Isla Nelson is an alum of the CHRM program, having received her master's degree in 2023. Her thesis is titled World War II Minidoka Incarceration Camp Gardens: Evidence of Loyalty to the United States or Rebelling Against their Incarceration. Nelson analyzed two types of gardens maintained by incarcerees at the Minidoka Relocation Center located in southern Idaho: Japanese-style ornamental gardens and Western-style victory gardens. By integrating evidence from archaeology, archives, oral histories, and garden design, she argues that the gardens show incarcerees navigating a nuanced position between compliance and resistance.

Following below is an archived profile.

My name is Isla (pronounced “eye-la”) Nelson and I live in Boise, ID with my husband and two sons. I received a B.A. in Anthropology from Boise State University in 2001 and have been working in cultural resources management for the past 20 years. I’m currently a Project Manager and Cultural Resources Team Lead at an environmental consulting firm that specializes in supporting federal clients, specifically the Department of Defense. I have experience completing cultural resource documents in compliance with Section 106 and Section 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act and with managing and conducting intensive pedestrian archaeological surveys, Phase II archaeological site testing, and Phase III archaeological data recovery throughout the United States. I also have experience with National Environmental Policy Act documents including determining the area of potential effects, preparation of cultural resources sections, client support with government-to-government consultation, and Section 106 consultation throughout the United States. Project experience overseas includes lands managed by the Navy located in Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (Tinian, Pagan, and Saipan), Japan, and South Korea.