delighted to strengthen ties with other “Americas” chapters, including Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and the Andean/Caribbean Chapter. I look forward to working closely with the Management to carry out our Chapter’s activities and with the Communication Working Group to promote our activities among the MCAA members. Regarding other topics close to my heart, I look forward to collaborating with Policy, Sustainability, Career Development, as well as Gender, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion – GEDI Working Groups.
What would you say to members who are considering joining the Working Group/Chapter?
Welcome to the North America Chapter that strives for C3: Community, Creativity, and Change. I would be delighted to learn about your ideas for building a strong and mutually supportive MCAA community in North America and working toward it together with you.
Sabina Cveček
Chair of the MCAA North America Chapter
north-america.chapter@mariecuriealumni.eu
@SabinaCvecek