Biographies of Roundtable Participants 

Phil Cantelon is a graduate of Dartmouth College and holds advanced degrees in history from the University of Michigan and Indiana University.  He taught contemporary American history at Williams College for 9 years (1968-1977), came to Washington on an IPA to work in the policy office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) (1974-1975), and was a senior Fulbright professor in Japan in 1978-1979.  He returned to Washington in the spring of 1979 to write a history of Three Mile Island for the Department of Energy (DOE), arguably the first history of a current event by professional historians. He was a founder and incorporator of both the Society for History in the Federal Government (SHFG) and the National Council on Public History (NCPH), and served as the first executive secretary for both organizations.  He also served as SHFG President from 1995-1996. With Richard Hewlett, Rodney Carlisle, and Robert Williams, he founded History Associates Incorporated in the summer of 1980, serving as the company’s president and chief executive officer for more than a quarter century. He has written histories of two NIH institutes, the Defense Nuclear Agency (with Jesse Stiller), the Institute for Nuclear Power Operations (with J. Samuel Walker), the telephone company MCI, two national trucking companies, Roadway and Consolidated Freightways (with Kenneth Durr), the World Association of Nuclear Operators, and with Arnita Jones co-edited Corporate Archives and History.

Pete Daniel was a founding member and former SHFG president (2010-2011). With other society members, Daniel was drawn into the movement to free the National Archives from the General Services Administration (GSA), an effort that led to the introduction of an independence bill introduced by Senator Robert Morgan on June 19, 1980.  Daniel has written seven books, held the presidency of four historical organizations, and, in addition to teaching university for a dozen years, spent 27 years as a curator at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History (NMAH).

Arnita Jones has been involved with several public history institutions over the last several decades.  A graduate of Emory University’s doctoral program in history, she has served as a Program Officer for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), a senior historian with History Associates Incorporated, Executive Secretary of the Organization of American Historians (OAH), and, most recently, as Executive Directory of the American Historical Association (AHA).  In the late 1970s, while working at the AHA on organizing the National Coordinating Committee for the Promotion of History (NCCPH)--now the National Coalition for History (NCH)--she was instrumental in the development of the first survey of federal historical offices, an effort that paved the way for the founding of the Society for History in the Federal Government.  She was also a founder and officer of the National Council on Public History and, most recently, the International Federation for Public History (IFPH). Her recent article in the inaugural issue of  International Public History published by DeGruyter Press, chronicles much of this history.  She also co-edited Corporate Archives and History with Phil Cantelon.

Lee Ann Potter directs the Office of Learning and Innovation at the Library of Congress, where she has worked since 2013.  Sheleads a talented team committed to developing educational programs, partnerships, and materials, connected to the Library’s collections, that are valued by teachers, students, and families. Before coming to the Library, she created and directed education and volunteer programs at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) for 16 years.  Prior to that, she worked at the Smithsonian on a project to build museum-school partnerships, and before that, was a high school social studies teacher. During the 2009-2010 school year, she served as a Fulbright Roving Scholar of American Studies in Norway. She has been a member of SHFG since 2002; serving on the Executive Council from 2005-2007, as Vice President from 2007-2008, and President from 2008-2009.

Terrance Rucker is a Historical Publications Specialist in the Office of the Historian at the U.S. House of Representatives.  He assists with editing the online Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress.  Terrance is also a contributing writer to the four–volume Minorities in Congress series. Terrance served on the SHFG Executive Council and Nominating Committee and as Vice President and President. He also served as a co–editor of the Society’s newsletter, The Federalist, and the Federal History journal.  Terrance graduated from the Pennsylvania State University with a B.A. in history in 1998 and an M.A. in history from The George Washington University in 2007.  A Ph.D. candidate at The George Washington University, Terrance is writing a dissertation about Congressional delegates in the Rocky Mountain West during the Civil War era.