Presenters, Guides & Historians Biographies
2024 National Teacher Institute
More Bios and Speakers to Come!
Keynote Speakers
To be announced.
Presenters, Guides & Historians
Garry Adelman
A graduate of Michigan State University and Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, Garry Adelman is the award-winning author, co-author or editor of 20 books and 50 Civil War articles. He is the vice president of the Center for Civil War Photography and has been a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg for 25 years. He has conceived and drafted the text for wayside exhibits at ten battlefields, has given thousands of battlefield tours at more than 60 sites and has lectured at hundreds of locations across the country including the National Archives, the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian. He has appeared as a speaker on the BBC, C-Span, Pennsylvania Cable Network, American Heroes Channel, and on HISTORY where he was a chief consultant and talking head on the Emmy Award-winning show Gettysburg (2011) and Blood and Glory: The Civil War in Color (2015). He works full-time as Chief Historian at the American Battlefield Trust.
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.
Daniel Davis
Dan Davis, Senior Education Manager at the American Battlefield Trust. He is a native of Fredericksburg, VA where his love for the Civil War began on childhood trips to local battlefields. Dan 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.
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.
Robert (Bob) Rinehart
Bob Rinehart was born in York, PA and graduated from West York High School (1983). He worked in television production for eight years after graduating from High School. During this time, the station (Cable-4-York) and Bob earned several awards for Excellence in their productions. Bob has a Bachelor’s degree in Secondary Education – Social Studies from York College of Pennsylvania (1994) and a Master’s Degree in Administration and Supervision from Loyola College of Maryland (2001). He was named Preservation Teacher of the Year by the American Battlefield Trust (then the Civil War Trust) in 2004, was awarded the American Battlefield Trust Chairman’s Award in 2010, and was named the Gilder/Lehrman Maryland Teacher of the Year in 2014. Bob has volunteered for the American Battlefield Trust since 2004 for both the Summer Teacher’s Institute and the member Annual Conference. He is married to his wife Maureen, and they have five children ranging from 17 – 25 years of age.
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.
More guides, presenters & historians will be announced soon.