Voting closes March 7, 2025, midnight Eastern Time.
Please check your email for a link to the Poll
(Use the email address associated with your ALHFAM account.)
Note to Institutional Members: Only your bundle admin is allowed to vote.
Vote for One
Peter Friesen, Mid-Atlantic
Professional Qualifications and Experience: I became interested in living history as an undergraduate intern at Valley Forge National Historic Site. After this experience, I pursued a public history MA focusing on historic preservation and interpretation. I have worked professionally in the living history field since 2005, beginning at Colonial Williamsburg and then moving to Historic St. Mary’s City (HSMC) in 2007. I currently serve as Director of Education for HSMC and on the Museum Studies steering committee at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
History with ALHFAM: I learned about ALHFAM from Ed Schulz while working as an interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg in 2005. I have been an active ALHFAM member since the annual conference in Farmers Branch, TX, and have presented at regional and annual conferences. In 2016, I was the chair of the MA-ALHFAM regional conference hosted by HSMC, and from 2020 to 2023, I served on the Board of Directors.
ALHFAM’s most pressing issues and how they may be addressed: There are two pressing issues for ALHFAM: First is the need to recruit and retain a young and diverse population of living history professionals. Second, museums need to be relevant. These two issues are not exclusive: Young people and minorities need to see themselves represented in museums to ensure continued relevance.
Aaron Loehndorf, Southeast
Professional Qualifications and Experience: Aaron has worked at the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale, Arkansas, since 2014. He has worked in the education, collections and exhibits departments, wearing many hats. He was previously the President of the Arkansas Living History Association.
History with ALHFAM: Since joining in 2015, Aaron has attended and presented at several national conferences. He is on the planning committee for the 2025 conference.
ALHFAM’s most pressing issues and how they may be addressed: Accessibility is one of ALHFAM's most pressing issues, and it is multifaceted. As more sites limit professional development opportunities, it is essential to diversify the platforms through which we offer programs to our members. While increasing conference sponsorships can help offset costs, securing them can be challenging. This is why scholarships and alternative program formats, like virtual conferences, are so important. Although it may not be feasible every year, establishing the infrastructure for more virtual conferences will allow more members to benefit from the knowledge and experience within our community. Additionally, we must ensure that accessibility services are available for all our programming. Providing quiet spaces at conferences and offering ASL interpretation services are important first steps.
For Board of Directors (Three-Year Term, June 2025-June 2028)
Wind Chapman, Southeast
Professional Qualifications and Experience: Wind Chapman grew up on a dairy farm in Georgia and has been involved in agriculture ever since. Wind has degrees in Horse Training and Management and Multicultural Education. He began working in living history as a blacksmith in 1998 while teaching college in WV. Since 2016, he founded and has been the Director of Long Mountain Living History Center in Dahlonega, Georgia.
History with ALHFAM: Wind has been an active member of ALHFAM since 2015, attending regional and national conferences and extensively networking with other members.
ALHFAM’s most pressing issues and how they may be addressed: The most important issue that ALHFAM currently faces is the eroding of our missions by national, state, and local governments that seek to use what we do as a tool to further their own political agendas. Several strategies can be used. However, the three most important will be remaining flexible, being creative, and working with other ALHFAM members using the trust and friendship we have sown and cultivated over the years.
Kelly-Arlene Grant, Eastern Canada
Professional Qualifications and Experience: Dr. Kelly-Arlene Grant holds a PhD in Humanities from the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Society and Culture at Concordia University in Montreal. The primary focus of her career has been to create accurate characters for living history programming at historic sites in Atlantic Canada and beyond. She has 30+ years of experience working with sites at all three levels of government.
History with ALHFAM: Her first taste of ALHFAM’s ridiculous essence of cool came through a conference held at Fortress Louisbourg back in 2002. Through that conference, she found there were other extreme interpretation nerds like her out in the world. She was also introduced to the works of Tilden Freeman and Jay Anderson and started to build out her library beyond costuming books. That conference also sparked an interest in character development that shaped her later academic pursuits.
ALHFAM’s most pressing issues and how they may be addressed: I believe that the main pressing issue for Canadians in ALHFAM stems from the organization being focused in the United States. Many opportunities that ALHFAM may offer apply only to our American cousins. The Job Board also leans heavily towards American sites. Having a Canadian site will lead to a heavier workload for Canadian members but may allow for greater access to opportunities we are more aptly geared for.
