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About WAPA |
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About WAPA |
The Washington Association of Professional Anthropologists (WAPA) is the oldest and largest regional association of professional anthropologists in the world today. Founded in 1976, WAPA serves as a resource, and a social and career development center for anthropologists seeking to apply their knowledge and skills to practical problems for the betterment of society.
WAPA's members are employed by government and business, as well as by a broad array of domestic and international nonprofit institutions and associations. Members also teach in colleges and universities that prepare the next generation of applied anthropologists.
Monthly meetings and social events provide a forum for the exchange of experience and ideas about applying anthropological knowledge and enable students to meet with experienced practitioners for guidance and inspiration. WAPA makes available information on jobs through networking, e-mail and through its website. WAPA's biannual Praxis Award recognizes outstanding contributions by anthropologists to projects in any realm of applied anthropology.
Membership is open to all anthropologists and other interested persons, whether resident in the Nation's capital, or throughout the world. Approximately one-fifth of the membership lives outside the Washington metropolitan area, and many maintain their connection while on assignment overseas. Membership and other information is available by writing to WAPA, Pox 23262, L'Enfant Plaza Stations, Washington, DC 20026, or on this website.
WAPA Needs You
All of WAPA's programs and initiatives are volunteer driven. New members are often called upon to serve on committees and groups, so be prepared to pitch in and do your part. You will be joining a long list of distinguished colleagues who have helped maintain strong support for professional anthropologists. WAPA is constantly growing and changing; recent additions have been a new student member position on the WAPA Board (2002), and the implementation of a Mentorship Program (2003). Contact us if you would like to implement a project or program.
WAPA's mission is to promote and enhance the application of anthropological perspectives and skills to the problems of contemporary communities, by
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NAPA Bulletin 6,
1988, Linda Bennett, editor
Reprinted with permission of authors and NAPA.
[Please note this article was written many years ago. WAPA has continued to evolve in significant ways since that time and some of the content may not be accurate. It should also be noted that the article was one of several in the issue on local practitioner organizations in the United States, of which WAPA is not only one of the few remaining, but still vibrant in activities and membership. We provide the article here for its historical value.]
Early History and Leadership
WAPA was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1976 at Catholic University, primarily in response to the need of graduate students for a jobs network and the interest of one particular faculty member -- Conrad Reining -- in supporting those students. A secondary need on the part of these students and their sponsoring faculty member was the exchange of information and experience in the practice of anthropology. The students had focused their academic work on applied areas and were interested in seeking positions in nonacademic spheres and were not exactly sure where to turn in their quest. Thus, a small network of academic and nonacademic practicing anthropologists was born. Some thought was given to founding a not-for-profit consulting firm rather than an LPO.
It is no coincidence that founding an LPO occurred just at the time that the academic marketplace was rapidly declining. Since its beginning, however, the initial goals have shifted from a "jobs" oriented organization to a broadened interest in self-education, professionalization, community service, and public relations within the larger anthropological community. Not unimportant, as well, as the social functions of WAPA, providing a meeting place for colleagues who are also friends, and a "socializing" function for those new to the unique environment of the nation's capital.
WAPA's founders were Conrad Reining and a small group of Catholic University graduate students, with Gretchen Schafft figuring centrally. While Connie Reining had one root firmly planted in the international development arena, Gretchen -- who had done her doctoral fieldwork on a local "applied" problem -- was headed in the direction of an applied career on the domestic scene. These two thrusts -- international and domestic -- have continued to this day as important drawing cards for WAPA's membership, as well as a means of organizing functions and activities.
From the start, meetings were established on a monthly basis and soon began to be held at the Friend's Meeting House on Florida Avenue, N.W., near Dupont Circle. Reining was the first president, and in later years he became fondly known as "Papa Wapa." WAPA's membership during the first year was about 20-25; by the second year about 30-35 people regularly attended meetings; and by the early 1980s, 40-60 people were taking part in the monthly meetings.
