EDUCATION
Bachelor of Arts, Major: Art History, Minor: History
Fordham University, Bronx, New York
2010
Masters of Arts: Decorative Arts & Design History
George Washington University, Washington D.C.
2020
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Consultant, Twisted Preservation Cultural Consulting, New York, NY
January 2018 - Present
- Contributed interpretive planning, research, and content development for Queer in the Gilded Age tour and theatrical experience for New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation.
- Participated in collaborative development committee for the Tenement Museum to assess interpretation of HIV/AIDS epidemic and provide feedback on engagement with LGBTQ+ community.
Collections & Furnishings Specialist, Fair Lane: The Henry Ford Estate, Dearborn, MI
October 2017 – June 2018
- Conducts primary source research to identify and acquire furnishings and decorative arts objects to return the Ford home to its documented appearance in 1919.
- Collaborates with furniture conservators, designers and craftspeople to execute accurate reproduction furniture pieces for use in historic interiors.
- Ensures incoming objects are tagged, stored, and maintained in accordance with established collections management protocols.
Graduate Research Assistant, Division of Home & Community Life, National Museum of American History
Washington DC
September 2015 - May 2017
- Completed archival research for curator Nancy Davis’s forthcoming book Afong Moy: The First Chinese Woman in America published by Oxford University Press. Research contributed previously unread newspaper and travel accounts of nineteenth century China to Dr. Davis’s research.
- Utilizes MIMSY XG to fulfill weekly research requests from patrons and museum staff regarding museum’s collection of costume and accessories.
- Collaborates with museum curators and donors to conduct provenance research for potential acquisitions of clothing and accessories.
- Wrote approximately 80 online exhibit labels on objects reflecting the history of immigration in the United States for Many Voices, One Nation online exhibit portal.
President Woodrow Wilson House Guide, National Trust, Washington DC
September 2015 – August 2017
- Conducts hourly tours for groups of 20 patrons focusing on the home’s collection of decorative arts and political ephemera reflects Woodrow Wilson’s legacy as the first modern American President.
- Collaborated with Collections Manager and fellow staff to complete damage assessment of museum’s collection of approximately 800 books, providing written descriptions of damage including termite frass, water, and decomposition of materials.
- Fulfilled collections care and cleaning responsibilities for maintaining fourteen period rooms in absence of Collections Manager for duration of two weeks.
Intern, Diplomatic Reception Rooms, U.S. Department of State, Washington D.C.
July– November 2016
- Utilized skills in archival research to find primary sources documents in museums, libraries, and archives, relating to objects in the collection and secured permission for use with corresponding institutions.
- Authored catalogue essay on George III Copper-Plated Event Handkerchief honoring George Washington, produced circa 1785 – 1789. The essay focused on political and social contexts of the textile, the history of textile production, the symbolic iconography, and biographies of the twelve founding fathers featured in the design.
Curatorial Intern, Hillwood Museum, Estate & Gardens, Washington D.C.
February – May 2016
- Completed table service inventory of approximately Russian, French, English, American, Chinese, and German porcelain collections to facilitate quarterly table service installations in the home’s dining room.
- Collaborated with Curator of 19th Century Art, Wilfied Zeisler, to reconcile hardcopy curatorial files with records in Re:Discovery and Piction.
Director of Education, Seward House Museum, Auburn, NY
November 2011 – August 2015
- Developed new procedures for scheduling, training, and evaluating approximately 40 active volunteers.
- Overhauled internship program by standardizing recruitment procedures, and introducing comprehensive training for undergraduate and graduate interns, conducted ongoing evaluation of internship program, continually revised and bettered internship opportunities within the Museum.
- Acted as liaison to Cayuga County’s Office of Tourism to host familiarization tours for national and international tourism professionals including travel writers and tour company operators.
- Responsible for authoring and executing the Education Department’s portion of the museum’s 5-year strategic plan in conjunction with fellow staff members and Board of Trustees.
- Conducted press interviews for newspapers, radio, and television to promote upcoming educational programing.
