PRESENTERS
Michele Anstine is the executive director of Delaware Humanities, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Prior to her role at Delaware Humanities she worked for over twenty years in the Delaware history and museum field. She has served on the boards of the Delaware Museum Association and the Tri-State Coalition of Historic Places. She earned both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Delaware. She currently lives in the Wilmington area but grew up in rural southern Kent County.
Nicole Belolan, PhD, is a consulting public historian and independent scholar based in South Jersey. She consults on a range of project types such as collections management, oral history, disability history, and accessibility planning for disabled people at historic sites and museums. Belolan earned a Ph.D. in history from the University of Delaware as well as MAs in history and American material culture, also from the University of Delaware.
Wade Catts is the president and principal of South River Heritage and is a Registered Professional Archeologist with more than 35 years of historical research, historic preservation, and cultural resource management experience. He has a graduate degree in history from UD and is a noted scholar in the Battle of Cooch’s Bridge and Delaware’s role in the American Revolution.
Daniel Citron is the Historic Sites Team Manager at the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs (HCA). In this role, he oversees interpretation at all the sites, and he has been involved with HCA’s concerted effort toward more inclusive histories.
Lu Ann De Cunzo, Ph.D., is a professor with the Department of Anthropology and the Interim Director of Museum Studies and Public Engagement at the University of Delaware. She served as executive director of Historical Fallsington, Inc., a museum and historic preservation organization in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and director of Archaeological Services for Clio Group, a Philadelphia-based historical architecture and culture resource management firm, prior to joining the faculty at the University of Delaware in 1989.
Chuck Fithian is the retired Curator of Archaeology for HCA, where he conducted research on the material culture and social history of the Colonial and Revolutionary War eras; conducted research and consultation on the design of the Delaware Continental-soldier memorial in Dover and the monument at Gettysburg National Military Park commemorating the contributions of the 1st and 2nd Delaware infantry regiments. Fithian holds a master’s degree in history from Salisbury University.
Cheryl Renée Gooch, PhD, is the Executive Director of the African American Resources Cultural and Heritage Society. She has worked with museum and cultural heritage organizations to chronicle and interpret aspects of the African American experience that have been obscured. She served as principal historian and writer for the Delaware Historical Society core exhibit “Journey to Freedom” that chronicles the Black Delaware experience from 1639 to the present. She has authored numerous scholarly articles and two books: Hinsonville’s Heroes, Black Civil War Soldiers of Chester County, Pennsylvania and On Africa’s Lands: The Forgotten Stories of Two Lincoln-Educated Missionaries in Liberia. She holds a PhD from Florida State University.
Margaret Hughes is the Coordinator for Delaware 250. Her previous work includes education, exhibit, and development work at art and history museums in Delaware, New York, Virginia, Washington, DC, and Alabama. She holds two master’s degrees in history and museum education and is a PhD candidate in history at the University of Delaware.
Andrew J. Lyter serves as the Executive Director and Curator for the Lewes Historical Society in Lewes, Delaware. He holds a BA in History from West Chester University and an MA in Naval History from the University of Portsmouth, Great Britain. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Maritime History. As a maritime historian, Lyter specializes in the social history of the Revolutionary Atlantic, focusing on American sailors serving in the Royal Navy. He is an avid sailor, regularly crewing aboard tall ships in both the United States and United Kingdom. His first book Going Among English Sailors: American Tars Aboard HMS Belvidera, 1809-1814, was released on November 1, 2024.
Tyler Putman, PhD, is the Senior Manager of Gallery Interpretation at the Museum of the American Revolution, where he works with the team that develops and delivers daily programs, talks and tours, theatrical programs, and costumed living history. He holds a PhD in history from the University of Delaware.
Madeleine Rosenberg is the Pomeroy Foundation Semiquincentennial Manager. She leads the development of resources for small organizations, supports state-level planning and activities, and coordinates current and new national partnerships in anticipation of the 250th anniversary of the United States in 2026. Prior to joining AASLH’s strategic initiatives team, Madeleine served as the Public Humanities Specialist at the Princeton Public Library and as Chief Public Historian for the New Jersey Historical Commission. She was previously the Director of Exhibition Development at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. Madeleine holds a dual M.A./M.Sc. in international and world history from Columbia University and the London School of Economics and a B.A. in history from Brown University.
Emily Sneff, PhD, is a historian of early America and a leading expert on the United States’ Declaration of Independence. She is a consulting curator for upcoming exhibitions at the Museum of the American Revolution, the American Philosophical Society, and Historic Trappe. She holds a PhD in history from William and Mary.
