Kristy Brugar

Chair

University of Oklahoma (OK)

Kristy Brugar is an Associate Professor of Social Studies Education in the Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education at the University of Oklahoma.  Previously, she was an assistant professor at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI and a middle school social studies teacher in Maryland and Michigan.  Dr. Brugar earned her Ph.D. in Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education from Michigan State University.

Dr. Brugar is a recipient of the OU Jeanine Rainbolt College of Education Junior Faculty Award (2017), the National Council for the Social Studies, College and University Faculty Assembly Early Career Award (2017), and the OU Robert L. and Nan A. Huddleston Presidential Professor of Education (2018).  

She is a long-time member of NCHE.  Her research interests include social studies and history education, interdisciplinary instruction involving history/social studies, literacy, and visual arts, and teacher development.  She can be reached at kristy.a.brugar@ou.edu

Dean Pinos

Vice-Chair

New Trier High School (IL)

Dean Pinos is the Social Studies Department Coordinator at New Trier High School in suburban Chicago. In addition to serving as the Vice-Chair for NCHE, Dean is also the President of the Illinois Council for History Education. Having taught various Social Studies classes, Dean is particularly interested in World History and thematic approaches to the subject. He has presented at a variety of conferences on topics ranging from Athenian democracy to American foreign policy to Balkan historiography. Dean is a member of The Alliance for Learning in World History at the University of Pittsburgh and was the recipient of a Fulbright award for study in India.

Todd Wigginton

Vice-Chair

Metro Nashville Public Schools (TN)

Todd is the Director of Social Studies for Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, where he served fourteen of his eighteen years as a History teacher. In 2014 Todd joined the National Faculty of the Buck Institute for Education, a leader in Project Based Learning. Todd is passionate about a student-centered approach to instruction and has served as an adjunct professor at Lipscomb University, Trevecca University, and Vanderbilt University, where he has taught graduate courses in Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment and undergraduate courses in Social Studies Teaching Methods. Todd emphasizes strategies for creating a positive classroom culture, content literacy, and inquiry-based unit planning. He currently serves as Vice-Chair for NCHE and is Chair of the NCHE Governance committee.

Dan Dunn

Treasurer

The Branson School (CA)

Dan currently teaches economics and history at the Branson School in Ross, California. Prior to that he was an analyst and portfolio manager at a San Francisco based hedge fund for 15 years. He has an AB in Economics from Stanford as well as an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He lives with his wife, children and new puppy in Larkspur, California. When not teaching, Dan can generally be found fly fishing or scuba diving.

Luis Martínez-Fernández

Secretary

Secretary University of Central Florida (FL)

Dr. Luis Martínez-Fernández is professor of history at the University of Central Florida, where he specializes in Cuban and Caribbean History. A prolific author, he has published articles in some of his field’s leading scholarly journals: Latin American Research Review, Slavery and Abolition, and Cuban Studies; his books range in subject from the early colonial Caribbean (Key to the New World [2018]) to the Cuban Revolution (Revolutionary Cuba: A History [2014]).

Dr. Martínez-Fernández is also a committed public intellectual, who believes that historians have the responsibility to project their knowledge beyond the university classroom and the scholarly press to reach wider audiences. He has actively pursued this commitment through public lectures, editorial articles, participation in documentaries, through museum exhibits, and in collaborations with K-12 teachers. He brings to NCHE’s board decades of service in various leadership capacities including the Board of Trustees of the College Board and the Board of the South Atlantic Humanities Center.

Douglas Brinkley

Rice University (TX)

Douglas Brinkley is a professor of history at Rice University, bestselling author, Grammyaward winning producer and presidential historian for CNN. Eight of his books have been selected as New York Times Notable Books of the Year, and each of his most-recent publications have been New York Times bestsellers. Brinkley received the Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt Naval History Prize for Driven Patriot in 1993 and the Benjamin Franklin Award for The American Heritage History of the United States in 1998. His book 2006 The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast won the Robert F. Kennedy book award. He is also the author of the award-winning biographies Rosa Parks: A Life, Cronkite, and Wheels of the World: Henry Ford, His Country, and a Century of Progress.

