Andrew Astley ’16 is a permanent Park Guide at Martin Van Buren NHS in Kinderhook, New York. As an undergraduate, Andrew interned at the Wood Museum of Springfield History and Andersonville NHS. Before landing his current position, he worked seasonally for the National Park Service for several years.
Craig Battisfore ’78 is the Vice President, General Manager of the Popular Business Unit for E. & J. Gallo Winery. Prior to Gallo, Craig worked in sales for the Johnson & Johnson Baby Products Company and was Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Hi-Tec Sports USA,
Shaw Bridges ’15 worked after graduation as an AP US History and AP US Government teacher and dorm faculty at the Knox School in St James, NY. He is now pursuing a Ph,D. in History at the University of Georgia, and hopes to one day teach at the college level.
Bryan Caswell ’15 completed a Master of Studies program at the University of Oxford studying Global and Imperial History in 2016. Bryan is now employed by Cardinal Education in Burlingame, CA as a full-time Educational Consultant. Cardinal Education is the premier educational consultancy in the San Francisco Bay Area, offering admissions consulting, standardized test preparation, and one-on-one tutoring. (CWES)
Heather Clancy ’15 is currently employed by Pack Health as an Editorial Supervisor. After graduation from Gettysburg, Heather worked as a Senior Consultant for Cardinal Education, the premier educational consultancy in the San Francisco Bay Area, and earned a Graduate Certificate in Copyediting from UC San Diego Extension. (CWES)
Abigail Cocco ’19 is Assistant Attorney General for Bucks County, Pennsylvania. After graduation from Gettysburg, Abigail earned a J.D. from Temple University Beasley School of Law, where she worked as a certified legal intern in the Temple Legal Aid Office, and after graduation, as a law clerk at Galfand Berger, LLP.
Peter D’Arpa ’14 earned a MA in History from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2016, and is currently a Ph.D. student at West Virginia University. Pete has interned at George Washington’s Mount Vernon and Richmond National Battlefield Park. (CWES)
Jake Farias ’16 is Assistant Director of Telemarketing at Boston College, where he oversees the student caller team. Jake previously served as a Teaching Fellow at Nativity Preparatory School of New Bedford (Massachusetts), an independent, tuition-free middle school for boys from low-income families.
Sam Gilvarg ’15 has turned his dual interests in history and natural resource management into a career in fire management with the Northeast Regional of the National Park Service. He has previously been employed as a Biological Science Technician on the Fire Ecology crew at Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park and held AmeriCorps internships with the Massachusetts Student Conservation Association and the Barnstable County AmeriCorps, exploring fire ecology at Cape Cod National Seashore.
Amelia Grabowski ’13 works for the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum as a member of the web team. She was previously employed at Smithsonian National Museum of American History and the National Museum of Civil War Medicine, where she was responsible for planning and programming at the newly-opened Clara Barton’s Missing Soldiers’ Office. She earned a Master’s degree in Public Humanities from Brown University in 2015. Amelia has worked on the Lower East Side Tenement Museum’s Tour and Discussion program, the Guantanamo Public Memory Project, projects for two different state humanities councils, and several community-based oral history projects centering on issues of social justice. In recognition of her accomplishments in the field, she was awarded Brown University’s Master’s Award for Engaged Citizenship and Community Service in 2015.