Nathan Schultz, Southeast
Professional Qualifications and Experience: My professional experience is rooted in frontline public interpretation and historical skills. I hold a degree in History from the University of Mary Washington. I have worked at institutions large and small from Jamestown-Yorktown Foundatio to Fort Ticonderoga to Alamance Battleground, where I am now Manager. At Ticonderoga, I served as site ox driver and military trainer. At Alamance, I built our program from the ground up, based on the fundamentals of living history practice.
History with ALHFAM: I attended my first conference in March 2020 and have attended every annual conference since either virtually or in-person. Primarily, I am focused on the project of the Living History Institute, which seeks to encourage and examine the practices of living history. I am deeply committed to Living History and its professionalization.
ALHFAM’s most pressing issues and how they may be addressed: I think ALHFAM’s most pressing issue is exposure to the trend of public history moving away from living history and the shuttering of living history programs. The struggle of our specialty to gain understanding in the wider public history field is a massive issue. As practitioners of living history, we also need to be advocates for the practice in order to preserve and interpret the intangible cultural heritage that the wonders of living history can do.
Sean Stoughton, Central Canada
Professional Qualifications and Experience: Hello, my name is Sean Stoughton, and I am the Village Coordinator with the Ken Seiling Waterloo Region Museum and Doon Heritage Village in Kitchener, Ontario. I have been a lifelong lover of museums and cultural attractions and have worked in living history interpretation and programming since 2006. I am a former council member of the Ontario Museum Association and a past president of the Ontario Artist Blacksmith Association.
History with ALHFAM: I have been a personal member of ALHFAM since 2017 and attended conferences in 2014 and 2019. My primary interests in the museum field are public interpretation, material culture and manufacturing processes, and the lives of working people.
ALHFAM’s most pressing issues and how they may be addressed: One of the difficulties facing the living history community is the retention of interpretive staff and the preservation of the skills and expertise they have cultivated. ALHFAM can support its members advocating at the local/state/provincial level by demonstrating how intangible cultural assets are as valuable as the physical assets on our sites and in our collections. Living history museums should be inclusive and represent the past and present of their communities. We need to continue the ongoing work of truth and reconciliation with groups that have been left out of our sites, to attract new voices, and help others share their stories.
Kori Taber, Mid-Atlantic
Professional Qualifications and Experience: I hold a Master’s in Recreation and Parks management. After volunteering for three years while in school, I joined the staff at the Conococheague Institute in 2023 as the Visitor Experience Facilitator. I recently transitioned to the Programs and Farmstead Manager.
History with ALHFAM: I joined the ALHFAMily in 2024. When searching for professional development opportunities, I came across the 2024 annual conference and was fortunate to receive a fellowship. Since then, I have had more opportunities for professional development and personal growth within the ALHFAM organization through ALHFAM resources and connections with other members.
ALHFAM’s most pressing issues and how they may be addressed: One of the most pressing issues facing ALHFAM is being a professional organization that is accessible, enticing and engaging for young professionals. ALHFAM is a wealth of knowledge and connections. It is important that the “next generation” receives this knowledge and that connections are shared. I believe it would be good to reach those who are up and coming in the field by partnering with more educational programs both in more traditional school settings and by reaching out to new professionals in the field.
Vote for One
Del Taylor, Central Canada
Professional Qualifications and Experience: Forty years of experience in the living history field as an interpreter and coordinator of public education. ALHFAM member since 2000, attending many conferences, becoming conference chair in 2019, and presenter in many sessions involving Indigenous peoples and their roles in museums.
History with ALHFAM: Although I have taken a short break from the business of ALHFAM after chairing the 2019 conference in Midland, Ontario, I feel I am ready to step back into the field and be a contributing member of ALHFAM once again. I consider myself to be a great judge of character, and my input to the committee would be an asset to the organization.
ALHFAM’s most pressing issues and how they may be addressed: As we head into the future, museums have been changing. We have seen many challenges, from lower attendance to keeping our institutions relevant in our modern times-- not to mention a global pandemic. These issues, among others, have forced many museums to find alternative ways of delivering programs. There have been great successes, particularly with new people who bring to the table different ideas on programming.