2023 Virtual Teacher Institute: Hosts, Presenters & Historians Biographies

Keynote Speakers

Dr. Liz Covart

Liz Covart is a history lover, a historian of early America, and the Founding Director of Colonial Williamsburg Innovation Studios. She is the host of the popular Ben Franklin's World Podcast. Her current research investigates the creation of the American union and the ratification of the Articles of Confederation.

Liz holds a Ph.D. in history from the University of California, Davis.

Dr. Kurt Luther

Dr. Kurt Luther is an associate professor of computer science and (by courtesy) history at Virginia Tech. He is the project director for Civil War Photo Sleuth (www.civilwarphotosleuth.com), a website that combines community expertise and face recognition technology to identify unknown photos from the Civil War era. The site has about 20,000 registered users and 50,000 Civil War-era photos and has been featured by TIME magazine, Smithsonian magazine, and The History Channel. He is also a senior editor at Military Images magazine, where his "Photo Sleuth" column, which he has published since 2014, has been a finalist for the Army Historical Foundation's Distinguished Writing Awards.

Angela M. Riotto

Angela M. Riotto is a military historian, who specializes in the American Civil War era, prisoners of war, memory studies, and gender studies. She received her PhD in American History at the University of Akron. She just finished work as an assistant professor of military history at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Before joining the faculty at the Department of Military History, she worked on Army University Press’s Films Team, producing documentary films to teach U.S. military history and current U.S. Army doctrine. She researched, wrote, and directed three films—OIF: The Drive to Baghdad, OIF: The Fight for Baghdad, and Okinawa 1945: Planning Operation ICEBERG—and wrote the script for the second Okinawa film—Okinawa 1945: Typhoon of Steel. Recognizing films as effective and entertaining means of training and education, she has published about multimedia learning tools and their use in the classroom with “Teaching the Army: Virtual Training Tools to Train and Educate Twenty-First Century Soldiers” appearing in Military Review. Some of her more recent publications include “‘As Happy a Man as Ever Wore ‘Confederate Grey’’: Confederate Ex-Prisoners of War and Their Narratives of Imprisonment, 1877-1890” in Useful Captives: The Role of POWs in American Military Conflicts with University Press of Kansas. She also hosts “A Helping of History” podcast, on which she interviews scholars about history, food, and helping others.

 

Presenters & Historians

Paige Gibbons Backus

Paige is a public historian in who has been in the field for close to ten years focusing on educational programming and operations at several historic house museums in Prince William County, Virginia. She is also a contributor to Emerging Civil War where her areas of focus include women’s history as well as the more morbid side of history such as death, disease, medicine, murder, or scandal in the 18th and 19th centuries.

 

Sarah Kay Bierle

Sarah Kay Bierle graduated from Thomas Edison State University with a BA in History, works in the Education Department at American Battlefield Trust, and volunteers as managing editor at Emerging Civil War. She has spent years exploring ways to share quality historical research in ways that will inform and inspire modern audiences, including school presentations, writing, and speaking engagements. Sarah has published three historical fiction books and her first nonfiction book, Call Out The Cadets: The Battle of New Market, is part of the Emerging Civil War series.
 

Neil Chatelain

Neil Chatelain is an educator who has taught at the middle school, high school, and college levels. He currently teaches US history classes at Lone Star College - North Harris and dual credit, honors, and remediation US history classes at Carl Wunsche Sr. High School in Spring, TX. Besides teaching, Neil is a historian who researches US naval history of the Civil War era. A member of Emerging Civil War, he authored the books Defending the Arteries of Rebellion and Fought Like Devils.
 

Andrew Dalton

Andrew Dalton has served as executive director of the Adams County Historical Society since 2019. Prior to his appointment, Andrew completed his undergraduate studies at Gettysburg College and worked in the Society's Collections Management office. A lifelong resident of the Gettysburg area, Andrew is passionate about local and regional history, with an emphasis on the Civil War era and African American history and culture. He has received project funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and is the author of a book and numerous articles. Most recently, his research on Civil War-era cartography at Gettysburg was featured in The Washington Post and Hallowed Ground Magazine. He is a frequent contributor and guest presenter for the American Battlefield Trust, Gettysburg National Military Park, and Gettysburg College's Civil War Institute.
 

