Luca Pozzi, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology

he/her/hers

I was born in Northern Italy, in a small town in the middle of the Alps. Growing up in the mountains I developed a very strong connection and love for nature and outdoor activities, including hiking, skiing and cycling. My passion for nature took me to study biology in college where I graduated from the Università degli Studi di Torino with a degree in Biology and an MSc in Animal Biodiversity and Conservation. I eventually moved to New York City where I obtained a PhD in Biological Anthropology in 2013 at New York University. My research focuses on primate evolution and conservation and I was extremely fortunate to work and travel in many countries including Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Madagascar, Ecuador, and Equatorial Guinea, many of those - unfortunately - not very LGBTQ-friendly. I joined UTSA in 2016 as an assistant professor in the department of anthropology and I immediately became part of the faculty and staff LGBTQA+ group (Pride FSA) and have been the vice-chair since 2020.  

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I have too many interests and not enough time for all of them, but those include travel, listening to music, baking, cooking, hiking, working out, playing tennis, among many others. My relationship with being gay has been quite rocky, but today I’m very proud to be part of the LGBTQ+ community and I am excited by the opportunity to be that “role model” that I never had growing up.  

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Mentoring Interests  

• Career Development  

• Academic coaching/support 

• Student-teacher mentorship 

• Traveling as a LGBTQ+ person  

• Coming out 

• Being LGBTQ+ in the workplace