Meet the Bloggers
The AASLH Bloggers are members of the community of state and local history professionals. Our official correspondents include:
- Max van Balgooy, National Trust for Historic Preservation
- Bob Beatty, American Association for State and Local History
- Catherine Gilbert, Upstate History Alliance
- David Grabitske, Minnesota Historical Society
- Bethany Hawkins, American Association for State and Local History
- Terry Jackson, American Association for State and Local History
- Stacy Klingler, Indiana Historical Society
- Scott Wands, Connecticut Humanities Council
About Max van Balgooy:
Max is the Director of Interpretation and Education at the National Trust for Historic Preservation in Washington, DC, where he works with 29 National Trust Historic Sites and manages the NTHS Blog at historicsites.wordpress.com. He was formerly Assistant Director at the Homestead Museum in southern California. Max is currently Chair of the Leadership Development Committee for AASLH and joined AASLH when he was in high school.
About Bob Beatty:
Bob Beatty is Director of Programs for the American Association for State & Local History where he directs AASLH’s professional development program including workshops, an annual meeting, AASLH’s active affinity groups and other initiatives, and publications as editor of History News and a member of the AASLH Editorial Advisory Board. From 1999-2007 he directed the Education Department at the Orange County Regional History Center, in Orlando, Florida where he established an extremely successful educational outreach program including school partnerships, youth and family activities, adult programming, and over fifty community partnerships ranging from Boys and Girls clubs to community affinity groups.
About Catherine Gilbert:
Catherine Gilbert is the Executive Director for the Upstate History Alliance, a museum service organization in New York State. Established in 1971, UHA is a non-profit organization which provides support, advice and training to historical societies, museums, historians, archivists, and other cultural organizations in New York. Prior to joining UHA, Catherine was the Coordinator of Outreach at the Miami Children’s Museum, Manager of Statewide Programs and History Day Coordinator at the New York State Historical Association, and Visitor Services Manager at Old South Meeting House. Ms. Gilbert has her Masters of Arts in Museum Education from Tufts University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Fine Arts/Art History from Marist College.
About David Grabitske:
David Grabitske, manager of outreach services at the Minnesota Historical Society, builds capabilities for 450 local historical organizations in his state. View the Minnesota Local History Blog.
About Terry Jackson:
My interest in public history was mainly a hobby until the job market upheaval occurred in the financial market here in Middle Tennessee. After returning to college and working on my MA at MTSU, I have worked in and volunteered at several different historic institutions: an old house museum, the county archives, a cemetery friends group, and I collected digital information for the tnportraits website. I cannot make up my mind which type of institution I like best which is why I have chosen to work for AASLH. I am able to stay in touch with all my areas of interest through their programs, contacts, and collaborations.
About Stacy Klingler:
Stacy Klingler is the Assistant Director of Local History Services at the Indiana Historical Society, the incoming chair of AASLH’s Small Museum Committee, a member of Field Services Alliance, and treasurer of the Association of Indiana Museums. During her six years in the field, she was the director of the Putnam County Museum in Greencastle, Indiana, and was previously the assistant director of two small museums. She spends her non-museum time with her husband, a philosophy professor, and their three cats, preferably in the garden, in the kitchen, or in the hammock.
About Scott Wands:
As Heritage Resource Center (HRC) & Field Services Coordinator for the Connecticut Humanities Council (CHC), Scott Wands manages the daily operations of the CHC’s non-grant-funded services to Connecticut’s cultural heritage community. The HRC provides a vehicle to organize and distribute relevant research, current thinking, and best practices in the museum field and functions as both a physical and virtual space including a lending library, Weblog, and management of commissioned articles and surveys, leadership forums, seminars, and workshops. Prior to joining the staff of the CHC in March of 2008, Mr. Wands worked for five years for Connecticut Landmarks (previously the Antiquarian & Landmarks Society) as Assistant Curator of Education, supervising site staff and managing operations at the organization’s Greater Hartford area historic properties. A graduate of the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture at the University of Delaware, Mr. Wands serves as Region 2 Chair for AASLH and is a member of the 2009 AASLH Annual Meeting Program Committee, is a board member of the CT League of History Organizations, and is a former Historic Deerfield Summer Fellow.