Hello and thank you for your interest in my resume and occupational history. This site contains information about my professional career and pertinent resources as well as several types of contact information. This site allows me to not only provide prospective employers with my most up to date resume, but also includes examples of my work accompanied at times with images and further details if desired. Please feel free to contact me about any of the information here. And thank you for taking the time to consider me for a position with your organization.
I am seeking a fulfilling career in a registration or curatorial position in a museum setting. My career objective is to use my skills and abilities to serve my institution and my community. I am looking for a position that will find my excellent communication, team working, organizational, and planning skills useful. I strive to become a creative and effective museum professional and gain practical experience in curatorial issues, museum education, collection management, exhibition design and audience development. I am eager to work with a range of departments in order to develop and expand my skills and knowledge.
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2008 Operational Support Grant, Institute of Museums and Library Services, $143,000.00- Congressional appropriated funds through PA Congressman Tim Holden, used to support operations and projects at the Pennsylvania State Police Museum.
2007 Conservation Assessment Program, Heritage Preservation, $3,800.00- The Conservation Assessment Program helps small and mid-sized museums get the advice of professional conservators for their collections and historic buildings.
2006-2008 Oral History Project, History Project Grant, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, $30,000.00 with matching grant, $60,000.00 total to fund the project – Funding from the grant was used to interview, record, transcribe and preserve the first hand experiences and stories of retired enlisted and civilian members of the Pennsylvania State Police. These first-person accounts would aid visitors and researchers in learning more about the training, challenges and accomplishments of the Pennsylvania State Police.
Horseback to Horsepower, Examines the evolution of transportation vehicles for the Pennsylvania State Police. The exhibit begins with the mounted patrol in 1905 and details the challenges of horse patrol across 45,000sq.mi. of Pennsylvania. The exhibit provides particulars about patrol car lighting and siren systems as well as color schemes. Horseback to Horsepower also includes information about specialized vehicles such as helicopter, airplanes, and boats for water patrol and Special Emergency Response Team vehicles used in hostage situations, bomb threats and rescue missions.
Although there is some text included in the exhibit, the bulk of the interpretation is conducted through a PowerPoint presentation which includes images and text. Artifacts in the exhibit include model patrol cars, helicopters and motorcycle, some of which could be purchased in the gift shop.
Alphonse “Scarface” Capone was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon when leaving a Philadelphia movie theater in 1929. Al Capone spent one year imprisoned in at the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, where he was treated like a celebrity with Tiffany lamps and velvet duvets in his cell. Capone Convicted in the Commonwealth is one example of the sensationalized cases the Pennsylvania State Police have investigated over the years (Camp Hill and the Mountain Man of Shade Gap are also represented). Artifacts include symbols of the era, homemade whiskey stills and a Thompson Sub-Machine gun, as well as enlarged framed copies of Capone’s mug shot and fingerprint card.
Crime Scene Identification is an interactive exhibit geared toward visitors’ ages 6yrs.-adult. Visitors learn forensics skills by examining and studying an actual case. They are asked to compare hair, fiber, fingerprint and bullet striation evidence samples obtained at the scene of the crime to those samples obtained from the suspects. The “detectives” use their provided notepad to organize the evidence and make their selection of the culprit. They can check their work with the solution provided in the exhibit.
Crime Scene Identification is an interactive exhibit geared toward visitors’ ages 6yrs.-adult. Visitors learn forensics skills by examining and studying an actual case. They are asked to compare hair, fiber, fingerprint and bullet striation evidence samples obtained at the scene of the crime to those samples obtained from the suspects. The “detectives” use their provided notepad to organize the evidence and make their selection of the culprit. They can check their work with the solution provided in the exhibit.
Hats Off to You, Trooper is the chronological depiction of uniform progression from 1905 to the present. The uniforms and personal equipment are used to demonstrate technological advances in the form of equipment and can also be seen in the changes in material chosen for the construction of uniforms. Artifact examples in the exhibit includes the evolution of equipment from wooden batons and .38 caliber six shot Colt revolver to Tazers, pepper spray, and semi-automatic Glock handguns.
2007-2011 Annual Soldiers of the Law Motorcycle Ride, $25,000.00- 400 participants take part annually in a spring ride that travels through the central Pennsylvania countryside. I assisted with planning the logistics leading up to the event and registration, volunteer supervision and sales the day of the event.
2006-2010 Annual 4-Man Scramble Golf Tournament, $60,000.00- 120 golfers participate annually in the late summer event held in central Pennsylvania. I assisted with tee sign design, composing and mailing request and thank you letters to sponsors. I also assisted with registrations, prize raffles, auctions and sales the day of the event.
2007-2011 Friends of the Pennsylvania State Police Museum, social membership program, $49,000.00- I was responsible for researching, creating, and maintaining the membership program. I maintained the membership database through PastPerfect, sending renewal, overdue, and thank you letters. I was also responsible for the planning and coordination of membership appreciation events. In 2011 I created a new brochure to reflect the mission and objectives of the museum; it also listed the various membership levels available. This brochure was distributed as part of a membership drive that more than doubled the number of active members and membership revenue from 2010-2011.
I was responsible for scheduling, coordinating, and leading tours. I contacted local school districts through letters and email to provide them with information about touring opportunities. I coordinated volunteer participation in conducting the Academy portion of the tours and later the museum portion of the tours. The museum’s touring groups consisted of school children both public and home-schooled (charter schools), day-care centers, church groups, scouts, Civil Air Patrol, university Criminal Justice students and organizations, Camp Cadets and Junior Trooper organizations, former state police and their families.
I was responsible for the recruitment, training, and management of volunteers for the Pennsylvania State Police Museum. Volunteers were utilized at fundraising events, trained to conduct tours of the museum and State Police Academy and to assist with an artifact re-housing, inventory and cataloging project.
I was responsible for the recruitment and training of two college interns. I contacted local colleges and universities where I submitted the criteria and needs of the museum. I was responsible for coordinating and corresponding with the university to conduct mid-term and final evaluation reports for the interns.
In an effort to work with community museums’, I assisted with organizing and coordinating an exhibit of State Police vehicles and period uniforms at the Antique Automobile Club of America Museum. I was responsible for selecting the objects for exhibit, establishing the loan terms and finalizing the loan agreement and paperwork.
I was responsible for the design, content and layout of Friends of the Pennsylvania State Police annual membership newsletter, Roll Call. Using Microsoft Office Suite (specifically Publisher, Picture Manager and Word), a digital camera and scanner I compiled information on museum related events that were then published in the newsletter. The newsletter was not only a source for information and public relations with the museum’s members it was also used as a tool to insure annual renewals.
I was responsible for all aspects of collections reporting and accountability as well as artifact handling and storage at the museum including but not limited to:
- Policy writing: Collection Management Policy, Collection Plan, Registration Procedures
- Accession/Deaccession
- Cataloging
- Condition reporting
- Loans
I utilized Past Perfect museum software to track artifact donations, incoming and outgoing loans, and exhibits. I also created an excel spreadsheet to track the storage locations of artifact boxes containing three-dimensional objects. In addition, I utilized a paper tracking system in the event the computers and digital files were not accessible.
I was responsible for monitoring and recording temperature and humidity levels in the gallery and artifact storage areas, I did this using HOBO data loggers and shuttles. I also used a digital light meter to monitor and record light levels in exhibit and storage area.