My Story
I have over twenty years experience researching and writing about cities and the built environment, initially as a historic preservation consultant and later as an academic historian. For more than a decade, I taught courses on urban history, public history, and historical research methods in the history department at Wayne State University, where I was a tenured associate professor. I developed and directed the university’s public history program and served as the history graduate director. For most of my time on the faculty, I was also a union representative. In these roles, I gained substantial experience in marketing and communications, program development, project management, and solving other people’s problems. I “retired” from teaching in 2023 to focus on freelance research, writing, and editing projects; return to my professional roots in historic preservation; and use my program development and project management skills to assist humanities and social science organizations.
My Experience
In addition to my consulting work, I am co-coordinator of the Global Urban History Project and an editor of the Cambridge Elements in Global Urban History series. I have served on boards and committees for several professional organizations, including the Urban History Association and the National Council on Public History. Before pursuing a doctorate and becoming a history professor, I worked as an architectural historian for the cultural resources division of Louis Berger. I am the author of a book and several articles and essays on urban history and public policy.
My Credentials
I hold a PhD in History from NYU, an MA in Historic Preservation Planning from Cornell University, and a BA in History and Russian Studies from the University of Michigan. I was previously a postdoctoral fellow at the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University and a research fellow at the Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies at the University of Michigan. More recently, I completed a graduate certificate in nonprofit management at Wayne State University, where I received formal training in project management, finance and budgeting, and marketing.