Leadership

Senior expertise.
Direct accountability.

Atlas Heritage principals remain closely involved from project strategy through fieldwork, analysis, and reporting.

The people behind the work

Terrestrial and maritime leadership, working as one team.

01

Shawn Fackler, M.A., RPA

Founder & Principal

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Shawn Fackler is an archaeologist and cultural resources executive with more than 20 years of experience leading cultural resources programs, multidisciplinary teams, and complex environmental consulting assignments. As Founder & Principal of Atlas Heritage, he remains closely involved in project strategy, regulatory coordination, technical quality, and client service.

Shawn’s experience encompasses cultural resources due diligence, archaeological survey and excavation, construction monitoring, impact assessment and mitigation, Section 106 and NEPA compliance, Tribal and agency coordination, permitting, and technical review. He has supported energy, utilities, transmission, renewable energy, oil and gas, telecommunications, data centers, transportation, infrastructure, and federal programs throughout the western United States, Alaska, Hawaii, the Pacific, and international settings.

He also brings specialized expertise in bioarchaeology, human osteology, burial recovery, cremation analysis, and the management of sensitive cultural resources. His federal and international experience includes archaeological field programs, defense-related investigations, and projects requiring rigorous professional and international heritage standards.

Before establishing Atlas Heritage, Shawn held regional and national leadership roles within major environmental and cultural resources consulting firms. He has directed large professional teams, managed major client programs, and helped organizations expand their capabilities while maintaining technical integrity and accountability. Shawn is a Registered Professional Archaeologist, meets the Secretary of the Interior’s Professional Qualification Standards, and is qualified by the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office.

02

Frederick H. “Fritz” Hanselmann, PhD, MPA

Principal – Maritime Archaeology

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Dr. Frederick H. “Fritz” Hanselmann is an underwater and maritime archaeologist, cultural anthropologist, and scientific diving professional with more than 20 years of experience conducting and directing archaeological investigations, cultural resources management programs, and underwater field operations.

At Atlas Heritage, Fritz leads maritime archaeological services involving submerged cultural resources, marine geophysical survey, shipwreck and aircraft investigations, underwater survey and excavation, submerged precontact sites, maritime cultural landscapes, scientific diving, site mapping and visualization, and underwater cultural heritage management. His experience includes offshore energy, ports and waterways, coastal infrastructure, federal and military programs, and archaeological missions supporting the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

Fritz’s fieldwork has taken him throughout North America, Latin America, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. His international experience encompasses historic shipwrecks, submerged archaeological sites, maritime cultural landscapes, aircraft wreckage and personnel recovery, marine protected areas, and collaborative work with government agencies and coastal communities.

He previously directed university underwater archaeology, scientific diving, and boating programs and has held senior maritime project-management and diving-safety leadership roles. Fritz holds a PhD and MA in Anthropology and a Master of Public Affairs focused on underwater resource management.

An accomplished technical, cave, and closed-circuit rebreather diver, Fritz is also a certified SCUBA instructor, former Nautical Archaeology Society tutor, and Fellow of The Explorers Club. He is the author of Captain Kidd’s Lost Ship: The Wreck of the Quedagh Merchant, co-author of The Maritime Landscape of the Isthmus of Panamá, and the author of numerous technical and academic publications. His work has been featured by National Geographic and other international media.

Principal-led consulting

Bring experienced leadership to the project.

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