Biographies
Steve E. Titus, M.A., R.P.A., President/Principal Investigator
Steve Titus is the owner and President of ARG. He received his B.S. in Elementary Education from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 1978 and his M.A. in Anthropology (Archaeology) from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 1993. Steve is a registered professional archaeologist (RPA) with 33 years of experience in all phases of archaeological investigations in the Midwest and the Plains, including prehistoric and historic field research and report preparation. His responsibilities include writing proposals, formulating and implementing research designs for testing and mitigation projects, directing field investigations, preparing technical reports, and editing finished reports for content. His research interests include prehistoric settlement patterns, chert-type sourcing, and lithic technology.
Following a brief career working in a social services agency with disadvantaged youth and as a teacher in an alternative school and a migrant farmworkers’ camp, Steve’s lifelong interest in archaeology and American history was rekindled by a summer spent working as a Forest Service volunteer conducting backcountry surveys in the National Forest surrounding Yellowstone National Park. This experience, appealing, as it did, to both his love of the outdoors and his intellectual curiosity, led him to return to school to retool as an archaeologist, a career path he has now been following for more than 30 years. In addition to spending time with his son, sisters, nieces, and nephews, Steve enjoys traveling, hiking, visiting Civil War battlefields, flint knapping, and reading.
Monica Shah Lomas, M.A., RPA, Supervising Archaeologist/Project Manager
Monica received her B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her M.A. in Anthropology from Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo. Monica came to ARG in 1998 and serves as a Project Manager and Senior Archaeologist. Her research interests include American historic-period archaeology and material cultural studies. Currently, Monica is focused on project management, and preparing technical proposals, reports, and budgets.
Outside of work, she homeschools her kids and loves being with her family, reading, knitting, and hiking.
John Schwegman, M.A., RPA, Supervising Archaeologist
John Schwegman received his B.A. in Anthropology from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, and his M.A. in Anthropology (Archaeology) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. At ARG John has been employed as a supervising archaeologist for the last 10 years both as a staff member and as an independent contractor. He has more than 25 years of professional experience in conducting cultural resource management projects for federal and state government agencies and private sector clients and spent seven years as a Field Director and Project Supervisor at the Indiana State University Anthropology Laboratory, where he supervised field crews engaged in large-scale survey, testing and mitigation projects in several Midwestern and Plains states.
John’s research interests include prehistoric ceramic analysis, geophysical prospection, and the digital collection of archaeological field data. His interest in geophysical prospection involves conducting magnetometer surveys using a FM256 Fluxgate Gradiometer to guide excavation of archaeological sites. In his spare time John enjoys travel, hiking, nature photography and bird watching.
Cally Lence, Historian/Project Manager
Cally has been employed at ARG since 1998. In the course of the past 19 years, she has performed numerous CRM-related tasks and held many positions in the company: field technician, laboratory director, editor, historic artifact analyst, historian, and project manager. She now serves as the company’s senior historian and as a project manager. Cally graduated in 1996 from Southern Illinois University Carbondale with a degree in history. She is enthusiastic about old photographs and the once grand art of penmanship, and she very much enjoys reading.
Kevin Lomas, Graphics Director/GIS Specialist
Kevin has worked at ARG since 1999. He received his B.A. in Archaeology in 2000 from Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) where he is presently studying for his M.A. in Geography. Prior to receiving his Bachelor’s in Archaeology, Kevin attended a field school in Belize, Central America, was a field technician for 3 ½ years for SIUC, and was employed by the Shawnee National Forest. Kevin is presently working as ARG’s Graphics Director/GIS Specialist and conducts many tasks in regards to graphic design, like producing site and topographic maps, artifact photography, illustrating artifacts and site history/interpretations, as well as managing all spatial data, Trimble field data collection, and Topcon Total Station operation. In his pastime, Kevin enjoys building projects and construction, the outdoors, living simply, good scotch, and hanging out with the family.
James Burrow, Prehistoric Lithic Analyst/Archaeological Technician
James Burrow serves as ARG’s prehistoric lithic analyst identifying projectile point types, tool types, flake types, and chert types. James has worked at ARG for more than 25 years and has been conducting lithic analysis for 20 of them. James also fills out site forms, short reports, and assists in all capacities for all types of fieldwork. James has conducted fieldwork in Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky. James likes traveling, being outdoors, and enjoys morel hunting every spring. James is also an avid collector of vinyl records.
Bob Sadler, Archaeological Technician/Crew Chief
Bob Sadler received his Bachelor’s Degree in Anthropology from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 1996. Once he graduated, Bob began working with ARG and other CRM firms doing fieldwork all over the midwest and plains. But for the last decade, Bob has been ARG’s Crew Chief, and he has an abundance of experience in archaeology and geoarchaeology in the midwest/plains region. Bob’s tasks at ARG are not just limited to the field, he also preps and writes reports. Before he became an archaeologist, Bob was a Sargent in the U.S. Army. He is a veteran of the Persian Gulf War as well as a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Proud of his service (and due to the commonality of his name), many in the field know him as ‘Army Bob’. Bob plays both the guitar and drums, and he writes and records his own music. As a devout Christian, Bob has also written music about his faith. Bob also loves to impersonate Elvis . . . needless to say, Bob has a fondness for karaoke. But Bob also loves the outdoors, particularly when he’s hunting and fishing.
Cathy Loomis, Chief Financial Officer
Cathy Loomis is Chief Financial Officer at ARG. Originally from Chicago and having worked many years in the car rental/limousine service industry, she relocated to Carbondale in 1991 to pursue a degree in accounting at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. Upon graduation in 1996, she decided to become a permanent resident of southern Illinois because of its laid back lifestyle and beautiful landscapes. She initially worked for a few local CPA firms before branching out and starting her own accounting and tax business, with ARG being the primary client. Cathy joined ARG full time in August 2007 but continues a small accounting business on the side during tax season. Cathy’s primary duties involve handling all aspects of the accounting operations, including billings, accounts payable, job costing, payroll, financial analysis, and corporate taxes, but she always jumps at the chance to decorate for the corporate Christmas party or plan other ARG events. Cathy’s other interests include visiting the many Southern Illinois’ wineries, decorating and remodeling, gardening, abstract painting, and raising her three rescue dogs: Cody (a Papillon), Barney (a Border Collie), and Lillie (a Maltipoo).