Christopher Gwinn ’06 is Chief of Interpretation and Education at Gettysburg National Military Park. Gwinn holds an M.A. in Public History, and has worked extensively for the National Park Service at sites such as Antietam National Battlefield, Boston National Historical Park, and the National Mall and Memorial Parks. (CWES)
Jaeger Held ’22 is a Park Ranger at Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park. He previously held seasonal positions at Grant-Kohrs Ranch NHS and St. Croix National Scenic Riverway. A native of Montana, Jaeger led the effort to ensure that Union soldiers killed during the Powder River Campaign received headstones from the Department of Veterans' Affairs, and served as the state's youngest delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 2020. (CWES & Public History)
Gabby Hornbeck ’13 is a permanent Park Guide at Boston National Historical Park. Gabby earned a MA in History (Public History concentration) from West Virginia University in 2015, and previously held seasonal positions at Death Valley National Park, Adams National Historic Site, and Governor’s Island National Monument. (CWES)
Brian Matthew Jordan ’09 received his Ph.D. in History from Yale University in 2013, and is Assistant Professor of History at Sam Houston State University. He is the author of Marching Home: Union Veterans and Their Unending Civil War (Liveright/W.W. Norton, 2015), a finalist for the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in History and co-editor of The War Went On: Reconsidering the Lives of Civil War Veterans (LSU, 2020). His next book, Enduring Civil War: Life, Death, and Survival in a Union Regiment, is forthcoming with Liveright/W.W. Norton. (CWES)
Brianna (Kirk) Frakes ’15 is a Grant Writer for the American Battlefield Trust, securing funding to acquire at-risk battlefield land from the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and the Civil War. She earned her Ph.D. in History from the University of Virginia in 2023, working with Dr. Elizabeth Varon. Her dissertation, "No Safety for Union Men: Norfolk during Virginia's Civil War and Reconstruction," focused on the intersections of military occupation and racial violence in the Union-occupied city of Norfolk and the broader policy implications for the Reconstruction era that stemmed from the Union military's long wartime occupation. Brianna earned her M.A. in History from UVA in 2019, and previously worked at the American Civil War Museum in Richmond and the Civil War Governors of Kentucky project. (CWES)
Garrett Kost ’21 is a Park Guide at Ford's Theatre National Historic Site, where he presents a range of historically-themed programming for visitors and oversees the site's social media accounts. He previously worked as a Park Ranger at the National Mall and a historical interpreter at Number 9 Coal Mine and Museum. (CWES & Public History)
Rachel (Santose) Koenig '11 completed a dual Master's degreeprogram in History and Library Science at Indiana University in 2013, and is now Research & Education Librarian at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA. Prior to accepting her current position, Rachel worked as the Instruction & Assessment Librarian and College Archivist at SUNY Canton, a Reference Assistant at the Herman B Wells Library (IU Bloomington), a Graduate Assistant at Wylie House Museum, and a historical interpreter at Hale Farm & Village, where she developed a new program on the Ladies Aid Society of Cleveland, Ohio and their crucial volunteer work during the American Civil War.
Matt LaRoche ’17 is a Ph.D. student in History at University of Virginia, where is affiliated with the Nau Center for Civil War History and pursuing research on the role of veteran status during Reconstruction. He earned a MA in History and a MLIS from University of Maryland, College Park in 2023. Matt has been a William Waxter Intern at Preservation Maryland and was the recipient of a 400 Years of African American History in Maryland Fellowship to continue his research on Underground Railroad sites across Maryland. As part of the fellowship, Matt prepared nominations to the NPS Network to Freedom for several properties. He has also worked as an historical consultant for the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project, specializing in digital history. (CWES)
Danny Lee ’22 is a Community Volunteer Ambassador for Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, located outside Atlanta, Georgia. Danny's responsibilities center on public outreach, social media promotion and strengthening the park's volunteer program, and he has undertaken a long-term project to provide more opportunities for volunteers to support preservation of the park's natural resources. (CWES & Public History)
Stephen Light ’05 currently works for the Thomas Jefferson Foundation as Manager of House Tours at Monticello, where he is responsible for assisting with the training, mentoring, and evaluation of interpretive staff and for assessing interpretive materials and experiences. Stephen previously worked as manager of museum programs at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, and as a museum educator at the Columbia County Historical Society (NY). He received his master’s degree in History Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program in 2008.
Yaou Liu ’14 worked with elementary school students from immigrant families at Match Community Day charter school before earning her teaching credentials – as well as a masters degree in education – from Stanford University. A native of Xiangtan, China, she now serves as a 3rd grade Mandarin/English bilingual teacher at College Park Elementary, a public dual immersion bilingual school in San Mateo, California.
Avery Lentz ’14 is a Park Ranger at Monocacy National Battlefield in Frederick, Md., and a graduate of the Applied History MA program at Shippensburg University. He has previously worked for Advantage Solutions, the National Museum of Civil War Medicine and Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park. (CWES)
Brian W. Martin ’83 served as President and Chief Operating Officer of History Associates, a historical consulting firm that provides a wide range of services for corporations, government agencies and nonprofit organizations worldwide. Brian earned a master's degree in applied history and social science and a Ph.D. in history and policy from Carnegie Mellon University. Over the course of his career, he has developed research plans and led projects examining historical developments in the chemical, petroleum, aerospace, nuclear, metals, electrical, transportation, and other industries.
