His preservation career began in 1989 as a field surveyor for the OK/SHPO’s survey of coal mining resources in Pittsburg County. He later earned his Master’s at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville and his Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Both his thesis and dissertation examined the cultural and historical geography of the Cherokee Nation. Brad first worked at Northwestern State University of Louisiana, home of the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training. He has been a faculty member at OSU since 1995 and has contracted as a PI with the OK/SHPO since 1997.