Career
The professional story
Nigel Encalada is a cultural heritage expert and doctoral researcher in applied anthropology whose work spans the classroom, the national institution, and the international convention. For more than two decades he has worked to safeguard living heritage and to make the case that culture belongs at the center of development — not at its margins.
He led Belize's Institute for Social and Cultural Research for twelve years, coordinated the drafting of the country's first national culture policy, and served as Belize's National Focal Point for the UNESCO 2003 Convention. That national foundation carried him into international practice as a UNESCO Global Facilitator, a consultant to Caribbean governments, and, in 2023, Chairperson of the body that evaluates the world's nominations for intangible cultural heritage. He is now completing a Ph.D. examining how development, heritage, and tourism intersect in Small Island Developing States.
Timeline
Positions & milestones
2024 — present
Ph.D. Student
Department of Anthropology · University of South Florida
Researching Development, Heritage and Tourism in Small Island Developing States.
2014 — 2024
UNESCO Global Facilitator
International consultancy
International heritage missions, evaluations, and technical assistance.
- Chaired the Evaluation Body of the UNESCO 2003 Convention (2023)
- Technical expert on Belize and Barbados nominations inscribed in 2025
- Consultant on living-heritage policy for St. Kitts & Nevis
2009 — 2021
Director, Institute for Social and Cultural Research (ISCR)
National Institute of Culture and History (NICH) · Belize
Led Belize's national body for social and cultural research for twelve years — directing research, publications, heritage safeguarding, and national cultural policy.
- Coordinated and co-drafted the Belize National Cultural Policy 2016–2026
- Served as Belize's National Focal Point for the UNESCO 2003 Convention (2012–2021)
- Founded and edited the Research Reports in Belizean History and Anthropology series
2007 — 2009
Director, Belizean Studies Resource Center
St. John's College · Belize City
Directed the resource center and co-edited the Journal of Belizean Studies, building scholarly infrastructure for the study of Belizean history and society.
1997 — 2024
Lecturer & Adjunct Lecturer
St. John's College · University of Belize · Galen University · Wesley Junior College
More than two decades of higher-education teaching in Belizean and Caribbean history, micro- and macroeconomics, research methods, and global affairs — training students and teachers-in-training alike.
Education
Ph.D., Applied Anthropology · M.Ed. · B.A.
USF · University of North Florida · Rockhurst University
Ph.D. in Applied Anthropology (Development, Heritage & Tourism), in progress, University of South Florida. M.Ed. in Educational Leadership (2007), University of North Florida. B.A. in Global Studies — History, Economics, Political Science (2001), Rockhurst University; Alpha Sigma Nu Honor Society, top 4%.