Experience

First Division Museum at Cantigny

• United States
• Museums, Historical Sites, and Zoos
• 1 - 100 Employee

• Registrar

  • Mar 2006 - Present

  I manage the accessioning process for all artifacts coming into our museum. This involves researching the material to compile a proper list of artifacts for a quarterly collections committee meeting that I run. I relish in the fact that I get to see some of this long hidden material first. Many collections come our way unsolicited and in speaking with donors I get to discover and learn just as if I was on an archaeological expedition. Once incoming collections are approved for accession I process the paperwork to legally acquire the artifacts for the museum. I'm also the database administrator for our permanent collection database [Past Perfect]. As our museum acquires more things, the need to squeeze more information out of them is absolutely critical. As the data set grows it becomes more robust and comprehensive. Our permanent three dimensional collection numbers a bit over 10,000 artifacts. Compared to museum collections I have worked with in the past, this number is fairly small. It makes the collection quite manageable and enjoyable. As with any small museum, the registrar often wears the hats of a Curator and a Collections Mananger.Before we actually had a collections manager on staff, those were the additional duties I also performed. This was also the case a few years back when our museum went through a multi-million dollar renovation of our permanent exhibit halls. Our Executive Director in essence, tasked the entire staff to become the curators of the First Division. Throughout this multi year process we worked together to learn the history of this oldest Army Infantry Division and share it with each other. This laid the groundwork for bringing in a top notch exhibit design company to bring our vision and expertise to reality. And when I venture into our galleries on occasion and see the smiles and inquisitive looks on our visitors faces, it makes me feel like the work I do in the basement of the museum each day is all the more rewarding.



The Field Museum

• United States
• Museums, Historical Sites, and Zoos
• 100 - 200 Employee

• Collections Move Technician

  • Dec 2001 - Mar 2006

  I was part of a team that carried out a comprehensive inventory of the holdings of the Anthropology Department [specifically focused on the Pacific Ethnographic collection]. After the inventory was completed, we pulled the artifacts from their original location,organized them, created stable storage mounts for them as needed and moved them to the newly constructed Collections Resource Center. I also headed a digitizing program that imaged roughly 59,000+ Pacific island artifacts. While part of this project I began to notice that certain artifacts in the collection were tagged with detailed, beautifully written tags. These artifacts were part of a sub-collection of Pacific artifacts that were at one time owned by Alfred W. Fuller. He competed with other collectors of his time to amass arguably one of the most comprehensive collections of Pacific ethnograohic collections in the Western Hemisphere. These tags caught my eye and I began to dig into the scope of the collection and it led to the rediscovery of the audio tapes [Sonobands] that were recorded with then Field Museum curator[Roland Force] and Mr. Fuller went through the collection piece by piece.



National Museum of the American Indian-Smithsonian Institution

• Collections Move Technician

  • Aug 2000 - Nov 2001

  I was part of a team that unpacked, rehoused and organized the ethnographic component [168,622] of the permanent collection of First Nation artifacts at the Cultural Resource Center [CRC] research and storage facility of NMAI in Suitland, Maryland. The sub-projects that I specifically worked on involved artifacts from the Caribbean, Upstate New York Nations, and some of the larger artifacts [canoes etc]. On average our team was on the recieving end of nearly 20,000 artifacts a month from the Bronx NYC facility.



GSA-Fine Arts Program, Historic Buildings and the Arts Center of Expertise

• Fine Art Contractor

  • Oct 1999 - Aug 2000

  I assisted in maintaining the records of a nationwide collection of federally owned art dating back to the 1850’s. This included developing and documenting technical procedures for collections management for the national headquarters. Under the direction of the full time staff, I acted as a liaison to the public and non-profit institutions concerning the status and distribution of information of the many works of art in the collection. I assisted in managing and updating conservation and inspection reports, and researched works for publication and display.I assisted in the installation of works from the collection in Federal buildings in the Washington DC Metro- Area.I also constructed archival storage mounts for long-term safety and storage of works.