Dan Davis

Dan Davis is a native of Fredericksburg, VA where his love for the Civil War began on childhood trips to local battlefields. He is a graduate of Longwood University with a bachelor’s degree in Public History. Dan has worked as a Ranger/Historian at Appomattox Court House National Historical Site and the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. He is the author or co-author of numerous books and articles on the Civil War and is a regular contributor to Emerging Civil War. He currently resides in Fredericksburg. 

Codie Eash

Codie Eash serves as Director of Education and Museum Operations at Seminary Ridge Museum and Education Center in Gettysburg, and is a 2014 graduate of Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a bachelor degree in communication/journalism and held a minor in history. In addition to museum educational programs, professional development, tours, and interpretation, he lectures for National Park Service sites, historical societies, and Civil War roundtables. Codie is a founding contributor to the collaborative digital project “Pennsylvania in the Civil War” and writes book reviews for Civil War Monitor magazine.
 

Carolyn Ivanoff

Carolyn Ivanoff is a retired high school administrator and independent historian. She writes and speaks on American History in a variety of formats and venues. Her book, We Fought at Gettysburg, features first-hand accounts by the survivors of the 17th Connecticut Infantry and their experiences on the greatest battlefield of the American Civil War.

Blake Lindsey

Blake Lindsey is the Museum Interpretive Resources Specialist at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, DC, where he specializes in programming and digital projects. Prior to Ford’s Theatre, he served as a Visitor Guide at the United States Capitol, where his original research into the history of visitation at the Capitol, the Capitol Guide Service, and memory won him a Capitol Fellowship with the United States Capitol Historical Society. His additional award-winning research, lectures, and publications include civil affairs and community building in the Civil War Defenses of Washington.
 

Dr. Chris Mackowski

Chris Mackowski, Ph.D., is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Emerging Civil War. He is the series editor of the award-winning Emerging Civil War Series, published by Savas Beatie, and the “Engaging the Civil War” Series, published in partnership with Southern Illinois University Press. Chris is a professor of journalism and mass communication at St. Bonaventure University in Allegany, NY, and historian-in-residence at Stevenson Ridge, a historic property on the Spotsylvania battlefield in central Virginia. He has also worked as a historian for the National Park Service at Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park, where he gives tours at four major Civil War battlefields (Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness, and Spotsylvania), as well as at the building where Stonewall Jackson died. Chris has authored or co-authored a dozen books on the Civil War, and his articles have appeared in all the major Civil War magazines. Chris serves on the national advisory board for the Civil War Chaplains Museum in Lynchburg, Virginia.
 

Mark Maloy

Mark Maloy holds an undergraduate degree in History from the College of William and Mary and a graduate degree in History from George Mason University. He is a writer at Emerging Revolutionary War and has worked at numerous public historic sites and archaeological digs for the past fifteen years. He is the author of two books on the Revolutionary War: Victory or Death: The Battles of Trenton and Princeton and To the Last Extremity: The Battles for Charleston.

Anne Gillespie Mitchell

Anne Gillespie Mitchell has been at Ancestry for eleven years on products including Ancestry Library, AncestryK12, and most recently, the Civil War Stories Project. She has taught genealogy courses at many national conferences, including NGS, FGS and RootsTech, and SLIG as well as multiple online Ancestry Academy courses. Anne has a MS degree in Computer Science from Purdue University, where she also taught Computer Science for 8 years.

Joseph Ricci

Joseph Ricci is a Civil War historian and historical interpreter for the Battle of Franklin Trust. Joseph holds a Master’s Degree in History from Southeastern Louisiana University. He has appeared in several BOFT Films productions and is also the producer and host of The Dispatch: The Official Podcast of the Battle of Franklin Trust and Home Brew History Podcast.
 

Dr. Jeff Scott

Dr. Jeff Scott is Vice President of Education at Freedoms Foundation in Valley Forge, PA. In his educational career, he has taught history at the elementary, middle, and high school levels, as well as an adjunct at the university level. Jeff has also served as a school administrator as well as serving on several committees at the state level with regard to U.S. History. Jeff is currently writing Patriotic Fit: THE Foundation to Continued Strength. In the recent past, Dr. Scott has participated in the George Washington Teacher Institute and the White House Teacher Institute, as well as many others.
 

