Erin Carlson Mast has over twenty years of experience leading nonprofit transformation and excellence. As the Lincoln Presidential Foundation’s CEO since 2021, she has led a relaunch, award-winning programming, and new National Park Service partnership.  Previously, she served as CEO of President Lincoln’s Cottage, where she led its transition to an independent 501(c)(3) and fostered innovation that earned regional and national recognition, including a 2017 EXCEL Award for Chief Executive Leadership. She was part of the team that opened the National Monument in 2008. Her experience includes working with the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage, National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Smithsonian Institution. Mast earned degrees from George Washington University and Ohio University. Her current service includes the Barrington Cultural Commission and The Lincoln Forum Executive Committee.

Erin Carlson Mast

Vice Chair

2024-2026
Lincoln Presidential Foundation

Burt Logan retired as Executive Director and CEO of the Ohio History Connection in 2022 and then served as Executive Consultant to the OHC Board. Prior to Ohio, he led the USS Constitution Museum in Boston for fourteen years.  He was the Director of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc from 1986 to 1995, and began his museum career in 1983 as Executive Director of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Burt is a 1976 honor graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, and served on active duty as a Field Artillery officer for five years. In 1983, he received an MA in History Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program. He attended the Getty Leadership Institute, and has since served as a presenter for the program. Burt chaired the AAM Accreditation Commission from 2012 until 2017. He also was president of the Council of American Maritime Museums and the Association for Great Lakes Maritime History, and has served on the AASLH Council.

Burt Logan

Immediate Past Chair

2024-2026

Christie Weininger is the Executive Director of the Hayes Presidential Library & Museums in Fremont, Ohio. Christie holds a Bachelor’s degree in history from Otterbein University and a Master’s degree in history from the University of Toledo. While at Otterbein, Christie spent a semester abroad at Roehampton Institute in Wimbledon, England, where studying local history meant working with documents that were 600 years old. Christie was the Director of the Wood County Historical Center, Bowling Green, for nine years and spent seven years as Director/Curator of the Wyandot County Museum, Upper Sandusky. Christie is a past president of the Ohio Local History Alliance and chaired that organization’s Advocacy Committee. She also served the Ohio Academy of History as chair of the Public History Committee. She teaches Ohio history and public history at Heidelberg University in Tiffin, Ohio.

Christie Weininger

Treasurer

Hayes Presidential Library & Museums

Scott Wands serves as Deputy Director for Grants and Programs at Connecticut Humanities, overseeing the distribution of nearly $40 million to the cultural community since the onset of the pandemic. He is co-creator of Standards and Excellence Program for History Organizations (STEPS) Connecticut, which since 2012 has helped 47 organizations build professionalism and become vibrant community resources with the AASLH STEPS program. He is helping coordinate Connecticut’s Semiquincentennial planning and served on Connecticut’s Suffrage Centennial Commission. Scott served on AASLH Council from 2016-2020, including as Member-at-Large on Executive Committee (2019-20), Finance Committee, and STEPS Enhancement Committee. Scott has also served AASLH as a Field Service Alliance board member (2013-17), Region 2 Chair for Awards (2008-12, 2015-17), and Annual Conference Program Committee (2009-11, 2021). Before joining Connecticut Humanities in March 2008, he worked for five years at Connecticut Landmarks as assistant curator of education. Scott lives in Wethersfield, Connecticut and serves as Secretary of the Wethersfield Dad’s Club and on the Wethersfield Greater Together Community Fund.

Scott Wands

Secretary

2024-2026

Connecticut Humanities

Lisa Anderson is Vice President at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Previously, she was the Executive Director of the Museum of Art at Utah Valley University and the CEO of the Mesa Historical Museum and the founder of the Arizona Spring Training Experience. She has worked in museums for over 34 years and earned her Master’s degree in Cultural Anthropology from Wake Forest University. In addition, she has taught Museum Studies at Arizona State University and at Utah Valley University. She has served on various local, state, and national boards and committees, including the Western Museums Association, the Central Arizona Museum Association, and the Museum Association of Arizona. Anderson has also served on the AASLH Awards and Programs Committees, and has chaired the Leadership Nominating Committee. She currently serves on AASLH Council and is the Chair of the Governance Committee.

Lisa Anderson

Class of 2026

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

JerriAnne Boggis is the executive director of the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire, the founder and director of The Harriet Wilson Project, and the former director of diversity programs and community outreach at the University of New Hampshire. She is an inaugural recipient of the Penn State University Human Rights Society 2021 Ona Judge Award for promoting awareness and appreciation of Black history and culture. Boggis was recognized as one of 2020’s Granite Staters of the Month for her work in bringing to light New Hampshire’s Black history. In 2015 she was named by the New Hampshire Humanities Council as one of the 40 most influential New Hampshirites for enriching human understanding and putting New Hampshire on the cultural map.

