AASLH Council Members
AASLH is governed by a twenty-one-member Council elected by the membership of the Association. The Council is comprised of leaders in the field of public history, with wide-ranging specialties. Council members serve four years and council officers serve two years. Interested in serving on Council? Learn more.
Actions of Council are listed here.
Bylaws, which lay out the structure and function of the Council and its officer positions, are here.
Interested in sharing with Council? Messages sent to [email protected] will be presented to the full Council at its next meeting. Council meets four to five times a year, including late June and at the time of the AASLH Annual Meeting in August or September.
Christy S. Coleman became the executive director of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation in 2020. Prior to that she was the CEO of the American Civil War Museum in Richmond, Virginia. She began her career at Colonial Williamsburg. During her time with Colonial Williamsburg she had increasing levels of responsibility, finally serving as Director of Historic Programs. In 1999 she was named President and CEO of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, Michigan. In 2008, Ms. Coleman was named President and CEO of the American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar. In 2013 she helped orchestrate the merger of the American Civil War Center with the Museum of the Confederacy to create the American Civil War Museum. She earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from Hampton University. Christy has served on a number of local commissions and national boards, including the American Alliance of Museums and the AASLH.
Christy Coleman
Chair
2024-2026
Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
Erin Carlson Mast
Vice Chair
2024-2026
Lincoln Presidential Foundation
Burt Logan
Immediate Past Chair
2024-2026
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
Luis F. Fernández is an Assistant Professor of History at Chaffey College. Prior to his teaching appointment, he was the Executive Director of the Dominguez Rancho Adobe Museum where he led community awareness of the Dominguez Family, the Homestead Adobe, and Rancho San Pedro. Prior to that, he was an assistant curator and consultant for the museum exhibitions “A Class Action: The Grassroots Struggle for School Desegregation in California” and “Intolerance Versus Freedom.” Fernández earned a Masters of Arts in history from California State University Fullerton. He is co-author of “Mexican American Baseball in Orange County,” “Doss v. Bernal: Ending Mexican Apartheid in Orange County,” and “Paul P. Duron: Design and Manufacture of Cryogenic Industrial Pumps.” Due to his success in local historical research, he was named “Best Local Historian of 2012” by the OC Weekly. His research has been featured in StoryCorps, La Plaza de Cultura y Artes, UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, OC Weekly, Los Angeles Times, and Spanish news stations Univision Noticias34 and Telemundo52 Acceso Total.
Luis F. Fernandez
Class of 2025
Chaffey College
Richard is the Founder and Principal Consultant for Collective Journeys LLC, a new consultation and contracting service for museums and historical organizations interested in producing inclusive historical narratives. He spent 20 years building inclusive narratives at The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and the Minnesota Historical Society. In 2012, Josey became the Manager of Programs at the Minnesota Historical Society, where he directed the development of interpretive programs and provided administrative supervision and support for the Society’s network of 26 historic sites and museums. Richard is also an alum of the Getty Leadership Institute and the History Leadership Institute (formerly titled the Seminar for Historical Administration). He is also honored to serve on the faculty for the AASLH History Leadership Institute as well as the George Washington Teacher’s Institute.
Richard Josey
Class of 2025
Collective Journeys, LLC
State Curator and Museum Curator for the State Historical Society of Iowa since 2013, Leo has worked across the Midwest. He is committed to diverse and accessible history. He maintains a relationship with the Meskwaki nation in Iowa and many community groups. Two exhibits he curated have received Awards of Merit from AASLH. He co-launched the museum’s Iowa History 101 series, is a frequent guest on Iowa Public Radio, and shares diverse Iowa history stories. He began his career at Living History Farms in Iowa, worked as an associate curator at Conner Prairie in Indiana, and was a curator at the Henry Ford in Michigan. He also worked as a curator and educator at Salisbury House in Iowa. Leo has a BS in history from Iowa State University, an MA in Historical Administration from Eastern Illinois University, and completed coursework toward a PhD from Iowa State University.
Leo Landis
Class of 2025
State Historical Museum of Iowa
Ken Turino was the Manager of Community Partnerships and Resource Development at Historic New England and is on the faculty of Tufts University in the Museum Studies Department where he teaches courses on Exhibition Planning and Historic House Museums. Ken is a curator, educator, director, producer, and author. His films were shown on PBS including the prize-winning Back to School: Lessons from Norwich’s (VT) One-Room Schoolhouses. Ken’s numerous public history articles include many with a focus on interpreting historic sites and on LGBTQ+ history. Ken’s most recent publications include AASLH Technical Leaflet #299: Creating Artist-in-Residence Programs at Historic Sites, written with Rebecca Beit-Aharon. With Max van Balgooy, Ken is the editor of Reinventing the Historic House Museum: New Approaches and Proven Solutions, published as part of the AASLH Book Series. Ken and Max teach a workshop based on this book and they are working on a new book about interpreting Christmas and winter holidays at historic sites and museums. Ken frequently consults on interpretive planning and community engagement projects at historic sites. He holds an MAT from George Washington University and was awarded an Outstanding Educator of the Year Award from Salem State University in 2008. Currently, Ken is President of the House of Seven Gables Settlement Association in Salem, Massachusetts.
Ken Turino
Class of 2025 – Interim Appointment
Historic New England
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
Class of 2026
Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire
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
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
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
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.