Professor of Political Science, Anthropology, Linguistics, and Gender and Sexuality Studies.
Director of Public Policy for the American Association of University Women (AAUW) of California.
Co-Founder of Willing Observers, LLC, an anthropology-centered consulting firm that fosters equity, belonging, and inclusive culture change.
Areas of specialization: Anthropology of Democracy; Language, Culture, and the Practice of Politics; Impacts of Systemic Gender & Language Biases; Critical (Legal) Studies; Langauge Discrimination; Discourses of Corruption; Political Polarization; Communicating Across Difference; Semiotics of Advertising and Media; Metalinguistic Awareness in DEIB training; DEIB research and metrics; Building Inclusive Organizational Cultures; Allyship Practice; The United States; Papua New Guinea; Mixed-Methods Research
Select Publications
MaMaceyko, Melissa.2025. “We Didn’t Start the Fire: The LA Fires are a Tragedy. DEI is the Solution, Not the Problem.”Willing Observers Blog.
Maceyko, Melissa. 2024. “Reducing Polarization.” In Career Tools for Anthropology, Ed Elizabeth Briody, Jennifer Studabaker, Zahra Malik, and Riall Nolan, 198-206. ACRN Press.
Maceyko, Melissa. 2023. “Corporate Activism against Anti-Abortion and Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislation.” Anthropology News.
Tate, Winifred, Erin McFee, Gillian Tett, Gwen Burnyeat, and Melissa Maceyko. 2022. Moving Between Academic Anthropology and Practitioner Work. Anthropology News.
Maceyko, Melissa and Luzilda Arciniega. 2022. “What is the Difference between DEI and D&I Anyway?” Willing Observers Blog.
Vine, David, David Gellner, Mark Schuller, Alpa Shah, Chandra Middleton, Gwen Burnyeat, and Melissa Maceyko. 2021. “Collaborative Manifesto for Political Anthropology in an Age of Crises” Anthropology News.
Maceyko, Melissa. 2021. “Political Campaigns, Voter Outreach, and American Democracy: Socializing Effective Participation and Citizen Agency in the United States.” American Anthropologist.
Maceyko, Melissa, Erin Debenport, Maywa Montenegro, SA Smythe, and Alejandro Villalpando. 2021. “What Do You Mean by Abolition?” Anthropology News.
Maceyko, Melissa. 2020. “Volunteering for a 2020 Campaign is Shaping Democracy, But Not in The Way You are Expecting.” Anthropology News.
Maceyko, Melissa. 2024. “How do Anthropologists Continue to do Work in DEI in Today’s Fraught Political Environment?” Anthropology Career Readiness Network World of Work Blog.
Maceyko, Melissa. 2024. “Reducing Polarization Through Language.” Willing Observers Blog.
Maceyko, Melissa. 2020. “Building Sociality Through Embodied Interaction: Designing and Implementing A Multiethnic Youth Summer Camp in Rural Bulgaria.” Society for Applied Anthropology Virtual Meetings.
Maceyko, Melissa. (book in progress, estimated 2026 release) Remembering What We Have in Common: Local Communities, Collective Beliefs, and Rising Polarization
Dr. Maceyko is co-host of the Intracultural Podcast.
What do Trump's executive orders on title IX mean for women’s sports? How is sex defined in the context of US law, and who are those laws protecting?
Contact
Dr. Melissa (Missy) Maceyko, Ph.D.
Faculty Member, Political Science Department
California State University Long Beach
Direct: (562)-985-1886
Office: SPA-344
For Students: Letter Of Rec Request Form
For Anyone: Virtual Office Hours