About Me

I am a historian specializing in rural women’s history, public history, archives, and the Cold War

My book, On Behalf of the Family Farm: Iowa Farm Women’s Activism Since 1945 (University of Iowa Press, 2013), examines the activism of farm women in the Midwest and their efforts to shape agricultural policy, rural life, and community sustainability. This work highlights how women played a crucial role in advocating for their families and maintaining the social fabric of rural America.

In my career at Illinois College, I have focused on building institutional archives and making accessible primary documents to students, community members, and researchers. Thanks to a Challenge Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and a revitalized institutional archive, I can teach and mentor students in historical research and public history. I emphasize experiential learning, archival methods, and community engagement in my courses, helping students connect historical study to contemporary issues.

Today, my scholarship covers a broad range of topics, including gender, memory, institutional practices, and the ways in which historical narratives are constructed and preserved. I am particularly interested in how women’s roles have been documented in archives and represented in public history spaces, as well as how local communities engaged with national and global historical forces.

I am passionate about making history accessible and engaging, emphasizing the importance of multiple perspectives in shaping our understanding of the past.