Maci Mark ’21 is currently serving as an SCA Intern in Digital Humanities and Innovation at Boston National Historical Park. They earned a MA in Public History and an Archives certificate from University of Massachusetts Boston in 2023, and previously served as a historical interpreter at the Paul Revere House and Boston African American NHS. Maci is the creator of "Their Dreams, Their Rights, and Their Love," a pioneering tour of Boston's queer history. (Public History)
Jeff Martin ’18 is a historical interpreter in New Jersey's Wharton State Forest. He earned a MA in Public History at Appalachian State University, and previously worked at Manassas NBP and Pamplin Historical Park and the National Museum of the Civil War Soldier. (CWES & Public History)
Melanie Fernandes McKenzie ’16 is living on Cape Cod, where she works as Director of the Eastham Public Library. Prior to her appointment to the position, she served as the library's Access & Technology Services Librarian, with responsibility for selecting and implementing new technologies, coordinating reference services, and managing the library's local history collections. She holds a Masters degree in Library and Information Science from Simmons University.
Megan McNish ’16 is Eastern Region Community Preservation Coordinator with the Pennsylvania State Historic Preservation Office. She previously worked as Associate Planner in Design Preservation for the city of Columbia, South Carolina, and as a seasonal park ranger at Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania NMP. Megan earned a Masters degree in Public History from West Virginia University in 2018. (CWES & Public History)
Val Merlina '14 served as a seasonal Park Ranger at Governors Island National Monument in New York City after graduation, then went on to earn their J.D. and Global Studies certificate (Gaeilge & politics of Northern Ireland) in their hometown at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law in 2017. During law school, Val completed internships with the Pittsburgh Federal Public Defenders, the Abolitionist Law Center, the Pitt Law Health Law Clinic, the United Steelworkers Legal Department, externed under Member of Parliament of Kosovo (now first female Prime Minister of Kosovo) Vjosa Osmani, and was offered an externship at the Belfast, Northern Ireland-based Committee for the Administration of Justice. Val served as an assistant editor for JURIST Legal News Commentary, traveled as a committee delegate to Havana and Santiago de Cuba as part of the National Lawyers' Guild Labor & Employment Committee, and was awarded Pitt Law's Pro Bono Service Recognition Award, Community Service Award, and the Wohlmuth Award. Most recently, Val was a labor organizer at United Steelworkers, where they were part of the teams assisting workers win union campaigns for the United Museum Workers of Pittsburgh, and the University of Pittsburgh. (CWES)
Brad Miller ’13 is Preservation Manager for Maine Preservation, a nonprofit member-based, statewide historic preservation organization. Prior to his move to Maine, he worked as a Community Preservation Specialist with Indiana Landmarks. Brad earned a Master’s Degree in Public History at Middle Tennessee State University in 2015, with a concentration in Historic Preservation.
Amber Moulton ’02 is Associate Director for Research at the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, where she leads the organization's emergent human rights research program. She received a Ph.D. in African and African American Studies from Harvard University in 2011, and previously taught at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Northeastern University, and Harvard University. Her first book, The Fight for Interracial Marriage Rights in Antebellum Massachusetts, was published by Harvard University Press in 2015.
Emma Murphy-Novak ’15 earned a MA in History with a Public History concentration at the University of West Georgia, and currently works as a Park Ranger at Reconstruction Era National Historical Park. She has previously held Park Guide positions at Vicksburg NMP, Andrew Johnson NHS and Gettysburg NMP. (CWES)
Jonathan Neu ’07 earned a Ph. D. in History from Carnegie Mellon University in 2018. His dissertation was entitled “From Civil War to Civic Reform: Grand Army Veterans in the Progressive Era, 1890 – 1920.” Jonathan is currently an Editorial Associate at SAE International, and previously worked as the Archives & Education Intern at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum. (CWES)
Darby Nisbett ’20 earned her MLIS degree from the University of Maryland, College Park, and now works as Search Room Coordinator at the Maryland State Archives, where she coordinates research appointments, fulfills record orders, works the Circulation/Research desk, and answers reference and research questions.
