Project Bios
Mellon funding allowed the project to bring together top people in their fields of expertise to do what they do best:
Dr. Mark Freeman
Mr. Scott Gillespie
Mr. David Givens
Dr. William Kelso
Dr. Earl Mark
Ms. Carole Schmidt
Dr. Crandall Shifflett
Dr. Julie Solometo
Dr. William Thomas,
Dr. Kimberly Tryka
After starting his career in teaching, Mark Freeman worked for twelve years for a software company dealing with archaeology, museum and library collections management. Specializing in digital archaeological information, Mark has given papers at several regional and national archaeological conferences. For the last five years Mark has run his own company, Stories Past, developing educational web components for archaeologists and museums.
Scott Gillespie is the Project Manager/ Programmer at The Virginia Center for Digital History. At VCDH his primary role has been to redesign the Virtual Jamestown site, assist with getting more primary documents online for the Geography of Slavery, and work with Crandall Shifflett to produce the Jamestown in the Atlantic World site. He has 10 years experience in developing educational software and websites.
David M. Givensis a staff archaeologist with the Jamestown Rediscovery Project. Mr. Givens specializes in archaeological Geographic Information Systems. His job involves the linking of volumes of spatial data and archaeological information into a viable and sustainable digital archive. He provides nearly fifteen years of knowledge in Chesapeake and Virginia archaeology and history to the group. David manages the Jamestown RediscoveryTM website, a successful educational interface between the Rediscovery excavations and the public.
William Kelso, Chief Archaeologist, Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, Jamestown RediscoveryTM. He discovered Jamestown Fort and directed the archaeological team for this project. He supported the project with access to archaeological site data, service on the advisory board, a conference presentation, and advice on Web presentation. He continues to make new discoveries at the Jamestown Island site.
Earl Mark serves as Chief Technology Officer and Director of Information Technology within the School of Architecture, and as Associate Professor of Architecture. Prior to this appointment, he was a lecturer at the MIT Department of Architecture, a senior teaching fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and visiting lecturer at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich. He holds a Ph.D. in Architecture with a Minor in Cognitive Science from Harvard University, a Master of Science in Media Technology from the MIT Media Lab, a Master of Architecture, and a BA in Architecture and Mathematics. In spring 1998, Earl Mark was the Thomas Jefferson Visiting Fellow at Downing College and a Visiting Associate of the Martin Centre, of the Department of Architecture at the University of Cambridge. In addition, he was a senior software engineer at Computervision Corporation. Mark is also actively involved in private practice at Johnson, Craven, and Gibson Architects in Charlottesville. Prof. Mark is responsible for directing the development computer based curriculum and facilities. He teaches, performs research, and has published in the areas of computer aided design, digital moviemaking and animation, and design research.
Carole Hamner Schmidt is a management consultant to the nonprofit sector. As a member of the Jamestown Planning Proposal team, Carole advised the project on governance issues including board structure, intellectual property rights, and business plan development. She drafted sample bylaws, memoranda of understanding, and copyright policies for university legal council to review. Through individual interviews with all stakeholders, she identified potential strengths and challenges to the collaboration and recommended strategies to negotiate differences. Carole brings more than a decade’s experience in nonprofit management and leadership development to her work with educational institutions and community-based organizations. Before establishing her consulting practice, Carole was Deputy Director of the Pew Partnership for Civic Change, a civic research organization founded by The Pew Charitable Trusts. While with the Pew Partnership, Carole directed strategic communications for grant-making and research initiatives exceeding $15 million in investment by the Trusts. She was also the principle author of the LeadershipPlentyÒ training program currently adopted by a host of national organizations.
Crandall Shifflett, Professor of History and Interim Director, Virginia Center for Digital History, created and manages Virtual Jamestown. He wrote the “Jamestown Planning Proposal,” hired the staff, and directed the project. He is currently Interim Director, Virginia Center for Digital History, working on a book manuscript on Virginia’s first Africans and the origins of slavery in
Julie P. Solometo is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at James Madison University. She received her PhD in Anthropology from the University of Michigan in 2004 with a dissertation on the archaeological study of war, supported by six seasons of fieldwork on prehistoric fortifications in Arizona. Dr. Solometo is the Director of the Chevelon Archaeological Research Project, which involves students in the examination of prehistoric
Pueblo cultures. Her work with the Mellon Project involved assembling and interpreting available materials on the archaeology of Native American settlement in the greater Chesapeake Bay region and presenting this information through a demonstration web-site (http://www.virtualjamestown.org/paspahegh/).
The website uses the well-excavated archaeological site of Paspahegh to examine aspects of Powhatan life and culture at the time of European contact, including architecture and material items such as ceramics and copper. The website also compiles available historical information on the interaction of the Paspahegh people and the English colonists. Dr. Solometo also examined current representations of native peoples and cultures by visiting several museums and other outlets that present narratives of English colonization.
Kimberly A. Tryka was the Associate Director of the Virginia Center for Digital History (VCDH) from January 2001 through June 2005 and is currently the Project Manager for "The South". As Associate Director at VCDH she was responsible for guiding the technical aspects of VCDH projects and making sure the projects conformed to established library (or professional) standards, as appropriate. She is also the Reviews Editor of "Digital Humanities Quarterly" (DHQ), an open-access, peer-reviewed, digital journal covering all aspects of digital media in the humanities published by the Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations (ADHO).
Her work with the Mellon project included guiding the creation of and setting up controlled vocabulary terms to be used with the Atlantic World Online Resources database (http://www.virtualjamestown.org/awresources/) and working closely with Julie Solemeto to create a demonstration web-site related to the Paspehegh (http://www.virtualjamestown.org/paspahegh/). Additionally she participated in meetings of stakeholders in the project, attended a seminar to determine what college instructors might want from an Atlantic World website, and consulted with members of the APVA about how their data might be used within an Atlantic World website.
William G. Thomas, III, is the John and Catherine Angle Professor in the Humanities, University of Nebraska and former Director, Virginia Center for Digital History and Associate Professor, Department of History, the University of Virginia. He chaired the Mellon Jamestown Advisory Board and led its meetings. In addition, at the Virginia Center, he supported the project’s requirements for graduate research assistants, Web presentation, and technical work. His interest in the project and advice during Board discussions led us towards the most promising and potentially productive pathways of digital history. (See Appendix 8 for Thomas’ summary and report on the project).