JerriAnne Boggis

 Class of 2026

Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire

Alison Bruesehoff has been a leader in the non-profit world, specifically museums, for 22 years.  Currently Executive Director of Rancho Los Cerritos (RLC) Historic Site, she’s spent the last eight years overseeing its operations and growth. In addition to RLC’s ongoing maintenance and restoration, she’s led initiatives including the “Looking Back to Advance Forward” multimillion-dollar storm water recapture and reuse project, creation and execution of a strategic master plan process, the newly reimagined 4th Grade school tour experience, and extensive DEIA stakeholder training and implementation. A true community partner, much of Alison’s time is spent working with multiple Southern California organizations.

Alison Bruesehoff

Class of 2026

Rancho Los Cerritos

Veronica Gallardo is the Surratt House Museum Director with the Natural and Historical Resources Division of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. As a 14-year museum professional with a broad range of experience in public history, her passion lies in increasing the relevance of cultural institutions by providing a more complete and comprehensive history through more diverse and inclusive programs and strategies. Her board professional experience includes working with a historic preservation firm on the SurveyLA project, focusing on increasing public awareness of LatinX local neighborhoods’ significance, where historic preservation is complex, diverse, and forgotten. She also worked at Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn, New York, a historic house museum that preserves the history of the 19th-century African-American community of Weeksville, focusing on providing aid to the local communities through preservation and educational programs centering on self-determination and freedom. Veronica recently worked at Fort Monroe.

Veronica Gallardo

Class of 2027

Surratt House Museum

Margaret Koch has been the Director of the Bullock Museum since 2018. The official Texas State History Museum covers more than 16,000 years of human habitation. With a mission to create experiences that educate, engage, and encourage a deeper understanding of Texas, Margaret leads a team of 80 staff in interpretation, operations, and communications. On the Council of the Texas Association of Museums since 2018, most recently as President (2021–2023), she has served the museum field for more than 35 years. With an MFA in Museum Exhibition Planning and Design from the University of the Arts, she has been a long-standing member of the American Alliance of Museums and AASLH, a past reviewer for the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the National Endowment for the Humanities, and has published articles including “Stewarding the Personal Narratives of Painful History” in Reverberations of Racial Violence: Critical Reflections on Borderlands History (2021). Margaret also serves on the Texas America 250 Commission.

Margaret Koch

Class of 2027

Bullock Museum

Andrea Lowery is the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission (PHMC), the commonwealth’s history agency. There she oversees the Pennsylvania State Archives, the State Museum of Pennsylvania, the State Historic Preservation Office and 24 historic sites and museums. At PHMC, Andrea has developed new initiatives to uncover and promote the history of underrepresented communities. These initiatives include community outreach to identify subjects for historical markers and National Register nominations, collaboration with federally recognized tribes in the redesign of museum exhibits, and an architectural survey of under-documented communities. Andrea serves as a Peer Reviewer for the American Alliance of Museums’ Accreditation Program and co-authored a white paper on friends’ groups for AASLH. She oversees grants to more than 160 museums and historical societies across Pennsylvania and serves as a grant reviewer for other institutions engaged in historical and cultural work. As a registered architect, Andrea has led a number of museum renovation projects.

Andrea Lowery

Class of 2027

Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

Kim Fortney is a coalition builder who believes in the power of history education to shape a better world. She became the deputy director of National History Day in 2009. She directs the National Contest and is NHD’s primary liaison with the 56 affiliates that support teachers and students worldwide. Previously, she worked in museum education and administration for 13 years. She chaired the AASLH Governance Committee (2016-2020) and was a steering committee member of History Relevance (2013-2020). Kim also served as president of the Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums (MAAM, 2008-2010) and has presented at the annual meetings of AASLH, MAAM, the National Humanities Conference, and other organizations. Kim co-edited An Alliance of Spirit: Museum and School Partnerships, published in 2010. She completed the Senior Leaders Program for Nonprofit Professionals at Columbia Business School and holds an MA in History/Museum Studies from Duquesne University and a BA in History/Secondary Education from Westminster College.

Kim Fortney

Class of 2027

National History Day

Jamie Bosket began his tenure as President & CEO of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture in 2017. In his first five years, Jamie led an organizational transformation that included a comprehensive rebranding, the adoption of an ambitious long-range plan, a major staff reorganization, and the most successful fundraising campaign and most extensive renovation of the museum in its nearly 200-year history. Previously, Jamie served in multiple leadership positions at George Washington’s Mount Vernon over a period of ten years. Now a member of the Board of Visitors to Mount Vernon, he was also appointed by the Governor of Virginia to help lead Virginia’s American Revolution 250th Commission in 2020. Jamie received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the State University of New York at Geneseo in 2005 and a Master of Arts degree in Museum Studies from The George Washington University in 2008.

