Whitney Petrey

Whitney Petrey started with CRF in September 2025. Prior to working for CRF, she
worked as Repatriation Specialist for a federally recognized tribe, she also worked as
an archaeologist and Native American Liaison for five years for California Department of
Transportation, working with over 40 federally and non-federally recognized tribes
throughout the State of California. Prior to that she worked as an archaeologist for CRM
firms in Hawaii and Washington and as a Curator for several historic sites and museums
in California, Washington and North Carolina. She received her master’s degree in
Maritime Archaeology from East Carolina University with her completion of a thesis on
Native American maritime culture from pre-contact through the protohistoric period. She
has worked on maritime archaeology projects in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida,
Hawaii and California. As a Secretary of Interior principal investigator of historic
archaeology, she has overseen and assisted with numerous large-scale projects that
involved tribal coordination and working with numerous agencies, including the eco
restoration at Tuluwat Island in Humboldt Bay, Last Chance Grade in Del Norte County,
and many others.