COMMISSION MEMBERS

CHAIR FRANK J. WILLIAMS is the Retired Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court and served as the Chair of the Rhode Island Abraham Lincoln Bi-Centennial Commission.

VICE CHAIR KATHRYN HARTLEY is President of Friends of Hearthside, Inc. She founded this all volunteer organization in 2001 in order to preserve and interpret Lincoln’s 1810 Hearthside House and other town owned historic sites on Great Road in Lincoln, Rhode Island, by sponsoring living history events such as Civil War reenactments.

SECRETARY MARK H. DUNKELMAN is an independent scholar who has written and lectured widely on the Civil War. He is the founder and President of the Rhode Island Civil War Round Table.

TREASURER GREGG A. MIERKA is a member of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (SUVCW) and a National Officer and a former commander of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS).

MARY-KIM ARNOLD is Executive Director of the Rhode Island Council for the Humanities. She holds a BA in English and American Literature and an MFA in Creative Writing, both from Brown University.

MATT BURBANK grew up in the same family homestead in which his Civil War ancestor was raised. Matt is the Commanding General of the New England Brigade, Civil War.

ERIK CHRISTIANSEN is Professor of History at Rhode Island College. His students are working on projects to connect the larger community with the hidden heritage of Civil War ancestry.

TESSA CONSTANT is currently serving a two-year term as the Student Representative for the Rhode Island Board of Governor’s for Higher Education. She serves as a Student Honorary Ambassador at the Community College of Rhode Island while pursuing her degree in Nursing.

RUSSELL C. DANNECKER is a Retired Rhode Island State Senate Fiscal Advisor whose interest in the American Civil War started over 50 years ago during the war’s centennial celebration. Through his study of family history he has identified nearly 30 ancestors who fought in the war.

ROB GOLDMAN is the President of Living History, which prepares low-income Providence teens to serve in the 14th Rhode Island Heavy Artillery (Colored), the state’s African American Civil War Regiment.

C. MORGAN GREFE, Ph.D. is the newly appointed Executive Director of the Rhode Island Historical Society. Prior to this position she was the Director of the Society’s Goff Center for Education and Public Programs for six and a half years.

PETER HARRINGTON, a native of England, has been Curator of the Anne S.K. Brown Military Collection at Brown University since 1990.

THOMAS A. HORROCKS, Ph.D., is Director of the John Hay Library at Brown University. He is co-editor of The Living Lincoln (2011) and author of Lincoln's Campaign Biographies (forthcoming). He is currently co-editing The Annotated Lincoln for Harvard University Press.

KAMLYN KEITH is a Project Specialist at the Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and supports history, social studies, and civic education initiatives at the Department through her role as co-chair of the Rhode Island State Panel on Civic Education and the Civic Mission of Schools.

MAURY KLEIN is professor emeritus of history at the University of Rhode Island and the author of sixteen books on different aspects of American History, including Days of Defiance: Sumter, Secession, and the Coming of the Civil War.

DENNIS B. LANGLEY is the Chief Executive Officer of the Urban League of Rhode Island.

RANDALL ROSENBAUM is a musician with over 35 years of experience in government and managing non-profits organization. Randy is the Executive Director of the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, a position he has held since 1995.

EDWARD E. SANDERSON is the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission. He is a historian with over thirty years of experience preserving historic buildings, historic districts and archaeological sites.

GRACE SMALL is a Social Studies teacher at Lincoln High School and is actively engaged in the Teaching American History Program “A New Birth of Freedom,” which encompasses twelve school districts in Northern Rhode Island. She is also a James Madison Fellowship Scholar and is currently pursuing a Masters in American History at Providence College.

HOLLY SNYDER is Curator of American Historical Collections at the John Hay Library of Brown University. She holds a Ph.D. in the History of American Civilization from Brandeis University and an M.A. in American History from Catholic University of America.

GWENN STEARN is State Archivist and Public Records Administrator for the State of Rhode Island. She chairs the Rhode Island Historical Records Advisory Board.

KEITH STOKES is the Executive Director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation and former Executive Director of the Newport County Chamber of Commerce.

JAMES TACKACH, Professor of English at Roger Williams University, is the President of the Lincoln Group of Boston and the author of Lincoln’s Moral Vision: The Second Inaugural Address. He served on the Rhode Island Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission.

JIM VINCENT is the President of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Providence Branch and the Manager of Constituent Advocacy at Rhode Island Housing. He is the producer and host of the Jim Vincent Show.

MICHAEL VORENBERG is an Associate Professor of History at Brown University, where he teaches courses on the American Civil War, Slavery and Emancipation, and legal history. He is the author of Final Freedom: The Civil War, the Abolition of Slavery, and the Thirteenth Amendment.