- Utilized primary sources to produce experiences and resources correlated to the Common Core, New York State Social Studies Framework and English Language Arts for the two thousand 4th, 5th, 7th 8th and high school students that visited per year.
- Developed, planned and executed public programing models for school age children to adult audiences resulting in seventy-five public programs for the 2015 program year.
- Assisted with donor relations and cultivation through the creation of solicitation materials and educational presentation for inaugural Cocktails in Seward’s Tower and other fundraising events.
Cole Fellow, Thomas Cole National Historic Site (TCNHS), Catskill, New York
June 2011 – November 2011
- Worked with Exhibitions and Collections Manager to create an illustrated room inventory of over five-hundred objects throughout seven period rooms.
- Produced new research on objects in the collection including artist’s guitar, harp, and paintbrush for use in interpretation and enrichment for docents.
- Collaborated with an interpretive consultant and museum staff to develop, prototype and execute interactive-art-based family programming and tour experiences focusing on Thomas Cole’s artistic process.
- Collaborated with Collections & Exhibitions Manager to create acquisitions and collections management policies by researching existing policies used by other institutions and evaluating applicability to TCNHS.
PUBLICATIONS
Contributing Writer, Metalsmith Magazine, Society of North American Goldsmiths
- Authored review of Jewelry for Gentlemen (Thames & Hudson, 2018) by James Sherwood for Volume 38, No 2 (Spring 2019).
Contributing Writer, Journal of Modern Craft
- Authored exhibit review for Annabeth Rosen: Fired, Broken, Gathered, Heaped at Cranbrook Art Museum for Volume III, Issue I (Summer 2019).
Blogger, www.dandycraft.org
-Building a repository of interviews with makers and curators who discuss the intersection between LGBTQ identity and contemporary craft.
- Blog research presented via “Crafting Queer Identity: LGBTQ Representation in Contemporary Craft” at the 27th Annual Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association Conference’s Decorative Arts & Design Panel in November of 2016.
- Blog endorsed by Center for Craft, Creativity & Design as part of successful grant application for $2,000 to fund travel expenses to meet makers featured on the site.
- Blog endorsed by the Smithsonian-Mason History of Decorative Arts Program via $500 award of the Rita O’Hara Fellowship that funded travel to the Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association Conference to present blog research.
- Blog endorsed by the American Craft Council via scholarship to attend the 12th Annual American Craft Council Conference, Present Tense, in Omaha, Nebraska, to solicit artists and museums professionals as future blog participants.
EXHIBITIONS
Seward House Fashion Showcase, Curator
Seward House Museum, Auburn, NY, July 2015
Around the world with William Seward, Co-curator
Seward House Museum, Auburn, NY, March 2014 – March 2015
“I remain yours truly…” – Celebrating the First Ten Years of Cedar Grove, Co-curator
Thomas Cole National Historic Site, Catskill, NY, September – October 2011
A Woman’s Touch: Decorative Arts in the Feminine Realm, Co-curator
Morris-Jumel Mansion, New York City, April 2010 – September 2010
“And for all this Nature is never spent…”, Co-curator under supervision of Dr. Jo Anna Isaak
Pelham Art Center, Pelham, New York, March – April 2009
VOLUNTEER
Volunteer Facilitator, Affirmations, Ferndale, MI
April 2018 - May 2019
- Received facilitation training discussing micro and macro issues of gender, sexuality, and personal identity with matrices of power, privilege and oppression.
- Serves as facilitator and social outings coordinator for Metro Detroit LGBTQ+ Millennials meeting and discussion group.
Co-Chair, Passport to History Program, Auburn, NY
March 2012 – August 2015
- Promoting visitation to local historical & cultural sites through outreach to Auburn Enlarged City School District’s 4th grade classes
Emcee & Planning Committee Member, Harriet Tubman: No Longer Underground Centennial Symposium, Auburn, NY
November 2012 - November 2013
- Collaborated with fellow committee members to plan and execute the first scholarly symposium focused on Harriet Tubman’s life in Central New York.