Becky Oakes ’13 is a Digital Media Specialist with the US Patent and Trademark Office. She previously worked as Chief of Interpretation at Martin Van Buren National Historical Park, and as a Park Ranger at Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park. Becky earned a MA in History (Public History concentration) from West Virginia University in 2015, and is currently pursuing her Ph.D in 19th-century US History. (CWES)
Tim Orr ’01 is an Associate Professor of History at Old Dominion University, where he teaches classes in 19th-century America and Civil War history. A graduate of Gettysburg College, he received his Ph.D. from Penn State University. Prior to his arrival at ODU, he worked for 8 years as a seasonal park ranger at Gettysburg NMP. His first book, “Last to Leave the Field”: The Life and Letters of First Sergeant Ambrose Henry Hayward, Company D, 28th, was published by the University of Tennessee Press in 2010. His most recent work, a book co-written with N. Jack “Dusty” Kleiss and Laura Lawfer Orr entitled Never Call Me A Hero: A Legendary American Dive Bomber Pilot Remembers the Battle of Midway, was published by Harper Collins in May, 2017. (CWES)
Thomas Paone ’07 is a Museum Specialist at the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum, where he curates the museum’s lighter-than-air collection, which includes balloons, blimps, and airships. He has worked on several exhibits, including Time and Navigation: The Untold Story of Getting from Here to There, the Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall and the reimagined Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight and World War I exhibitions He holds a MA in American History from George Mason University. (CWES)
Kristen M. (Trout) Pawlak ’14 is the Preservation Editor for Emerging Civil War. She previously served as Development Associate for Stewardship at the Civil War Trust, and has a long history of involvement with the Missouri Civil War Museum in St. Louis, Missouri. She currently serves on the museum's Board of Trustees, and was employed as Programming Coordinator and Manager from 2011 to 2017. She holds a M.A. in Nonprofit Leadership from Webster University. (CWES)
Sean Parke ’10 obtained a MS in Library and Information Science with a concentration in Archives Management from Simmons College in August 2014. After graduation, he worked as a Circulation and Technical Services Assistant for the Trumbull Library System, before accepting a position as University Archivist at the University of Hartford.
Jared Peatman ’02 earned a Ph.D. in history at Texas A & M. His dissertation on the legacy of the Gettysburg Address was awarded the 2012 Hay-Nicolay Dissertation Prize and was published in revised form in 2013 by Southern Illinois University Press under the title The Long Shadow of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Jared is Founding Director of Four Score Consulting, LLC, which provides history-based leadership development programs for governmental and business leaders, and is at work on a book about the 20th Maine at Gettysburg.
Savannah Rose ’17 used her Pohanka internship at Gettysburg NMP as a stepping stone to two summers of employment as a seasonal ranger at the park. After receiving her Master's degree in History (Public History concentration) from West Virginia University, she accepted a position as a Park Guide at Independence National Historical Park. (CWES & Public History)
Jacob Ross ’15 is Supervisory Park Ranger at Roosevelt-Vanderbilt National Historic Sites in Hyde Park, NY. He previously worked as Lead Interpreter at Jimmy Carter NHP and as a Visitor Guide at the US Capitol, and held seasonal interpretive positions at Appomattox Court House NHP, Adams NMP, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Vicksburg NMP and Theodore Roosevelt National Park. (CWES)
Evan Rothera ’10 is Assistant Professor of History at University of Arkansas – Fort Smith and the author of Civil Wars and Reconstructions in the Americas: The United States, Mexico, and Argentina, 1860-1880 (LSU Press, 2022). He is also co-author of The War Went On: Reconsidering the Lives of Civil War Veterans (LSU, 2020), jointly authored with fellow Gettysburg College alumnus Brian Jordan. He earned his Ph.D. in History from the Pennsylvania State University in 2017 and previously served as Lecturer in History at Sam Houston State University. (CWES)
Benjamin Roy ’21 is a Ph.D. student in the Department of History at University of Georgia. He is currently researching tobacco usage during the long 19th century and its various intersections with racial, social, and gender identities. (CWES & Public History)
Robert Sandow ’92 grew up in the Laurel Highlands of Southwestern Pennsylvania, where family trips to its famous battlefields sparked a lifelong passion for Civil War history. In 1993, Sandow earned a Ph. D. in history from the Richards Civil War Era Center at Penn State University. His research specialties include the Northern home front during the Civil War, with particular interest in issues of dissent, partisan politics and opposition. He is Professor of History at the Lock Haven University campus of Commonwealth University, and author of Deserter Country: Civil War Opposition in the Pennsylvania Appalachians (2011).
