Deb Shefi Email & Phone Number

Fremantle, Western Australia

I am currently acting as both a maritime archaeologist and the Maritime Archaeology Collections Manager for the Museum's Maritime Archaeology Department. Current tasks include: the management of the Artefact, Numismatics, Skeletal, and Beacon Island Bodies databases; collections audit; and exhibition design. I am also a WA State Officer for the Commonwealth Australasian Underwater Cultural Heritage program. The role also includes acting as a field archaeologist, remote-sensing operator, SCUBA diver, and coxswain, as well as an in-field registrar and conservation liaison for the Museum. My on-going research interests include: developing a protocol to help provenance glass associated with shipwrecks; the Climate Change Heritage and Marine Processes project (CCHAMP); and numismatics.

United Kingdom

My role at Wessex was in the Maritime Archaeology Unit, where the position incorporated a variety of tasks, including scuba and surface-supply diving, archival research and database development. During employment, I contributed to the development of tenders, conservation management plans, conservation statements, and field reports.

Shipwreck Galleries, Fremantle

The Endeavour Executive Fellowship is a Commonwealth funded professional development funding scheme. My fellowship enabled me to intern with the Western Australian Museum, Department of Maritime Archaeology to further my skills in collections management and exhibition design and development. My main responsibilities included registering, documenting, and digitally photographing the Shark Bay artefact collection, as well as updating the artefact registration database and developing a catalogue of the Shark Bay assemblage for public access.

University Of Western Australia

The Australian Historic Shipwreck Preservation Project is a $500,000 Australian Research Council Linkage Grant, which was managed through the University of Western Australia. I joined the project midway through, on an 8-month fixed-contract, with the aim to manage the remaining budget, produce professional publications, organise and manage fieldwork, produce photomosaics of the shipwreck Clarence and produce presentation materials for Research Associates.

My roles in the project included: supervising communication between divers - both underwater and topside; surveying and recording shipwreck features; and assisting in the excavation, recovery, recording and reburial or waterlogged artefacts.

For a decade I worked as a freelance PADI SCUBA diving instructor. During this time, I taught in Thailand, Australia, Slovenia and the United States.

My thesis addresses the weaknesses between international conventions and guidelines, domestic legislation and practitioners' publications regarding the management of underwater cultural heritage, with a specific focus on the definitions and applications associated with in-situ preservation.

As a post-graduate student, I was awarded the opportunity to participate in the Academic Internship Program at Flinders University, which prepared me for the role of Lecturer. My responsibilities in this role included: Coordinating and supervising the Maritime Archaeology Field Practicum for Masters of Maritime Archaeology Students, and lecturing for undergraduate and graduate courses in Australian Maritime Archaeology, and Underwater Cultural Heritage: Legislation, Management, and Interpretation.

Responsibilities included running undergraduate and graduate seminars in Australian Maritime Archaeology; Cultural Anthropology; Maritime Archaeology in Australia; Underwater Cultural Heritage: Legislation, Management and Interpretation; Coastal and Underwater Archaeology; and Global Perspectives in Maritime Archaeology. Additional tasks included supervising students both academically and during fieldwork. During this time, Debra co-developed the Archaeology Masters Class entitled 'Underwater Video and Photography'.

During my time at BAR, I managed the Florida Archaeological Preserves. This included developing an online extension of the Preserve system, which introduced Florida's 'Museums in the Sea' to the world wide web. Visit www.museumsinthesea.com for your own virtual tour of Florida's shipwreck history. I also assisted in the development of the Heritage Awareness Diving Program, which provides Course Directors, Instructor Trainers and Instructors from PADI, NAUI and SSI with a greater knowledge of how to actively protect UCH, demonstrates the synergetic relationship between cultural and natural heritage, and discusses how to promote sustainable UCH tourism.

Doctor Of Philosophy (Phd), Archaeology

Masters, Maritime Archaeology

Bachelor Of Arts (Ba), Art History