Dan Welch

Dan Welch is a music educator with a public school district in northeast Ohio. Previously, he served as the education programs coordinator for the non-profit Gettysburg Foundation, and continues to serve as a seasonal park ranger at Gettysburg National Military Park. Dan is the editor of the long-running Gettysburg Magazine, editor of the Emerging Revolutionary War book series, and is the coauthor of two works in the Emerging Civil War Series.He is also the author, coauthor, and editor of numerous essays, articles, and book reviews.
 

Kristopher D. White

Kris is the deputy director of education at the American Battlefield Trust. White is a graduate of Norwich University with an M.A. in Military History and California University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in History. He served as a ranger-historian for nearly five years at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. White is the co-founder and chief historian of Emerging Civil War and co-creator of the Engaging the Civil War Series, a partnership between Southern Illinois University Press and Emerging Civil War. An award-winning speaker and editor, White has authored, co-authored, or edited nearly two dozen books, and he frequently leads tours in the United States and abroad.
 

Cecily Zander

Cecily N. Zander is a historian of the Civil War era and the American West. She is an Assistant Professor of History at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas, where she offers courses on American history, military history, memory, and popular culture. Her book, The War Against the Army, will be published by Louisiana State University Press in 2024. She also serves as Chief Historian at Emerging Civil War, a popular outlet for accessible writing about the Civil War era. As the daughter of a high school teacher, working with educators is one of her favorite parts of being a historian.

Adam Zielinski

Mr. Zielinski is a historian from New Jersey. He has his Masters in the museum field and a Bachelors's in history. He currently serves as the vice president of the Rev War Alliance of Burlington County, a nonprofit whose mission is to locate, interpret and preserve stories from the Revolutionary War in New Jersey. 

 

Hosts & Moderators

Sarah Kay Bierle

Sarah Kay Bierle graduated from Thomas Edison State University with a BA in History, works in the Education Department at American Battlefield Trust, and volunteers as managing editor at Emerging Civil War. She has spent years exploring ways to share quality historical research in ways that will inform and inspire modern audiences, including school presentations, writing, and speaking engagements. Sarah has published three historical fiction books and her first nonfiction book, Call Out The Cadets: The Battle of New Market, is part of the Emerging Civil War series.  

Dan Davis

Dan Davis is a native of Fredericksburg, VA where his love for the Civil War began on childhood trips to local battlefields. He is a graduate of Longwood University with a bachelor’s degree in Public History. Dan has worked as a Ranger/Historian at Appomattox Court House National Historical Site and the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. He is the author or co-author of numerous books and articles on the Civil War and is a regular contributor to Emerging Civil War. He currently resides in Fredericksburg. 

Dr. Chris Mackowski

Chris Mackowski, Ph.D., is the editor-in-chief and co-founder of Emerging Civil War. He is the series editor of the award-winning Emerging Civil War Series, published by Savas Beatie, and the “Engaging the Civil War” Series, published in partnership with Southern Illinois University Press. Chris is a professor of journalism and mass communication at St. Bonaventure University in Allegany, NY, and historian-in-residence at Stevenson Ridge, a historic property on the Spotsylvania battlefield in central Virginia. He has also worked as a historian for the National Park Service at Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park, where he gives tours at four major Civil War battlefields (Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness, and Spotsylvania), as well as at the building where Stonewall Jackson died. Chris has authored or co-authored a dozen books on the Civil War, and his articles have appeared in all the major Civil War magazines. Chris serves on the national advisory board for the Civil War Chaplains Museum in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Kristopher D. White

Kris is the deputy director of education at the American Battlefield Trust. White is a graduate of Norwich University with an M.A. in Military History and California University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in History. He served as a ranger-historian for nearly five years at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. White is the co-founder and chief historian of Emerging Civil War and co-creator of the Engaging the Civil War Series, a partnership between Southern Illinois University Press and Emerging Civil War. An award-winning speaker and editor, White has authored, co-authored, or edited nearly two dozen books, and he frequently leads tours in the United States and abroad.

 

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