Faculty AND STAFF

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Frontiers Abroad Director

darren@frontiersabroad.com

Website

Darren co-founded Frontiers Abroad in 2005 as a study abroad concept that became reality in 2008 with our first students arriving in Aotearoa/New Zealand. With a mother from Ōtautahi, Aotearoa (Christchurch, New Zealand) and an American father, and his liberal arts undergraduate education at Claremont McKenna College (Pomona College Geology major), Darren has been instrumental in designing a unique study abroad experience that blends academic rigour with his passion for New Zealand’s culture and the Environment.

Darren is also an Associate Professor in geology at the University of Canterbury, where he received his PhD. Darren blends his globally-recognised volcano research with undergraduate and graduate education projects in earth systems science. He has studied the largest volcanoes known to man, “supervolcanoes”, and his research spans the globe from Japan to the United States to South America, Italy and New Zealand. However, more recently, Darren has focussed his research and education efforts on more local grass-roots community-based projects working closely with Māori sub-tribes (hapu) around environmental rehabilitation and catchment-scale health (mauri) to restore mahinga kai (biodiversity and food gathering resources). Frontiers Abroad students are intimately involved in these efforts as part of our latest initiative to further immerse our students in Aotearoa culture, landscapes, and communities with the goal of delivering a life-changing experience.

Away from work, Darren enjoys spending as much time as possible with his family, coaching kids sports, skiing, surfing, hiking and mountain biking. And, because he grew up partly in New Zealand, he does enjoy relaxing and watching a great New Zealand pastime- cricket.

Site Director

max@frontiersabroad.com

Max is the site director and co-founder of Frontiers Abroad. He is responsible for Frontiers Abroad’s administration and manages the day to day activities of running a small organization. Max also is the first point of contact for student emergencies and welfare. Max has been involved with international education, field education and international development for more than 20 years. 

When not taking students to lunch, Max can be found with his family or dog, taking walks or watching his kids play sport or music. Although, being from California, he can’t quite get used to cricket.

Geology Program Director

sarah.smithies@canterbury.ac.nz

Website 

Sarah is a geology lecturer at the University of Canterbury. In her role as the Director of the Frontiers Abroad Geology Program she teaches the geology field camp and the research methods course. Sarah’s research is focused on using petrologic techniques to understand igneous and sedimentary processes. In her most recent publications she used magma compositions to reconstruct the magmatic systems feeding Aotearoa’s largest eruptions.

Sarah is local to Ōtautahi, Aotearoa (Christchurch, New Zealand). She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Canterbury in Geology and Chemistry, before proceeding to a MSc, and eventually her PhD, in Geology. Through her research career Sarah has developed ongoing collaborations with researchers in the USA, she is frequently found in the research labs at Vanderbilt University.

In her spare time Sarah enjoys exploring the hills and mountains surrounding Ōtautahi, especially hunting out natural hot pools. She spends rainy days acquiring new crafting hobbies.

Earth Systems Program Director

olivia.truax@canterbury.ac.nz

Website

Olivia is a lecturer in the School of Earth and Environment at the University of Canterbury and an Affiliate Assistant Professor in the Department of Earth and Space Science at the University of Washington. In her role as the Director of the Frontiers Abroad Earth Systems program she teaches the Earth Systems field camp and the Research Methods semester course. 

Olivia’s research focuses on the history of the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets and their response to a warming climate. Her current projects integrate geological reconstructions with climate models to examine the past, present, and future of ice sheet meltwater and its impacts on climate in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Originally from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Olivia completed her undergraduate studies at Amherst College, where she double majored in Law, Jurisprudence, and Social Thought, and Geology. She first came to Aotearoa in 2015 as a Frontiers Abroad student and returned as a Fulbright Scholar to pursue a MSc, and eventually PhD, in Geology at the University of Otago. Olivia has conducted fieldwork in Alaska with the Juneau Icefield Research Program and in Greenland as part of her postdoctoral research at the University of Washington.

Olivia spends as much time as she can running, mountain biking, climbing, and skiing in Kā Tiritiri o te Moana (Aotearoa’s Southern Alps). 

Co-founder d.hikuroa@auckland.ac.nz

Website

Dan co-founded Frontiers Abroad in 2005 as a study abroad concept that became reality in 2008 with our first students arriving in Aotearoa/New Zealand. With Māori (Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Mahuta, Ngaati Whanaunga) and Pākehā heritage, Dan brings a strongly place-oriented approach that has been instrumental in designing a unique study abroad experience that blends academic rigour with his passion for New Zealand’s culture and the Environment.

Dan is also an Associate Professor in Māori Studies at Waipapa Taumata Rau, the University of Auckland, where he received his PhD, and is an established world expert on weaving indigenous knowledge and science to realise the dreams of the communities he works with. Dan has been spearheading alternative ways of assessing sustainability, including braiding indigenous knowledge and epistemologies into policies, assessment frameworks and decision-support tools. Dan is UNESCO New Zealand Commissioner for Culture, member of Pou Herenga, Māori Advisory to the Climate Change Commission, has key roles within New Zealand’s Centres of Research Excellence, National Science Challenges, and advises national and regional government, communities and philanthropic trusts. More recently Dan has focussed his research and education efforts on more local grass-roots community-based projects working closely with Māori hapū (groups sharing a common ancestor) around environmental rehabilitation and catchment-scale health (mauri) to restore mahinga kai (biodiversity and food gathering resources).

More importantly he is a father, husband, surfer, paddle-boarder, gardener, and loves the taiao (environment).