Washington as a Cultural Context for an LPO
A major metropolitan area of approximately 3 million inhabitants, Washington, D.C., has a population that is widely dispersed to suburban communities in the surrounding counties of Virginia and Maryland. The "federal enclave" consisting of the federal offices in Washington and across the Potomac River in Rosslyn, Virginia, and the Smithsonian Institution and Mall constitute the "town center." With respect to employment, the federal, state, and local governments, consulting firms, headquarters for professional and trade associations, private and voluntary organizations (PVOs), the computer industry, and the service sectors are major sources of employment. By and large, Washington is a professional, managerial, and service sector city, with relatively little manufacturing industry. Employment possibilities for anthropologists are "wide open" and highly varied, and at the moment (1988) the market is fluid. Consulting firms, PVOs, and government agencies predominate as places for employment for nonacademic anthropologists.
Washington is a place where many people are constantly getting together, professionally at meetings or socially through its lively theater, film, music, and art life. While it is clearly a work-oriented city, there is also an enormous amount of socializing -- eating out or at dinner parties at home as a way of mixing work and social matters. In fact, it is hard to separate the two. People are often embarrassed to admit that they are not extremely busy, and many are often on the road. In order to see people, dates have to be planned well in advance.
As a city, Washington is unique. It's beautiful, possessing rare architectural quality and an extensive park system. For an American city, Washington is unusually international. Everyone "talks politics." And in a somewhat disquieting sense, Washington is a place where people are highly aware of each other's relative position, based upon their social standing. The "power" of one's job seems far more meaningful for determining social status than is money. Furthermore, Washington draws an enormous number of visitors who come for professional and/or touristic purposes, making it easy to "touch base" with colleagues outside Washington. For WAPA, this is especially important.
Within this power-conscious city, anthropology is remarkably invisible to non anthropologists, especially considering the large number of anthropologists working in power bases such as the World Bank, the International Money Fund, the Agency for International Development (AID), the Inter-American Foundation, and the Smithsonian. In Washington, anthropology is a profession that is practiced for the most part holistically, but from the inside where one's label often gets swallowed up or reinvented by the bureaucracy. This is one reason, it seems, that WAPA is so successful: it is a place where one's identity as an anthropologist is reaffirmed among friends and colleagues.
The Anthropological Community
Washington has one of the largest critical masses of anthropologists of any metropolitan area in the country and certainly the greatest number of applied ones. Upwards of 300 people have graduate degrees in the discipline and are employed there.
Opportunities to study anthropology generally and applied anthropology specifically in B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. programs abound. American University and Catholic University both offer Ph.D. and M.A. programs, and AU also offers an M.A. in applied anthropology. The University of Maryland has a new master's program specifically designed for applied anthropology and offers an M.A.A. George Washington University also offers an M.A., and the department is linked to GWU's well-known museology program. Both museology and anthropology have strong ties with the very large Department of Anthropology of the Smithsonian Institution. GWU has recently added a development anthropology specialty. Other schools with undergraduate programs in anthropology include Howard University, University of the District of Columbia, and George Mason University nearby in Fairfax, Virginia.
Faculty members in these programs often encourage students to consider nonacademic work, which many do enter. Students and graduates working outside the university are critical to WAPA since they constitute an important network for new members coming into WAPA as well as for the "old-timers."
Potential Problem Areas and Solutions
From the beginning of WAPA, a conscious effort was made to open itself to all areas of anthropology, including the four subfields of sociocultural, linguistic, physical, and archeological anthropology, and encompassing both academic and nonacademic anthropologists. WAPA's nonexclusivity has become one of its critical strengths in terms of attracting active members, bridging the theory and practice gap, and in becoming a "model" for subsequent development of some other LPOs in other places. The very name of WAPA in which the "P" stands for "Professional" consciously attempts to play down the teacher/practitioner distinction. Its efforts to vary its monthly programs of guest and members' presentations so as to represent the four subfields both from an academic and practitioner point of view have gone a long way to "democratize" the organization and to encourage broad-based participation.
WAPA's rotation of the presidency from female to male annually -- a conscious decision -- has short-circuited potential problems of leadership of an organization with approximately equal numbers of males and females. For several years now, a nominating committee system has been used to identify a single slate of candidates for office. The membership votes "yes" or "no" for members of the slate and can "write in" alternatives. The nominating committee is constituted and presided over by the president-elect who attempts to identify members representing different constituencies of anthropologists in the community who have experience in WAPA leadership and committee work. A goal is to combine old-timers with newer members in each year's governance as a means for keeping the leadership viable and to avoid having an "in-group" control the organization.