Published in 2016, Rightful Heritage: Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Land of America is the third volume of Brinkley’s bestselling U.S. environmental history series. Brinkley’s most recent book, JFK: A Vision for America—which he edited together with the president’s nephew, Stephen Kennedy Smith—features JFK’s greatest speeches, iconic photography, and reflections by leading statesmen, writers, historians, and public figures. The book is the basis for New-York Historical’s upcoming exhibition honoring the 100th anniversary of President Kennedy’s birth: American Visionary: John F. Kennedy’s Life and Time, opening June 23. Brinkley, who has edited Jack Kerouac’s diaries, Hunter S. Thompson’s letters, and Theodore Dreiser’s travelogue—and has co-edited a previously unpublished novel by Woody Guthrie together with Johnny Depp—serves as a contributing editor for Vanity Fair, Audubon, and American Heritage, and is a frequent contributor to The New York Times, Foreign Affairs, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic Monthly.

He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Century Association, and the Society of American Historians, and has held board or leadership advisory roles at the American Museum of Natural History, the Yellowstone Park Foundation, the National Audubon Society, and the Rockefeller-Roosevelt Conservation Roundtable—reflecting his commitment to conservation and environmental preservation. Brinkley has been described as “America’s new past master” and has received numerous honorary degrees from colleges and universities throughout the nation for his work as an Americanist. He earned his BA from Ohio State University and a PhD in U.S. diplomatic history from Georgetown University

Chris Bunin

Albemarle High School (VA)

Chris Bunin teaches social studies and geospatial technologies at Albemarle High School in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is also Assistant Professor of Geography at Piedmont Virginia Community College and the iSTEM GIS chairperson for the Virginia Geographic Alliance. During the past decade he has collaborated on a variety of projects focused on using geospatial technologies and geoliteracy to enhance historical research and instruction. He is co-author of Jamestown to Appomattox: Mapping US History with GIS (2014) and GIS for Teachers – A Guide to Authentic K-12 Integration and Application (2017). In 2016 NCSS recognized Chris as the Secondary Social Studies Teacher of the Year, and in 2017 NCGE awarded him the Brunn Creativity Award for the Outstanding Teaching of Geography. When he is not teaching or mining historical GIS data, he can be found hiking and enjoying the Blue Ridge Mountains with his wife and their 3 children. You can follow him at @ahsgeo.

Mike Clemens

Osceola High School (FL)

Mike Clemens graduated from Millersville University of Pennsylvania. He believes he was born to be a history teacher. One of his earliest memories is of his father lifting him to touch the Liberty Bell, which at the time was located outside and covered by a shed type roof. He chairs the social studies department at his high school and has worked for the Florida Humanities Council as a master teacher and as a Lead Teacher on two Teaching American History grant programs.

Tony DiSario

Griffin-Spalding Schools (GA)

A 1997 graduate of the University of Florida in Elementary Education with a minor in U.S. History, Tony DiSario began his career in Clayton County, Georgia, teaching 5th grade in an urban school south of the city of Atlanta. Known initially as an expert in mathematics pedagogy, Mr. DiSario taught Mathematics Methods at Georgia State University for three years before returning to his children’s school in Henry County, Georgia as a classroom teacher. Six years on a Teaching American History Grant shifted Mr. DiSario’s instructional focus to social studies, and after thirteen years, he left the classroom to support 27 elementary schools in social studies instruction as the Elementary Social Studies Teacher on Special Assignment. A Georgia Social Studies Teacher of the Year, Mr. DiSario currently serves as the Social Studies Coordinator for Griffin-Spalding Schools.

