What do the fields of anthropology and employment law have in common? Attorney Micah Parzen.

While earning a doctorate in anthropology, Parzen specialized in Native American culture. “I enjoyed anthropology, but I didn’t want to spend the rest of my career teaching and doing research,” the La Jolla native recalls. “I did an internship with the public defender’s office in Washington, D.C. focusing on mental health services.”

Parzen, 37, sees employment law as the clash of cultures. “Anthropology is the study of human behavior and solving behavioral conflicts,” says Parzen, who considers himself a workplace anthropologist. “I like helping companies devise solutions to complicated human relations oriented problems where everyone is a winner.”

Today, Parzen works at Luce Forward and teaches employment law for SDSU’s College of Extended Studies. His volunteer position as president of ElderHelp’s board of directors nicely overlaps with the work of his wife, Marguerite, who owns and runs a geriatric care management business. He also provides employment counseling pro bono to various nonprofits.

“It’s satisfying to me to contribute my expertise to nonprofits doing good work in the community,” he says. “Especially those nonprofits that can’t afford high-cost legal assistance, but are still committed to doing it right.”