Ashley Cordes

Assistant Professor of Indigenous Media in Environmental Studies and Data Science

Ashely Cordes is an academic expert in Indigenous data sovereignty, artificial intelligence, blockchain technology and cryptocurrency. Her research explores how Indigenous communities can leverage technological utilities—such as cryptocurrency and AI—for Tribal economic independence, representational and data sovereignty, and preservation of knowledge systems. 

Her book Indigenous Currencies: Leaving Some for the Rest in the Digital Age (MIT Press) challenges settler economics and currencies and argues that Indigenous currencies—from wampum and beads to the cryptocurrency MazaCoin—transcend economic value and possess a cultural, social and political context. The book has a publish date of April 2025.Cordes is a recent American Council of Learned Societies Fellow and an enrolled citizen of the Coquille Nation. She serves on the Tribal Resilience Taskforce and previously severed as Chair of the Culture and Education Committee of the Kōkwel/Coquille Nation. 

Keaton Miller

Associate Professor of Economics

Keaton Miller is an academic expert in industrial organization, market competition and public policy, with a focus on how businesses, consumers and governments respond to changing regulations.

His research examines the economic effects of recreational cannabis legalization and taxation, Medicare Advantage, health insurance markets and digital platforms. He also studies public higher education finances and the economic impacts of climate change, including costs to Oregon. His work uses real-world policy changes and economic data to understand market behavior and inform decisions on taxation, regulation and public policy.

Miller has worked with economists across Oregon to study the impacts of climate change in Oregon. The group (called Forum on Oregon Climate Economics, or FORCE) worked to communicate how climate change-related issues like wildfire and flooding could cost households, jobs and communities. For Miller, this work is an opportunity for him to apply his expertise with the aim of making a social impact in understanding climate change.

Melissa Graboyes

Associate Professor of History, Global Health Program

Melissa Graboyes is a historian of modern Africa and a global health specialist whose research focuses primarily on medicine and science in the East African region. 

Graboyes’ current research projects have been supported by major research funds. Her work on the history of malaria elimination on the African continent is funded by a five-year National Science Foundation CAREER award. A three-year collaborative research project on returning research results from social science disciplines to African participants—removing costly barriers to make findings more accessible—is funded with a three-year NSF award. She is also working on global health research at the local Eugene level through her project on aspects of care for people who inject drugs. 

As a mentor, Graboyes works with undergraduate students in research groups. She leads the Global Health Research Group, which helps students gain skills and tools for conducting undergraduate research. The group consists of students interested in global health-related topics, as well as students majoring in a STEM field who are interested in ethics, history and the processes of science.

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