Jobs Workshop, 9 a.m. to noon (Jefferson Room)
(Please register separately; included with conference registration fee)
Professional Development Workshop, 10:30 a.m. to noon (Washington Room)
(Please register separately; included with conference registration fee)
Thursday, April 25: Afternoon Panels
3 - 4:30 p.m.
Oral History Roundtable
(Adams Room)
Jessie Kratz, Historian of the National Archives, and Richard Hulver, Historian at the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command, will lead a professional development round table discussion for federal historians to discuss common issues and challenges with oral history projects. They will have a list of issues to discuss but please bring your own questions and concerns. This is designed to be the first step in updating SHFG's oral history guidance for federal historians.
Panel I: Internships in Federal History Programs: Different Perspectives
(McGowan Theater)
Chair: Carl E. Ashley, Chief of the Declassification Division, Office of the Historian, U.S. Department of State
Rachael Nicholas, “Internships in the National Park Service”
Michael J. Hancock, “Internships at the National Archives”
Erik Child, “Internships at the Department of State”
Panel: II: Balancing Audiences: Young Professionals in the Federal Government
(Jefferson Room)
Elizabeth Gonzalez-Wong, Public Information Specialist, House of Representatives, “Public History within the Office of the Clerk”
Anna Torres, Public Affairs Specialist, Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, “Using Public History Training in Science Communication”
Alexandra Kolleda, Archivist, U.S. Army Women's Museum, “Public History and its Relevance to the United States Army”
Matthew Wong, U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, “Public History at the United States Capitol”
Panel III: Federal History Matters
(Washington Room)
Chair: Lee Ann Potter
Lee Ann Potter, Director of the Office of Learning and Innovation, Library of Congress, “Learning and Innovation at the LOC”
Bill Barry, Chief Historian, NASA, “NASA History Outreach Efforts”
Lincoln Bramwell, Chief Historian, USDA Forest Service, “U.S. Forest Service Outreach Efforts”
Lauren Krizner Fischer, Education Program Specialist, U.S. Department of State, “U.S. Diplomacy Center and Simulations for Students”
Commenting: Judson MacLaury, Historian, U.S. Department of Labor, retired, and Curator, History@fedgov
Friday, April 26: Morning Panels
Session One: 9 - 10:30 a.m.
Panel IV: Department of What? Using Collections, Exhibitions and Digital Projects to Share Agency Histories
(McGowan Theater)
Tracy L. Baetz, Chief Curator, U.S. Department of the Interior Museum, “The Gallery Experience and Beyond”
Felicia Wivchar, Associate Curator, Office of Art and Archives, US House of Representatives, “Small Objects, Big Stories - Using Artifacts to Anchor Institutional Histories”
Michelle Strizever, Photography and Digital Content Specialist, Office of Art and Archives, US House of Representatives, “Open to the Public”
Panel V: Is It or Isn't It?: Meaning Making Through Object Research
(Jefferson Room)
Moderator: Susan N. Smith, Winton M. Blount Chair in Research, Smithsonian National Postal Museum
Daniel A. Piazza, Chief Curator of Philately, Smithsonian National Postal Museum, "Redressing the grievances of American Tars:" Uncorking a War of 1812 Bottle Letter”
Lynn Heidelbaugh, Curator, Smithsonian National Postal Museum, "Happy-Go-Lucky Lottie:" A Search for Meaning in Her Satchel”
Scott W. Devine, Paper Conservator, Smithsonian National Postal Museum, “Coffee for a Hundred: Creating and Preserving Value in a Rural Carrier’s Notebook”
Panel VI: General Clifton B. Cates: A Case Study in Public Engagement with Marine Corps History (Washington Room)
Annette Amerman, Historical Reference Branch Chief, Marine Corps History Division
Alisa Whitley, Archives Branch Chief, Marine Corps History Division
Ben Kristy, Aviation Curator, National Museum of the Marine Corps
Session Two: 10:45 - 12:15 p.m.
Panel: VII: The Golden Door: Collecting and Interpreting Immigration History in the Federal Government (McGowan Theater)
Allison S. Finkelstein; Historian; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
Zack Wilske; Senior Historian; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, "Interpreting Immigration History from the Inside: The USCIS History Office and Library"
Owen Rogers; Liaison Specialist; Library of Congress Veterans History Project, “Over Here, Over There: Immigrant Veterans’ Experiences at the Library of Congress”
Dr. Alison Mann; Public Historian; U.S Diplomacy Center in the Bureau of Public Affairs, “Guardians at the Gate: U.S. Passports and National Security in the Interwar Period”
Panel VIII: ‘Wait, That’s Online?’: Digitization and Citizen Engagement in Federal Archives
(Jefferson Room)
Catherine Brandsen, Innovation Hub Coordinator, National Archives and Records Administration
Katie Munn, Education Specialist, National Archives and Records Administration
Dr. Victoria Van Hyning, Senior Innovation Specialist, Library of Congress
Panel IX: Reaching New Audiences (Washington Room)
Chair: Mircea Munteanu, Historian, U.S. Department of State
Jill L. Newmark, Exhibition Specialist, US National Library of Medicine, “Reflections on History and Harry Potter”
John Laurence Busch, Independent Historian, “Micro-Target, Hyper-Specialize: Reaching the Broadest Audience for the First ‘Steamship’ in History”
Eric C. Stoykovich, Historical Manuscripts Project Archivist, University of Maryland Libraries, “Spiro T. Agnew on Tape: Can a U.S. Vice President’s Words Influence Political Opinion about the Federal Government?”
James David, Curator, Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, "Why Can't We See Many Defense and Intelligence Records Still?"
Friday, April 26: Afternoon Panels
Session Three: 2 - 3:30 p.m.
Panel X: Focus on History: Administrative and Legislative Histories of and Unexpected Tools for Federal History Offices
(McGowan Theater)
Mattea Sanders, Historian, American Battlefield Protection Program, National Park Service, "Looking to the Past in Times of Transition"
Melanie O’Brien, Manager, National NAGPRA Program, National Park Service, "Looking Back in Order to Move Forward"
John Renaud, Historian, State, Tribal, and Local, Plans and Grants Program, National Park Service, "Relations, Explaining Why, and Unexpected Tools"
Panel XI: Reconstruction to WWI: New Research in Federal History
(Jefferson Room)
Chair: Julie Prieto, Historian, US Army Center of Military History
Mark L Howe, Cultural Resources Specialist, United States Section, International Boundary and Water Commission, “Explorations, History and Archaeology along the Rio Grande”
Neil Hernandez, Assistant Professor, Baruch College, CUNY, “Bureaucratic Reorganization: The Liberalization and Restriction of the U.S. Immigration System, 1906-1913”
David Goldman,Independent Scholar and Writer, “Charlie” Chaplains in the Great War: Chaplains’ Experiences in the U.S. Army, 1917-1919”
Panel XII: Shared Authority and Shared Experience
(Washington Room)
Chair: Kristin Ahlberg, Historian, U.S. Department of State
Tristan Williams, West Virginia University, “'Shared' Authority: When Private Organizations Own American History”
Lina Mann, American University, “Keeping Public Lands in Alaska Native Hands: The Role of Alaska Natives in the passage of Subsistence Provisions in the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act"
Debbie Schaefer-Jacobs, Associate Curator in the Division of Culture and Community Life, National Museum of American History, “Americanization in the Classroom 1880-1915 and its Parallels to Today”
Thursday, April 25: Afternoon Panels