Alan Osborne, native of Oklahoma, was educated at Oklahoma State University and completed his Master's coursework (UNM) in American Indian history and Spanish Colonial borderlands. His academic teaching and public lecturing specialties are American Indian history, Spanish Colonial borderlands frontier history, and Mexican-American territorial history. Alan is the cofounder of Southwest Seminars, a nonprofit cultural education organization which offers public lecture series in the fields of American Indian culture and history, Hispanic culture and history, Southwest archaeology, art and literature. He was the New Mexico State Director of Elderhostel for 12 years and cofounder of New Mexico Elderhostel, as well as founder of College of Santa Fe’s Elderhostel program. He has lectured or toured for educational study travel groups sponsored by: The American Orient Express/American Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Travel Associates, Council on International Relations, Clipper, Special Expeditions, Saga Road Scholar/Tony Hillerman Program, Yale University Alumni Association, UCLA Alumni Association. He has presented educational guest lectures for organizations such as the Western United States Attorneys General, Federal Administrative Law Judges, U.S. Senate-Canadian Parliament Bilateral Trade Commission, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. He has provided museum docent and educational training lectures for Museum of Indian Art and Culture, Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian and The Palace of the Governors.
 
 
Connie Eichstaedt, native New Mexican, is the executive director of Southwest Seminars, an educational nonprofit that specializes in developing programs in Southwest Studies through seminars, lectures, conferences, and educational and cultural tours, for organizations such as UCLA, University of Arizona and Yale Alumni organizations, The Palace of the Governors, The Archaeological Conservancy, The Office of Archaeological Studies, the Indigenous Language Institute, the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, American Orient Express and Tony Hillerman Indian Country Tours. In addition, she has wonderful stories to tell about the experience of building her adobe home in the country. SOUTHWEST SEMINARS We are committed to sensitive cultural education and work with those who share the same commitment. Southwest Seminars is an educational non-profit organization 501(c)3 that specializes in developing programs in Southwest studies: including history, archaeology, art, literature, natural history, geology, ecology, biology, cultural affairs, and other Southwest studies which are sensitive to the multi-cultural heritage and community traditions of its people, for the benefit of residents, visitors, individuals, and groups. Its purpose is to educate, foster and encourage awareness, as well as to heighten cultural sensitivity in the Southwest through seminars, lectures, conferences, educational and cultural tours. It is an honor for us to create programs that raise the awareness and interest in the various cultures and rich history of New Mexico and the Southwest. Founded in 1997 we fulfill our mission in a number of ways. Southwest Seminars creates lectures series in the fields of Archaeology, History, Native American Culture and Issues, Art, Environment and Natural Sciences. We work with scholars, authors, Native American cultural ambassadors, and regional experts. We provide speakers for community and corporate groups, docent training and create benefit and fund raising programs for other non-profits. We received a 2008 Historic Preservation Award for our community lectures in Anthropology and Archaeology. Our lectures were endorsed by the Cuarto Centenenario Committee in 1998 and by Santa Fe’s 400th Committee in 2008 and have been attended, at last count, by over 64,000 people. We offer educational study programs, customized itineraries and events for academic and corporate groups, such as: Yale University Alumni Association, UCLA Alumni travel, Association of Federal Law Judges, Elderhostel, The Amerind Foundation and the University of Minnesota. We are mostly self funded, but in the past have received financial support from the New Mexico Endowment for the Humanities, the Lamar Morse Charitable Trust, the City of Santa Fe and participants of Southwest Seminars programs. FUNDRAISING Many of Southwest Seminars’ lecture series and educational tours have been offered as fundraising benefits for various non-profit organizations doing important work in our community. Southwest Seminars, participants in our programs, as well as many instructors, have donated over $39,000 to these wonderful groups as of October 2010. Recipients and donations include: The Palace of the Governors, New Mexico History Museum, Museum of New Mexico Foundation $10,508.09 The Office of Archaeological Studies, Museum of New Mexico Foundation $7,286.29 The Archaeological Conservancy $8,222.34 Galisteo Basin Coordination Committee, c/o BLM $1,631.39 Museum of Indian Arts and Culture Museum of New Mexico Foundation $774.60 New Mexico Environmental Law Center $5,248.36 Indigenous Language Institute $1,262.50 Picuris Pueblo $937.00 Southwest Association for Indian Arts $683.20 Native American Rights Fund $339.00 The Morning Star Institute $432.50 Smitsonian National Museum of the American Indian $665.25 American Indian College Fund $197.76 Vecinos del Rio $845.15 Center for Desert Archaeology $100 Northern Arizona University/Hays-Gilpin Research Fund $100 Permissions Pending: Most of the photos on this site came from our camera, but a few came from family, friends or students over many years. Please contact us for proper credit. Beautiful images have come to SWS from John Potter, Dr. Frances Levine, Dr. Wendell Harris, Dr. Kirt Kempter, Sandia Johnson and Michael Buchheit Return to ContentsContents.htmlshapeimage_3_link_0