Cameron Sauers '21 is a Ph.D student in History and African American Studies at Penn State University, where he holds a Robinson Fellowship in American History. Cameron is exploring a dissertation topic relating to the intersection of disability and race in the 19th century US. He earned a MA in History from University of Kentucky, writing his thesis on the Freedmen's Bureau's administration of land reform in South Carolina. (CWES & Public History)
Steven Semmel ’16 earned a MA in History (Public History concentration) from West Virginia University, where he also worked as a Research Services Graduate Assistant. After several seasons as a seasonal ranger at Gettysburg National Military Park, Steven accepted a position as a Library Technician at the US Army Heritage & Education Center in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. (CWES & Public History)
Jennifer Simone ’18 used her Pohanka internship at Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania NMP as a stepping stone to two summers of employment as a Family & Youth Activities interpreter for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, where she facilitated children’s historical games at CWF’s Patriots at Play location. Following her graduation from Gettysburg, Jennifer accepted a position as a social studies teacher at Northern Highlands Regional High School in Allendale, New Jersey.
Chris Sniezek ’17 continued his study of the Civil War Era at Mississippi State University, from which he earned a MA in History in 2019. He currently manages the museum gift shop at the Jewish Museum of Maryland, where in addition to inventory and supervisory responsibilities, he conducts research for the museum's blog. (CWES & Public History)
Becca (Duffy) Stasiunas ’16 followed her passion for collections and curation to the Winterthur Graduate Program in American Material Culture at the University of Delaware, to which she returned after graduation as the Sewell C. Biggs Curatorial Fellow. She is currently a Ph.D. student in Art History at UDel, and previously served as Curator of Education at the Read House & Gardens in Historic New Castle, Delaware. (Public History)
Michele Seabrook Streeter ’13 is Communications Manager at Education Finance Council, a national trade association representing nonprofit and state agency student loan organizations. From 2014-15, she worked as Communications Coordinator at the Civil War Trust, where she was responsible for coordinating the Trust’s media strategy, organizing press conferences with high level officials, serving as first point of contact for the Trust, writing and editing content for the quarterly magazine Hallowed Ground, and helping with state, local, and federal policy work.
Keith Swaney ’04 is an archives and records management specialist at the New York State Archives in Albany, NY, where he works in the access and research services program areas. Keith earned a Master of Library and Information Science and a Master of Arts in History from the University of Maryland in 2007. He has worked in a variety of library and archival programs since graduating from Gettysburg College, including the Gettysburg College Special Collections, University of Maryland Libraries, and New York State Archives. Keith has written and spoken publicly on web usability in the state government context, statewide access to archival resources in New York, and the use of historical records in high school and college classrooms.
Logan Tapscott ’14 earned a master’s degree in Applied History at Shippensburg University, and second Master’s in Library and Information Science through Clarion University’s online program. Logan has held positions at the Library of Congress, the Coast Guard Historian’s Office, and Arlington House – The Robert E. Lee Memorial, and is currently employed as a librarian as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives National Laboratory Center Library. (CWES)
Jon Tracey ’19 is Cultural Resource Program Manager at Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park. In this role, he works to research and preserve the unique partnership park's cultural resources. Jon earned a MA in History with a concentration in Public History from West Virginia University in 2021. (CWES & Public History)
Pete Vermilyea ’94 teaches history at Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village, CT and at Western Connecticut State University. Pete is the author or editor of more than a dozen articles and books on the Civil War era, including "The Effect of the Confederate Invasion of Pennsylvania on Gettysburg's African American Community" which appeared in Gettysburg Magazine in 2001. Pete was recognized as Connecticut’s History Teacher of the Year and as Connecticut Region One teacher of the year.
Daniel J. Willever ’12 is a social studies teacher at Ramsey High School in Bergen County, New Jersey. He currently teaches United States history and Advanced Placement Human Geography to high school juniors and seniors. Dan is a recipient of the prestigious Milken Educator Award, which recognizes the most impressive early-to-mid career educators in the country, and has played a key role in encouraging several of his students to choose Gettysburg College for their own studies. Dan earned a MA in History & Culture from Drew University. (CWES)
Abigail Winston ’19 is Development Events Manager at the Shakespeare Theatre Company. A double major in History and Music, Abigail previously served as Concerts Manager at The Phillips Collection, a modern art museum in Washington, D.C, where she oversaw the institution's weekly classical music series. (Public History)
Joy Zanghi ’21 is Archivist for the Archdiocese of Boston. She earned a Masters degree in Library and Information Science from Simmons University in 2023, and previously served as Published Materials Department Assistant at Schlesinger Library, Harvard University.