- Presenter: Teachers in Conversation: A Curriculum Development Workshop
Bachelor of Arts, Major: Art History, Minor: History
Fordham University, Bronx, New York
2010
Masters of Arts: Decorative Arts & Design History
George Washington University, Washington D.C.
2020
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Consultant, Twisted Preservation Cultural Consulting, New York, NY
January 2018 - Present
- Contributed interpretive planning, research, and content development for Queer in the Gilded Age tour and theatrical experience for New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation.
- Participated in collaborative development committee for the Tenement Museum to assess interpretation of HIV/AIDS epidemic and provide feedback on engagement with LGBTQ+ community.
Collections & Furnishings Specialist, Fair Lane: The Henry Ford Estate, Dearborn, MI
October 2017 – June 2018
- Conducts primary source research to identify and acquire furnishings and decorative arts objects to return the Ford home to its documented appearance in 1919.
- Collaborates with furniture conservators, designers and craftspeople to execute accurate reproduction furniture pieces for use in historic interiors.
- Ensures incoming objects are tagged, stored, and maintained in accordance with established collections management protocols.
Graduate Research Assistant, Division of Home & Community Life, National Museum of American History
Washington DC
September 2015 - May 2017
- Completed archival research for curator Nancy Davis’s forthcoming book Afong Moy: The First Chinese Woman in America published by Oxford University Press. Research contributed previously unread newspaper and travel accounts of nineteenth century China to Dr. Davis’s research.
- Utilizes MIMSY XG to fulfill weekly research requests from patrons and museum staff regarding museum’s collection of costume and accessories.
- Collaborates with museum curators and donors to conduct provenance research for potential acquisitions of clothing and accessories.
- Wrote approximately 80 online exhibit labels on objects reflecting the history of immigration in the United States for Many Voices, One Nation online exhibit portal.
President Woodrow Wilson House Guide, National Trust, Washington DC
September 2015 – August 2017
- Conducts hourly tours for groups of 20 patrons focusing on the home’s collection of decorative arts and political ephemera reflects Woodrow Wilson’s legacy as the first modern American President.
- Collaborated with Collections Manager and fellow staff to complete damage assessment of museum’s collection of approximately 800 books, providing written descriptions of damage including termite frass, water, and decomposition of materials.
- Fulfilled collections care and cleaning responsibilities for maintaining fourteen period rooms in absence of Collections Manager for duration of two weeks.
Intern, Diplomatic Reception Rooms, U.S. Department of State, Washington D.C.
July– November 2016
- Utilized skills in archival research to find primary sources documents in museums, libraries, and archives, relating to objects in the collection and secured permission for use with corresponding institutions.
- Authored catalogue essay on George III Copper-Plated Event Handkerchief honoring George Washington, produced circa 1785 – 1789. The essay focused on political and social contexts of the textile, the history of textile production, the symbolic iconography, and biographies of the twelve founding fathers featured in the design.
Curatorial Intern, Hillwood Museum, Estate & Gardens, Washington D.C.
February – May 2016
- Completed table service inventory of approximately Russian, French, English, American, Chinese, and German porcelain collections to facilitate quarterly table service installations in the home’s dining room.
- Collaborated with Curator of 19th Century Art, Wilfied Zeisler, to reconcile hardcopy curatorial files with records in Re:Discovery and Piction.
Director of Education, Seward House Museum, Auburn, NY
November 2011 – August 2015
- Developed new procedures for scheduling, training, and evaluating approximately 40 active volunteers.
- Overhauled internship program by standardizing recruitment procedures, and introducing comprehensive training for undergraduate and graduate interns, conducted ongoing evaluation of internship program, continually revised and bettered internship opportunities within the Museum.
- Acted as liaison to Cayuga County’s Office of Tourism to host familiarization tours for national and international tourism professionals including travel writers and tour company operators.
- Responsible for authoring and executing the Education Department’s portion of the museum’s 5-year strategic plan in conjunction with fellow staff members and Board of Trustees.
- Conducted press interviews for newspapers, radio, and television to promote upcoming educational programing.