WAPA has avoided a potential drawback of holding its monthly meetings in inconvenient locations for members by choosing a "downtown" meeting place in locations within reach of the metro subway. Additionally, by meeting in the same place for years, members became familiar with the routine. The monthly WAPA meeting night is a full evening for many attendees, with its professional and social benefits. Since board members live all over the metropolitan area, meeting locations are negotiated for each monthly meeting.
Ongoing Organization
Membership is currently about 225. Approximately two-thirds is local; and one-third, national. A few members represent an international constituency, including U.S. nationals working overseas. WAPA has two categories of membership: individual and institutional. There are very few institutional members. Some other LPOs receive courtesy copies of the monthly newsletter. Annual membership dues for individuals are $17, while institutional dues are $20. The annual year begins in July.
In completing the membership form, members indicate their professional affiliation. The latest data indicate that approximately 33% are academic (of which 23% are professional academicians, and 10% students); 27% are federal, state, and local government employees; 21% work in for-profit and private voluntary organizations; 16% are independent consultants; and the remainder are indeterminate.
WAPA's membership lies predominantly in the sociocultural subfield, but archeologists are also well represented, as are some linguists and physical anthropologists. Substantive specialties that occur in significant numbers include international development, medical/health, evaluation, education, public policy, archeology, cultural resource management, urban planning/shelter, and maritime. Because of the nature of work in Washington, D.C., much of WAPA's membership is employed in positions that are not technically defined as anthropology and often entail significant management/administration.
WAPA is a "not-for-profit" organization, and at present does not pay federal, state, or District of Columbia taxes. It is registered in Washington, D.C.
The governing structure of WAPA is based upon elected officers consisting of a president, secretary, and treasurer. President-elects serve for one year prior to becoming president and continue as members of the board of directors for a year following their presidency. The president heads the board. Besides the three elected positions and the immediate past-president and president-elect, the board consists of several committee heads who are appointed by the president. Standing and ad hoc committees are drawn upon to meet the regular needs of the organization and to respond to new demands and programs. In the committee structure, experienced and new members often work together to keep WAPA functioning smoothly. Standing committees include program, newsletter, membership, Praxis Award, community service, job service, outreach/publicity, and anthropology and journalism. The editor(s) produce the WAPA Newsletter, which in many important respects serves as the association's "lifeblood."
WAPA holds monthly meetings, entailing presentation and discussion of substantive information on particular roles of guest or member anthropologists that make a difference in the work he or she performs. Meetings also advance professional networking and help new members adapt to the culture of Washington, D.C. WAPA publishes the monthly newsletter mentioned above, which includes articles on organizational activities, notes of personal and cultural interest, job announcements, schedule of relevant meetings around the city, and occasionally a member profile. WAPA provides an employment service: rather than "getting" jobs for people, the WAPA Jobs Service provides clients of that service useful approaches and skills necessary for networking, getting or even creating a position.
In addition to these regular services to members, WAPA has taken on several additional projects over the years such as workshops at national anthropology meetings, an anthropology career conference, special publications, community service projects, and the Praxis Award.
The Praxis Award, widely known nationally and internationally, was created in 1981 by Shirley Fiske and Robert Wulff, two past-presidents of WAPA. It honors the successful application of anthropological knowledge to problem solving. Having awarded the first Praxis in 1982 at the SfAA meetings, WAPA now presents the award biennially at the AAA meetings. Using a baker's dozen projects that had won Praxis Awards, Wulff and Fiske have edited Anthropological Praxis: Translating Knowledge into Action (1987). Uniquely suited for applied as well as method and theory courses in university and community college classes, this book shows how anthropology as praxis is of value in American and international settings.
Other publications include Stalking Employment in the Nation's Capital: A Guide for Anthropologists and Directory of Practicing Anthropologists in the Nation's Capital, as well as the biennial Directory of WAPA Members. WAPA publications, t-shirts, membership information, etc., are displayed and sold at a WAPA table at the AAA meetings each year, with WAPA members available to provide information about the organization.
WAPA is also recognized for its "state-of-the-art" workshops, which have been offered at AAA and SfAA meetings since 1979. Registrants pay a fee to take workshops such as "Opportunities in Intercultural Training," "How to Become a Professional Anthropological Consultant," and "Social Impact Assessment: Skills and Opportunities."
