Gelfand is a native of New York City and spent his formative years in the Southwest Borderlands, where he earned his PhD in cultural history and American Indian studies at the University of Arizona in Tucson.  He is an associate professor of Interdisciplinary Liberal Studies and teaches courses on the San Francisco Bay Area, people of color in the U. S. and Canada, environmental activism, global cultures, and the contemporary United States.  His research focuses on surfing and environmental activism, Polynesian cultures, the Chiricahua Apache, California, the North American West, civil rights issues, and the U. S. Naval Academy at Annapolis.  He serves as the advisor for the Kinetix Breakdance Crew, the Longboarding Club, and the men’s acappella group, Exit 245.  Gelfand works in historic preservation and cultural resource management, and serves as the chairman of the Bergen County Historical Society’s Historic Preservation Committee in New Jersey.  

Ph.D. University of Arizona 
M.A. & A. B. University of Georgia 
M.A. Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce, University of Kentucky