About Joan

Public history means putting history to work, in a variety of settings.  Public historians, myself included, collaborate with our clients and the larger public to produce history, in many different forms, for an engaged audience.

I have written seven book-length histories on individual parks for the National Park Service.  Two books are published by university presses, the others are government publications.  I also have articles published in The Public Historian journal.

I have conducted more than 200 oral history interviews in support of these book projects and separately for such organizations as Gettysburg College and Montgomery History.  The interviews are audio-based, transcribed, and available in public archives.  

I have a PhD in American Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park, and I have worked independently for most of my professional life.