NASHVILLE, TN— The American Association for State and Local History (AASLH) welcomed the following history professionals to the AASLH Council and the Leadership Nominating Committee on September 28 at its Annual Meeting in Kansas City, Missouri.

The Council sets policy and provides leadership, is responsible for strategic planning, and represents AASLH members and the field at large.  The Leadership Nominating Committee works with staff and the AASLH Council to identify AASLH’s and the field’s leadership and points direction for a slate of offices, Council members, and LNC members. New committee members began their terms at the 2018 Meeting of the Membership in Kansas City.

New Council Officers are:

  • Chair: John Fleming, Director, National Museum of African American Music, Nashville, TN
  • Vice Chair: Norman Burns, President and CEO, Conner Prairie, Fishers, IN
  • Treasurer: Brent Ott, Vice-President of Business Operations and Chief Financial Officer, The Henry Ford, Dearborn, MI
  • Secretary: Dina Bailey, International Coalition of Sites of Conscience, Atlanta, GA

New Council Members are:

  • Christy Coleman, CEO, American Civil War Museum, Richmond, VA
  • Jeff Matsuoka, Vice President, Business and Operations, Indiana Historical Society, Indianapolis, IN
  • Alexandra Rasic, Director of Public Programs, Workman and Temple Family Homestead Museum, City of Industry, CA
  • Dennis Vasquez, Superintendent, Petroglyph National Monument, Albuquerque, NM
  • Steve Murray, Director, Alabama Department of Archives and History, Montgomery, AL

New Leadership Nominating Committee Members are:

  • Helen Wong Smith, Librarian/Archivist of State Historical Preservation Division and Executive Director of Kaua’i Historical Society, Lihu’e, HI
  • Gretchen Sullivan Sorin, Director, Cooperstown Graduate Program, Cooperstown, NY

AASLH President and CEO John Dichtl says, “Bringing on this new class of leaders for AASLH and the field at this moment in the associations history is truly exciting.  Each brings a depth and breadth of experience that we will be relying on to advance relevant and inclusive history across the country.”

AASLH is governed by a twenty-one-member council, elected by the membership for the Association. The Council is comprised of leaders in the field of public history, with wide-ranging specialties.  Council members serve four years.

The American Association for State and Local History provides leadership and support for its members who preserve and interpret state and local history in order to make the past more meaningful to all people. Based in Nashville, the organization provides services and assistance to over 5,500 institutional and individual members, as well as leadership for history organizations nationally. It is the only comprehensive national organization dedicated to state and local history. For more information, please visit aaslh.org.