Sarah Drake Brown

Past Chair

Ball State University (IN)

Sarah Drake Brown is Associate Professor of History and Director of History/Social Studies Education at Ball State University in Muncie, IN. She teaches introductory teacher education courses and upper-level content methods courses and works with student teachers in classrooms. A former high school teacher in Illinois, her research focuses on teaching candidates’ development of historical cognition and the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in History. She is editor of Teaching History: A Journal of Methods

Charles Errico

Northern Virginia Community College (VA)

Charles Errico received his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland in American diplomatic history. He is a professor at Northern Virginia Community College where he has won teaching awards from the alumni association, the educational foundation and, in 2007, was named one of the outstanding faculty members in Virginia. Charlie participated in over forty NCHE colloquiums as part of the Teaching American History grant. His book, Portrait of America, is required reading at over sixty universities in the United States and Europe.

Joanne Freeman

Yale University (CT)

Joanne Freeman is a Professor of History and American Studies at Yale University. A leading expert on early American politics and culture, she is the author of the award-winning Affairs of Honor: National Politics in the New Republic, and editor of Alexander Hamilton: Writings and The Essential Hamilton. Her most recent book, The Field of Blood: Congressional Violence and the Road to Civil War -- a New York Times notable book of 2018 and Lincoln Prize finalist -- explores the impact and implications of physical violence in the antebellum U.S. Congress.

Long committed to public-minded history, she has been a historical advisor for writers, documentary filmmakers, the National Park Service, and a playwright; Lin-Manuel Miranda used her work in writing Hamilton. A co-host of the popular American history podcast BackStory, she is a frequent commentator for major media outlets and history documentaries. Her Yale online course, The American Revolution, has been viewed by hundreds of thousands of people in homes and classrooms around the world.

Theodore D.R. Green

Webster University (MO)

Ted D. R. Green, Ph. D. is a Professor in the Teacher Education Department, School of Education at Webster University. Green just published a book Oh Freedom After While: The 1939 Missouri Sharecropper Protest that supports the documentary of the same name. Currently Green is serving in his 4th year on the NCHE Board. He is the Chair of the Professional Development Committee. He has also been a consultant on more than 35 TAH Grants in the United States and 5 TAH Grants in the St. Louis metro area. Green works with the National Park Service training park rangers and assisting with curriculum. Recently Green completed a Fellowship in the Netherlands, where he studied in Leiden, and taught classes on International Education and Dutch History. Green continues to work for the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, where he has been writing curriculum and training educators for over twenty years.

Claire McCaffery Griffin

Independent Consultant (WA)

Claire McCaffery Griffin, is an independent consultant with nearly 45 years of experience in history education. She holds a BA (cum laude) from the University of San Francisco and an MA from the University of Hawaii. Claire was a teacher for 28 years; served for 8 years as the vice president of an educational non-profit in Alexandria, VA; and currently consults with federal agencies, such as the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation, and non-profits to promote history and civic education. Claire has worked with teachers from all 50 states as well as educators from Russia, China, Japan, and South Africa. President Donald J. Trump recently nominated Claire to serve on the National Humanities Council, a board of twenty-six distinguished private citizens whose role is to advise the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). If confirmed by the Senate, Claire will serve on the Council until 2022.

Kevin Krahenbuhl

Middle Tennessee State University (TN)

Kevin S. Krahenbuhl is Interim Director of the Assessment, Learning, and School Improvement EdD Program and Assistant Professor of Education at Middle Tennessee State University. Kevin taught history for nearly a decade in K12, taught survey courses in history for several years in community college, taught social studies pedagogy and supervised pre-service teachers, and is engaged in ongoing research of cognition in history. Kevin recognizes historical understanding as among the most important for examining any issue in its context and for equipping people to engage civilly in society. He has published dozens of writings, including many peer reviewed research articles, two historical articles on the Crusades, and the release of his first book in 2018, The Decay of Truth in Education. Kevin is married to Allison and has four children: Audrey, Ethan, Sophie, and Ava.

Kevin Levin

Independent Historian and Educator (MA)?

Kevin M. Levin is a historian and educator based in Boston. He has taught on the high school and college level and is the author of numerous articles and books about the American Civil War.