TED WIDMER is the Director and Librarian of the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University. He is a frequent contributor to the Disunion Blog of the New York Times.

ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERS

BETTY ANSELMO is a U.S. History and Politics honors teacher at Tiverton High School and the Administrator of The Lincoln Forum.

CHUCK ARNING is a Park Ranger at the John H. Chafee Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor.

TOBY AYERS is the Executive Director of the Community for Justice - committed to diversity in all areas of Rhode Island life.

THOM BASSETT is a lecturer in the Department of English and Cultural Studies at Bryant University. He is a regular contributor to "Disunion," the New York Times' online series about the Civil War's sesquicentennial.

ROBERT BILLINGTON founded and served as President of the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council since 1985. He teaches tourism development at Johnson & Wales and Boston University.

HENRY A. L. BROWN, a Warwick resident for over 79 years, has served in a variety of leadership positions for many organizations including Gaspee Committee, the Pawtuxet Village Association, and the Warwick Arts Foundation.

PAUL R. CAMPBELL is currently the Archivist for the City of Providence and the author/co-author of eight books.

LT. GENERAL REGINALD CENTRACCHIO (RET.) served as Adjutant General of the Rhode Island National Guard under former Governors Lincoln Almond and Donald J. Carceri.

PATRICK T. CONLEY is a historian, professor, editor, publisher, attorney, and real estate developer who lives in Bristol, Rhode Island.

CHARLES COX III has been a history lecturer at Northeastern University and at Bridgewater State University for many years. A native of Virginia, he has been a long time resident of Lincoln, Rhode Island.

RUSSELL DEAN is an Executive Board Member of Battery B, 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery.

LEO F. KENNEDY is a descendant of Stephen and George Kettle, who both served Rhode Island in the Civil War, and a Past Commander in Chief of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. H e holds the rank of Deputy Chief in the Cranston Fire Department, where he has served for more than thirty years. He is married and lives in Greenville.

PHIL DI MARIA has been a Living Historian since 1979 – first with the 3rd Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, and now as Captain of Battery B, 1st Rhode Island Light Artillery.

RICHARD FINLAW is a retired principal with 43 years of teaching and administrative experience. He has a long time interest in the Civil War.

BRUCE D. FRAIL is Commander of the Department of Rhode Island SUVCW, the National Graves Registration Officer for SUVCW and Chairman of the National Committee on Graves Registration SUVCW and is a combat veteran of the United States Marine Corps.

MYRNA C. GEORGE is President and CEO of the South County Tourism Council. Myrna is the editor and publisher of the South County Style Vacation Planner.

LORI JORDAN is the Director of Communications and Advancement at Goodwill Industries of Rhode Island. The agency was established as The Irrepressible Society in 1863, to provide job training for newly disabled veterans of the Civil War.

LEO F. KENNEDY is a descendant of Stephen and George Kettle, who both served Rhode Island in the Civil War, and a Past Commander in Chief of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War. He holds the rank of Deputy Chief in the Cranston Fire Department, where he has served for more than thirty years. He is married and lives in Greenville.

THERESA LAVALLEE is the Executive Director of Tse Tse Gallery in Providence and New London, Connecticut, where she involves youth in the arts.

ELISA MILLER is Assistant Professor of History at Rhode Island College.

GRACE C. OSEDIACZ holds a M.Ed. from Rhode Island College and has provided leadership during the past 26 years in cooperative and collaborative ventures between social service agencies and educational organizations.

CHARMAINE PORTER is a Rhode Island College student who is a member of Living History. She participates in Civil War reenactments of the 14th Rhode Island Heavy Artillery (Colored).

GEORGE PROULX has worked in public and corporate education for 35 years. For the past sixteen years, he has been the Musical Director of the Providence Brigade Band, a Civil War era band.

MARK G. ROBERTS is the Chairman of the Board of the TseTse Galleries of Providence and New London, Connecticut, which works with youth in the arts.

KATRINA WHITE is the Travel Trade Manager for the Rhode Island Tourism Division, which is responsible for marketing Rhode Island as a travel destination. She holds a BS in Hospitality from Johnson & Wales University.

FRED ZILIAN is a retired Army Officer who is now a teacher at Portsmouth Abbey School. He is an Abraham Lincoln interpreter and performs a one-man play, Honest Abe.

VOLUNTEER ADMINISTRATOR

ROBIN COIA is a cum laude graduate of Rhode Island College with dual degrees in political science and communications. She has extensive experience in public service, including her work as an aide on both a mayoral and gubernatorial level. Mrs. Coia currently serves as the Assistant Administrator for the New England Laborers’ Labor-Management Cooperation Trust, an affiliate of the Laborers’ International Union of North America. She loves history and has a particular interest in the Civil War.