Doing History in Polarized Times - Day 2 / Session 1 - More Productive Conversations about History: Lessons from the Field

W. Todd Groce is President & CEO of the Georgia Historical Society. Dr. Groce was born in Tidewater Virginia and grew up there and in Memphis, the capital of the Mississippi Delta. He holds three degrees in history, including a PhD from the University of Tennessee. For over 30 years he has been an educator, administrator, and author, leading non-profit institutions in raising over $100 million for education, capital projects, and endowment. Dr. Groce has written and co-edited two books on the Civil War era and over 100 articles and book reviews for publications ranging from academic journals to the New York Times. A frequent lecturer on Southern history, Dr. Groce has made numerous television appearances on C-SPAN, the History Channel, and the BBC. He serves on the board of directors of many non-profit and educational institutions, including the Jepson Scholars Program, which advances global leadership through study at the University of Oxford. Over the past ten years, he has been listed by both Georgia Trend and James magazines as one of the “Most Influential Georgians.” An avid outdoorsman, he enjoys hiking, hunting, and walking old battlefields.

Thema McDonald has nearly 20 years of experience in marketing communications, leading all facets of brand marketing, including strategic planning, creative content development and production, events, and media engagement. As Vice President of Marketing and Communications for the Chicago History Museum, McDonald is responsible for building public and media awareness, contributing to the success of the Museum’s exhibitions and programs, increasing visitor attendance and revenue, and delivering marketing solutions organization-wide. She is committed to developing strategic partnerships within the Museum and in the larger community.

Alan Spears serves as NPCA’s in-house historian and advocates for the preservation of historic and cultural resources across the United States. His most recent successes include passage of the National Heritage Area Act (December 2022) and the designation of the Emmett Till & Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument (July 2023). Alan is currently helping to lead a campaign to win designation of a new national park commemorating the life and legacy of Julius Rosenwald. Alan remains the only NPCA staff person ever to be rescued from a tidal marsh by a Park Police helicopter.

John Marks joined AASLH in 2017 and currently serves as the Director of the AASLH Public History Research Lab and the Senior Manager, Strategic Initiatives. As Director of the Research Lab, he leads AASLH’s field-wide research initiatives about the public history community and the role of history in American life. He also manages several other partnerships, initiatives, and special projects, including leading field-wide planning for the 250th anniversary of the United States and supporting internal survey and data efforts. John is a historian of race and slavery in the United States and Atlantic World and holds a Ph.D. in history from Rice University and a BA from Lynchburg College. He is a native of New Jersey.