Locally, WAPA has always functioned as a conduit through which information about jobs could be obtained. The WAPA Jobs Service has assisted members to both advance their skills in searching for and obtaining jobs and to widen their employment opportunities. New job announcements are ordinarily made at each WAPA meeting as well as in the newsletter. However, those members who are looking for jobs can join the WAPA Jobs Service, which includes group activities directed at developing skills and sharing new information. It is not a service based on "feeding information" from people who know to people who don't know. The self-help, entrepreneurial way of seeking employment opportunities is typical of WAPA's collaborative, problem-solving approach. Indeed, when new anthropologists come to town, chances are they will be directed to WAPA members and meetings to announce their arrival, their job situation, and their basic interests in the field of anthropology.
WAPA has sponsored many special fund-raising activities: dinner/theater evenings that have raised significant funds; the WAPA table at national conferences; the sale of its publications; workshops at national, regional and local conferences; and a career-day workshop.
Special Experience of WAPA
WAPA's location in the nation's capital where there are diverse and numerous employment opportunities and a critical mass of anthropologists has permitted the organization to flourish. Its diversification of functions has occurred in part because of the number of members who are available and willing to assist in its various projects. Such diversity adds to the richness of the organization. Also, the rather frequent movement of anthropologists into and out of Washington, D.C., provides a regular infusion of "new blood."
WAPA has a strong sense of history, even though not all members have shared directly in its legacy. Thus far, it is primarily an oral history (with the exception of the newsletters), and a well-tended large "history box" has been passed from president to president since the first year, waiting to be mined when the time is right. A basic core of members perpetuates the WAPA history, which keeps new members intrigued by stories of its adventures, misadventures, heroes, and anti-heroes. Certain symbols help facilitate the sense of identity with WAPA, including the WAPA logo which appears on its stationery, envelopes, brochures, newsletters, and t-shirts.
Certain long-term traditions help to reinforce a sense of continuity, and sometimes these practices make it difficult to accept change. When WAPA moved its monthly meetings in the spring of 1987 from the Friend's Meeting House some distance away to Sumner School, also located in the downtown area, many members felt some sense of loss. After all, for several years WAPA had met in the same place, and premeeting and postmeeting gathering places in the Dupont Circle area had become familiar and comfortable. To help assuage this sense of loss, incoming President Ruth Landman and job service committee coordinator Laurie Krieger investigated the bars in the area of Sumner School so that by the time of the first meeting they could recommend a place to gather after the meeting.
Similarly, members feel that there should be an outing in June, a picnic in September, and a holiday time party in December because "it has been done that way for years." Even though it was very wet and cold in September 1987, when WAPA held its annual picnic, 50 people showed up. At the same time, members seem to be receptive to innovation. In 1986, a fall theater party was organized and is now part of the annual cycle of events. In true WAPA style, a new idea was tried out; when it worked, it became incorporated into the regular schedule.
The sociability of WAPA members both reflects life at large in Washington as well as WAPA's own personality. For example, many members look forward to attending the monthly WAPA meeting no matter what is on the program. For many, the evening begins as early as 6:00 with a premeeting supper. A social gathering before the formal meeting begins at 7:00, while the formal portion begins at 7:30. Another informal period follows the program, and usually a group of 10-15 die-hards retire to a bar in the vicinity until who knows when. Meetings are set for the first Tuesday of the month, unless it falls on the first day of the month, when the meeting is held on the second Tuesday. This schedule is "set in stone."
Family members and friends are also welcomed to WAPA meetings and social events. Even if the WAPA member in the family is out of town, his or her spouse might well attend an event alone and feel very much at home.
New Directions
WAPA sees as significant "new directions" a focus on professional development of anthropologists in the wider region; creation of a significant, visible community service arm that shows WAPA is capable of outreach beyond its own needs; and a regional -- maybe even a national -- effort through an electronic bulletin board service, to provide an information exchange system.
WAPA is trying to develop a new program to support regional private and voluntary groups such as the Washington, D.C. Cancer Society, the Northern Virginia Cancer Society, and Training, Inc., as a means of developing a community outreach program. These activities provide newer members an opportunity to "apprentice" themselves to longer-term members, in applying their skills to a practical program. They will also give WAPA visibility as an organization that has a vested interest in the community."
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