OMA Board President: Gardner Chappell was elected to the OMA Board in 2007 as a Member-at-Large. Since March of 2006, he has served as the Director of the Douglas County Museum of Natural and Cultural History (Roseburg). From 1999 to 2005, Gardner worked as the Director of Operations and Coordinator of Institutional Expansion for the Culture & Heritage Museums of South Carolina. He holds a BA in History and Sociology and a MA in Liberal Arts. Through the Southeastern Museums Association, Gardner received extensive training in museum management including emergency preparedness for cultural institutions and completed studies on Native American relations through the Smithsonian Institution’s educational programming for museum professionals.

OMA Board Vice President and Chair of the Programs Committee: Bob Hart was elected to the OMA Board in 2006. Bob is the Executive Director of the Lane County Historical Society & Museum in Eugene. He attended the US Air Force Academy earning a BS in International Affairs. Bob holds an MA in American History from New Mexico State University. Bob has an interpretive background with the National Park Service. He also worked at the Lincoln County (New Mexico) Heritage Trust, and the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces before coming to Oregon in 2003. Bob is a self-described history junkie, and has served on many historical society and preservation boards.

OMA Board Treasurer: Steve Greenwood was elected to the OMA Board in 2008. He currently is the Museum Curator of the Wells Fargo History Museum in Portland. Steve comes to the OMA with twenty two years of work experience in the fields of education and public history. For the past nine years, his career has focused on museum education and curation, including history exhibits on the Vancouver Barracks during World War II and Washington State’s largest wildfire, the Yacolt Burn of 1902. Steve co-authored the script for a documentary entitled The Yacolt Burn: Lessons Learned. As curator of the Wells Fargo History Museum in Portland, Steve has contributed to Wells Fargo’s award-winning history blog http://blog.wellsfargo.com/GuidedByHistory/, Guided by History. For Oregon Public Broadcasting he wrote the second volume of an online history textbook for teachers entitled America’s History in the Making http://www.learner.org/courses/amerhistory/

OMA Board Secretary: Mark Tolonen was elected to the OMA Board in 2009. Mark is the Curator of Exhibitions for the Benton County Historical Society in Philomath. Mark holds a BA in History from the University of Connecticut and a graduate diploma in Cultural Conservation from the University of Victoria, Canada. Over the past twenty years he has served as curator of collections, exhibitions, and techno-wizardry projects at Oregon museums in Astoria, Seaside, Eugene and Philomath.

Immediate Past President of the OMA Board: Kyle Jansson, who first joined OMA in 1995, has served on sever al OMA committees, including the OMA Board of Directors from 2003-2007. He has been the coordinator of the Oregon Heritage Commission for the past six years. Prior to that, Kyle was the Director of the Marion County Historic al Society for five years. His previous careers include publications, public relations and development. Kyle has long participated in the American Association for State and Local History, including four years on its national awards committee and the program committee for the 2002 AASLH National Convention that took place in Portland . He has made presentations at two AASLH national conferences, and at a variety of local, state and national heritage and history events.

Member-at-Large: Lori Erickson is OMSI's Curator as well as an exhibit developer. She has over ten years of experience at OMSI. As OMSI's Curator, Lori is responsible for caring for and documenting OMSI’s collections of natural history, cultural, and historical objects. As an Exhibit Developer, Lori researches and develops exhibits for children and adults. Lori previously held the position of Science Educator with OMSI. In addition, she gained experience with small museums while working for two years in the Exhibits and Collections Departments of the University of Oregon Museum of Natural and Cultural History. She has served as a reviewer for the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ grants program. Lori holds an M.S. in Anthropology from the University of Oregon and a B.A. in Anthropology from Illinois State University.

Member-at-Large: Keni Sturgeon was elected to the OMA Board in 2007 soon after became the Curator at the Mission Mill Museum, in Salem, in May of 2007. Prior to her return to Oregon, Keni served as Curator for Programs and Education at Brown University’s Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology in Rhode Island . Keni’s previous work in Oregon was at Western Oregon University, where she served as Director /Curator of the Jensen Arctic Museum, adjunct faculty in the Anthropology Department, and coordinator for two oral history projects. Keni has also served as an education specialist with the Oregon Coast Aquarium, Assistant Director of Education at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Maryland, and Coordinator of Education and Volunteer Programs at Arizona State University’s Deer Valley Rock Art Center in Phoenix. Keni received an M.A. in Anthropology and Museum Studies from Arizona State University, and a B.A. in Anthropology from Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, California.

Member-at-Large: Gloria Rasmussen is the Education and Public Programs Manager for the Oregon Historical Society. Gloria received a BA in United States History from California State University at Long Beach and a Masters in Museum Education from George Washington University . Her experience in Museum Education includes using art to teach critical thinking skills in the Baltimore school district for the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland, managing a mobile environmental education exhibit The Rolling Rainforest for Discovery Creek Children’s Museum of Washington DC and as the Schools and Tours Coordinator for the Smithsonian Institution National Postal Museum.

Member-at-Large: Sara Heil Swanborn has been the Program Director of the Bush House Museum in Salem, Oregon since 2004. Sara holds a B.A. from Willamette University in History and Art, and an M.A. from the University of Oregon in Art History. Before getting into the museum business, Sara worked with Habitat for Humanity International in Ethiopia and the United States. She served on the board of the Marion County Historical Society from 2006 to 2008, and was elected to the OMA Board in 2009.

Printer friendly version