CV available upon request

Sarah Holma

Sarah Holma is a cultural anthropologist and public lecturer based in Vancouver. She is a PhD candidate at the Leiden University Institute for Area Studies (LIAS), with her dissertation submitted and defense pending. Her research examines the role of international agencies in the protection, conservation, and presentation of Cambodian heritage sites.

She founded SAA: SEARCH (2008 to 2014), a not for profit initiative developed to support capacity building in faculties of archaeology across Southeast Asia. This work later evolved into Capacity Building Faculties of Archaeology in Cambodia (CBFAC), reflecting her long term commitment to archaeological education, heritage training, and institutional support in Cambodia.

Sarah has worked as a field archaeologist in Cambodia, Canada, and Australia, and has held roles as a lecturer and researcher with academic and international institutions, including UNESCO, the Australian Defence Force Academy, and the Australian National University. She is a member of the BC Association of Professional Archaeologists, the Society for American Archaeology, and the Canadian Archaeological Association.

She is committed to approaches that prioritize locally led research and believes that archaeology is most meaningful and sustainable when it is carried out by local professionals and institutions.

Since the fall of 2025, she has been delivering public lectures and seminar-style programming, alongside international lecturing on cruise lines. Her work brings together archaeology, world heritage, and cultural landscapes, integrating storytelling, oral traditions, and lived cultural practices for diverse audiences across Southeast Asia, the Pacific, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

She will begin the SOAS Postgraduate Diploma in Asian Art in 2026, further developing her focus on Southeast Asian art and material culture.

EDUCATION

• PhD Candidate, Leiden University Institute for Area Studies (LIAS), dissertation submitted, defense pending

• Previously pursued doctoral study at Université de Montréal (2013) and Australian National University (2013–2015)

• Postgraduate Diploma, Asian Art, SOAS University of London (beginning 2026)

• MA, Asian Pacific Policy Studies, University of British Columbia (2011)

• BA, Asian Studies (2008) and Anthropological Archaeology (2009), University of British Columbia

• Diploma, Pacific Rim Studies, Langara College (2003)

• Archaeology Field Training Certification, Similkameen River, British Columbia (2003)

Sarah Holma is an anthropologist and public lecturer specializing in archaeology, world heritage, and cultural landscapes. If you are interested in a lecture or program, please feel free to get in touch at holmasarah@gmail.com