Jamie Bosket

Class of 2028

Virginia Museum of History & Culture

James Pepper Henry is Vice-Chairman of the Kaw Nation, a federally recognized Native American tribe with its headquarters in Kaw City, Oklahoma. He is also President of the Kanza Heritage Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and perpetuation of Kaw culture, language, and historic sites.
Pepper Henry is Director Emeritus of First Americans Museum (FAM), Oklahoma’s premiere cultural institution located in Oklahoma City. Prior to that he was the Executive Director of the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the Director and CEO of the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona, and the Director and CEO of the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center. Henry was also the Associate Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian from 1998 to 2007. He is a graduate of the Getty Leadership Institute (2007) and the University of Oregon.

James Pepper Henry

Class of 2028

Kaw Nation / Kanza Heritage Society

Dr. Ashley Jordan joined the African American Museum in Philadelphia as President & CEO in September 2021. She most recently served as Senior Director of Development at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Ohio, brings significant experience managing and leading cultural institutions focused on memorializing and celebrating the African American experience in the United States. Other career milestones include serving as Executive Director of the Evansville African American Museum in Indiana and curator for the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center in Wilberforce, Ohio. Dr. Jordan earned her Ph.D. in United States History at Howard University in Washington, D.C., an M.A. in Public History from Howard University, and a B.A. in history from Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. Jordan is a Presidential Appointee named by President Joseph Biden to serve as a board member for the National Museum and Library Services Board in Washington, D.C.

Ashley Jordan

Class of 2028

African American Museum of Philadelphia

Chieko Phillips is the Heritage Program Director at 4Culture, the cultural funding agency for King County, Washington, where she manages grant and field services offerings for the heritage field. Her role in supporting organizations and practitioners that preserve and share the histories and material culture of King County, Washington is motivated by the guiding question, “Who decides which stories are told through public history?” Chieko earned a Master’s in Museology from University of Washington and began her career at the Northwest African American Museum. She has also held positions at BlackPast, the United Negro College Fund, and Photographic Center Northwest. Chieko sits on the boards of the Association of King County Historical Organizations and the Washington Museum Association and has served as a City of Seattle Arts Commissioner. A graduate of Davidson College, Chieko holds a BA in History.

Chieko Phillips

Class of 2028

4Culture

With a museum career spanning 31 years, Scott Alvey began as a volunteer for the Louisville Science Center before advancing to lead education programs, collections, facilities, and exhibition development. In 2008, he joined the Kentucky Historical Society and was named executive director in 2018. He is responsible for directing the organization’s mission, values, and strategic priorities through programming, publications, exhibits, and other public resources. An Evansville, Indiana native, Alvey holds a bachelor’s degree in history from Western Kentucky University and is a 2010 graduate of the AASLH Seminar for Historical Administration. He co-chaired the host committee for the AASLH 2015 Louisville Conference, was president of the Kentucky Museum and Heritage Alliance and is the Treasurer for the Southeast Museums Conference.

Scott Alvey

Class of 2029

Kentucky Historical Society

Karen Fisk is Executive Director of the Stowe Center for Literary Activism (Harriet Beecher Stowe Center) in Hartford, Connecticut. As the leader of a social justice museum with a focus on those who advocate hope and freedom then and now, Karen is dedicated to working together with her remarkable staff to nurture dynamic, informed, potentially transformative conversations that empower individuals while building empathy within communities. Before joining the Stowe Center, Karen served as the Vice President of Community Investment and External Affairs at the Springfield Museums, Springfield, MA. There she directed the restoration of Dr. Seuss’s childhood home (Ted’s House), in addition to leading the marketing, public relations, and development teams. She also worked with community advisory groups, as well as staff working groups, to help facilitate accessibility and cultural competency in all aspects of the museum experience.

Karen Fisk

Class of 2029

Stowe Center for Literary Activism

Ben Garcia (he/him) has worked for 20 years to help museums become places of welcome and belonging for all people. He started as a gallery guide and educator, moved on to exhibition development, and then served in middle- and upper-management administrative roles, before joining the American LGBTQ+ Museum as Executive Director. He has presented and published regularly on creating structural equity in museums through transparency, accountability, fair labor practices, and by adding missing voices and perspectives. Ben graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Boston with a B.A. in Art and from Bank Street College of Education with an M.S. Ed. In Museum Leadership.

Ben Garcia

Class of 2029

The American LGBTQ+ Museum

Tamara Hemmerlein is Director of the Indiana Historical Society Local History Services department. She has twenty-seven years of experience working in and with local history organizations. As part of the LHS team, she provides training focused on planning, management, fundraising, and board development. Tamara and her team built and continue to administer the Heritage Support Grants program, a multi-year regranting program. Tamara holds a B.A in Spanish Language and Literature from Indiana State University and an M.A. in Spanish Literatures from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. From 1998 to 2010, Tamara was the Executive Director of the Montgomery County (IN) Cultural Foundation. From 2003 to 2011, Tamara also served as Executive Director of the Montgomery County (IN) Historical Society.

Tamara Hemmerlein

Class of 2029

Indiana Historical Society