As a Baltimore-based consultant, I specialize in curating museum exhibitions, writing and managing publication projects, and developing web content. I am the co-author of On Middle Ground: A History of the Jews of Baltimore (2018) and author of Coalfield Jews: An Appalachian History (2006).
My goal as a professional historian is to make history relevant and accessible to public audiences. By telling complex stories in an engaging way, I seek to help people make connections between past and present. My areas of expertise include Baltimore history, American Jewish studies, urban history and public policy, technology and society, and immigration studies.
My articles and essays have been published in general audience magazines as well as academic journals. I have appeared as a guest speaker at public events and academic conferences, on podcasts and videos, in Baltimore and beyond.
As the Research Historian at the Jewish Museum of Maryland in the early 2000s, I co-curated the museum’s two core exhibitions (one still on display), co-edited exhibition catalogs, and edited a biannual magazine. I helped hundreds of people to research and uncover their family histories as coordinator of the museum’s Family History Center.
I earned a Ph.D. in history from West Virginia University and a B.A. in American Studies from Grinnell College. I have taught public history and American Jewish history at the University of Baltimore, the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and Johns Hopkins University.
Before becoming an historian, I worked in the community development field in Chicago as an organizer, editor, and researcher/writer. I continue to consult with organizations that address community issues, public policy, and urban affairs. Other community activities have included volunteering with Baltimore Community Mediation, Friends of Herring Run Parks, and Montebello School.
If you’re looking for help with your research project, exhibit or publication, contact me!