The core faculty and specialist lecturers of Race and Place are deeply committed to providing an outstanding professional development experience to participating educators. For the second consecutive year, Katherine Malone-France serves as the Project Director in her capacity as the Assistant Director at Decatur House. In her previous position as the Executive Director of the Burwell School Historic Site, she has seen first-hand the incredibly positive impact that Landmarks workshops have on educators, faculty members, and participating sites while serving as a Scholar Advisor for three years to another Landmarks workshop, Crafting Freedom: Thomas Day and Elizabeth Keckly, African-American Artisans and Entrepreneurs in 19th Century America.

Some of you have already had the pleasure of interacting with the wonderful Hart Queeny, who will serve as the workshop’s Operations Manager in her capacity as the Administrative Coordinator at Decatur House. Hart’s cheerfulness is matched only by her efficiency and creativity in problem-solving. She will be the primary contact during the workshop application process and, during the workshop sessions, she will ensure that our schedule runs smoothly and participants’ needs are met on a daily basis.

Race and Place is fortunate that Max van Balgooy, Director of Education and Interpretation, National Trust Historic Sites Division, will be joining us for both sessions. Max has conducted numerous workshops on museum interpretation, education, and planning and published a wide variety of articles on museum-related topics including heritage education and historical interpretation.

The specialist lecturers who have agreed to participate in Race and Place represent the very best scholarship and museum interpretation in their chosen fields. In a word, they are “extraordinary.”

Elizabeth Clark-Lewis, PhD is the Director of the Public History Program and Professor of History at Howard University. She is the author of numerous books and articles on Washington’s African-American history, including First Freed: Washington, D.C., in the Emancipation Era and will speak to the group on "Emancipation in the District of Columbia" and on Freedom Bags, her award-winning film on African American women in Segregation-era Washington.

Joy G. Kinard is the Volunteer Coordinator at the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site (MMBCHNHS) currently coordinates the site’s curriculum-based educational programs and volunteer educators. A PhD candidate in history at Howard University, Ms. Kinard will provide a contextual lecture and pedagogical resources prior to our visit to MMBCHNHS and will lead a walking tour of Howard University.

Abena L. Mhoon, PhD is Assistant Professor of History at Coppin State University who has written and presented extensively on African American history in Washington and Elizabeth Keckly as an entrepreneur and a fashion designer. She will lecture on "Elizabeth Keckly: An African-American Businesswoman in Civil War Washington."

Brenda McKelvin, currently a Museum Guide and Special Event Coordinator at Decatur House, has conducted living history programs on enslaved African American women and 19th century foodways at both Decatur House and Riversdale Mansion. She will present a first person interpretation of an enslaved woman in the household of Henry Clay during his time at Decatur House.

Marya McQuirter, PhD is an independent historian who has written extensively about the African American history of Washington, DC and conducted three teacher workshops on Washington, DC history. She will conduct the walking tour of LeDroit Park.

John Michael Vlach, PhD is Director of the Folklife Program; Director, Graduate Studies for the American Studies; and Professor of American Studies and Anthropology at the George Washington University. He is the author of numerous books and articles on the African American folklife and the architecture of slavery, including Back of the Big House: The Architecture of Plantation Slavery. He will lecture on "Varieties of African-American housing in the District of Columbia from 1790-1890: From Slavery to Tenancy."

Reginald Washington is an African-American Genealogy Specialist at the National Archives who has conducted numerous workshops and published articles on the use of the Freedman’s Bureau and Bank records for research on African-American history. He will provide a lecture entitled "The Freedman's Bank and the Freedman's Bureau: A History and a Research Introduction."