National Museum of American Art: Research and Scholars Division-Smithsonian Institution

• Volunteer

  • Oct 1999 - Apr 2000

  I updated records in the permanent database using Gallery Systems’ The Museum System (TMS) software. I also assisted in various stages of the digitization process of the NMAA’s permanent collection. This included checking works for copyright clearance and checking burned images on CD for image quality before integration into the permanent database. I updated records in the permanent database using Gallery Systems’ The Museum System (TMS) software. I also assisted in various stages of the digitization process of the NMAA’s permanent collection. This included checking works for copyright clearance and checking burned images on CD for image quality before integration into the permanent database.



The American School of Classical Studies

• Summer Excavator

  • Jun 1999 - Aug 1999

  I excavated archaeological material, from time period including: Mycenaean, Classical, Byzantine, Frankish and Turkish, as part of a 30-person crew in the ancient marketplace of the Athenians.I also assisted in the cataloguing and re-housing of human remains in the site’s collection. I excavated archaeological material, from time period including: Mycenaean, Classical, Byzantine, Frankish and Turkish, as part of a 30-person crew in the ancient marketplace of the Athenians.I also assisted in the cataloguing and re-housing of human remains in the site’s collection.

• Data Entry Assistant-Dept. of Anthropology-Registrar's Office

  • Oct 1998 - May 1999

  I successfully carried out a comprehensive wall to wall inventory of the museum's entire human remains collection, which at that time had not been fully cataloged. This entailed me going through roughly 700+ drawers containing several thousand individuals comprised of tens of thousands of bones, identifying them, and then updating their corresponding artifact records. I also assisted the Anthropology Department Registrar, by updating and maintaining accession files, museum log books, and creating database fields to access the records easily via museum workstation.

• Summer Excavator

  • Jun 1998 - Aug 1998

  I excavated archaeological material, from time period including: Mycenaean, Classical, Byzantine, Frankish and Turkish, as part of a 30-person crew in the ancient marketplace of the Athenians.I assisted in the cataloguing and re-housing of human remains in the site’s collection. I excavated archaeological material, from time period including: Mycenaean, Classical, Byzantine, Frankish and Turkish, as part of a 30-person crew in the ancient marketplace of the Athenians.I assisted in the cataloguing and re-housing of human remains in the site’s collection.



Midwest Archaeological Research Services, Inc.

• Field Technician

  • Oct 1997 - May 1998

  I worked as part of a 10-person team on various archaeological survey contracts in Northern Illinois, in various phases of the archaeological excavation as well as processing of found artifacts in the lab. This included Phase I surveys, which were conducted to identify possible prehistoric or historic remains on landscapes scheduled for modification, as well as Phase II testing, which was carried out to assess a site's potential for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. I worked as part of a 10-person team on various archaeological survey contracts in Northern Illinois, in various phases of the archaeological excavation as well as processing of found artifacts in the lab. This included Phase I surveys, which were conducted to identify possible prehistoric or historic remains on landscapes scheduled for modification, as well as Phase II testing, which was carried out to assess a site's potential for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places.



Loyola University Chicago

• United States
• Higher Education
• 700 & Above Employee

• Osteology Laboratory Assistant

  • May 1997 - Oct 1997

  I assisted Dr. Anne L. Grauer as part of a 5-person team in cataloguing a cemetery population from Chicago's Dunning Poorhouse [consisting of about 16,000 fragmentary human remains]. I also served as a teaching assistant for the fall semester course: Anthropology 326: Human Osteology. I assisted Dr. Anne L. Grauer as part of a 5-person team in cataloguing a cemetery population from Chicago's Dunning Poorhouse [consisting of about 16,000 fragmentary human remains]. I also served as a teaching assistant for the fall semester course: Anthropology 326: Human Osteology.