- Utilized primary sources to produce experiences and resources correlated to the Common Core, New York State Social Studies Framework and English Language Arts for the two thousand 4th, 5th, 7th 8th and high school students that visited per year.
- Developed, planned and executed public programing models for school age children to adult audiences resulting in seventy-five public programs for the 2015 program year.
- Assisted with donor relations and cultivation through the creation of solicitation materials and educational presentation for inaugural Cocktails in Seward’s Tower and other fundraising events.
Cole Fellow, Thomas Cole National Historic Site (TCNHS), Catskill, New York
June 2011 – November 2011
- Worked with Exhibitions and Collections Manager to create an illustrated room inventory of over five-hundred objects throughout seven period rooms.
- Produced new research on objects in the collection including artist’s guitar, harp, and paintbrush for use in interpretation and enrichment for docents.
- Collaborated with an interpretive consultant and museum staff to develop, prototype and execute interactive-art-based family programming and tour experiences focusing on Thomas Cole’s artistic process.
- Collaborated with Collections & Exhibitions Manager to create acquisitions and collections management policies by researching existing policies used by other institutions and evaluating applicability to TCNHS.
PUBLICATIONS
Contributing Writer, Metalsmith Magazine, Society of North American Goldsmiths
- Authored review of Jewelry for Gentlemen (Thames & Hudson, 2018) by James Sherwood for Volume 38, No 2 (Spring 2019).
Contributing Writer, Journal of Modern Craft
- Authored exhibit review for Annabeth Rosen: Fired, Broken, Gathered, Heaped at Cranbrook Art Museum for Volume III, Issue I (Summer 2019).
Blogger, www.dandycraft.org
-Building a repository of interviews with makers and curators who discuss the intersection between LGBTQ identity and contemporary craft.
- Blog research presented via “Crafting Queer Identity: LGBTQ Representation in Contemporary Craft” at the 27th Annual Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association Conference’s Decorative Arts & Design Panel in November of 2016.
- Blog endorsed by Center for Craft, Creativity & Design as part of successful grant application for $2,000 to fund travel expenses to meet makers featured on the site.
- Blog endorsed by the Smithsonian-Mason History of Decorative Arts Program via $500 award of the Rita O’Hara Fellowship that funded travel to the Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association Conference to present blog research.
- Blog endorsed by the American Craft Council via scholarship to attend the 12th Annual American Craft Council Conference, Present Tense, in Omaha, Nebraska, to solicit artists and museums professionals as future blog participants.
EXHIBITIONS
Seward House Fashion Showcase, Curator
Seward House Museum, Auburn, NY, July 2015
Around the world with William Seward, Co-curator
Seward House Museum, Auburn, NY, March 2014 – March 2015
“I remain yours truly…” – Celebrating the First Ten Years of Cedar Grove, Co-curator
Thomas Cole National Historic Site, Catskill, NY, September – October 2011
A Woman’s Touch: Decorative Arts in the Feminine Realm, Co-curator
Morris-Jumel Mansion, New York City, April 2010 – September 2010
“And for all this Nature is never spent…”, Co-curator under supervision of Dr. Jo Anna Isaak
Pelham Art Center, Pelham, New York, March – April 2009
VOLUNTEER
Volunteer Facilitator, Affirmations, Ferndale, MI
April 2018 - May 2019
- Received facilitation training discussing micro and macro issues of gender, sexuality, and personal identity with matrices of power, privilege and oppression.
- Serves as facilitator and social outings coordinator for Metro Detroit LGBTQ+ Millennials meeting and discussion group.
Co-Chair, Passport to History Program, Auburn, NY
March 2012 – August 2015
- Promoting visitation to local historical & cultural sites through outreach to Auburn Enlarged City School District’s 4th grade classes
Emcee & Planning Committee Member, Harriet Tubman: No Longer Underground Centennial Symposium, Auburn, NY
November 2012 - November 2013
- Collaborated with fellow committee members to plan and execute the first scholarly symposium focused on Harriet Tubman’s life in Central New York.
- Presenter: Teachers in Conversation: A Curriculum Development Workshop