Andy Mink

National Humanities Center (NC)

Andy Mink is the Vice President for Education Programs at the National Humanities Center in Durham, North Carolina.   After earning degrees in history from the University of Virginia and the University of South Carolina, he taught in a public middle school in central Virginia for ten years.  He joined the NHC in 2016 after leadership positions at the University of Virginia and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in which he spearheaded project-based outreach efforts for K-12 educators.  He is a Master Teacher with the Organization of American Historians in their Distinguished Speaker Program and also serves on the Board of Trustees of the National Council for Social Studies.

Jenny Nicholas

Salt Lake City School District (UT)

Jenny Nicholas has taught Social Studies in the Salt Lake City School District for 18 years, specializing in AP European History, IB World History and US Government courses. She is passionate about teaching—and being taught by— her students and sees history education as a critical component of shared knowledge in our society. Jenny earned a BA in History from the University of Utah, an M.A.T. degree from Boston University, and will earn an EdD degree in Education, Leadership & Policy from the University of Utah. She represented the state of Utah as a James Madison Fellow, and has worked for the James Madison Fellowship Foundation for many years. Jenny is a life-long lover of outdoor adventure: hiking, camping, and skiing are her main life distractions. Jenny is greatly looking forward to upcoming opportunities with NCHE and knows that some of the strongest ways in which she has improved her craft is through her associations with skilled and passionate educators.

Joshua L. Reid

University of Washington (WA)

Joshua Reid is the Director for the Study of the Pacific Northwest at the University of Washington. He received his B.A. at Yale University and his Ph.D. at the University of California at Davis. His research interests include American Indians, identity formation, cultural meanings of space and place, the American and Canadian Wests, the environment, and the indigenous Pacific.

Elliott West

University of Arkansas (AR)

Elliott West, Alumni Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Arkansas, specializes is the history of the American West, environmental history and the history of American Indians. He is author of eight books. The Contested Plains: Indians, Goldseekers and the Rush to Colorado (1998) won several national awards, including the Francis Parkman Prize for the year’s outstanding book in American history, and it and The Last Indian War: The Nez Perce Story (2009), both received the Western History Association’s award as the book of the year. He has been recognized twice as his university’s teacher of the year, and in 2009 was one of three finalists for the Robert Foster Cherry Award for the outstanding classroom teacher in the nation. He lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas with his wife, the Rev. Suzanne Stoner.

Mike Williams

National Humanities Center (NC)

Mike Williams serves as the Education Projects Manager for the National Humanities Center, in Durham, NC. As a former history teacher, he has twice been recognized as the Warren County Schools Teacher of the Year and the 2017 Organization of American Historians Tachau National Teacher of the Year. He has published works in the texts "Family History In The Classroom" and "When We Were British: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Visualizing Early America,” and was featured as a contributing author in Time Magazine’s “25 Moments That Changed History” series. He has been awarded fellowships through the West Indies Teacher Institute and Rural Teachers Global Trust where his research connected classrooms in London, Scotland, Ghana and Barbados. He serves in a number of capacities, including the Executive Board of the North Carolina Council for the Social Studies, North Carolina Geographic Alliance, UNC-Duke African Diaspora Fellows Program and Warren County Community Center Executive Board.

Yohuru Williams

University of St. Thomas (MN)

Dr. Yohuru Williams is the Professor of History, McQuinn Distinguished Chair and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. Dr. Williams received his Ph.D. from Howard University in 1998. Dr. Williams has held a variety of administrative posts both within and outside the university including serving as Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at Fairfield University, Vice President for Public Education and Research at the Jackie Robinson Foundation in New York City, and Chief Historian for the Jackie Robinson Foundation. Dr. Williams is the author of Black Politics/White Power: Civil Rights Black Power and Black Panthers in New Haven (Blackwell, 2006), Rethinking the Black Freedom Movement (Routledge, 2015), and Teaching beyond the Textbook: Six Investigative Strategies (Corwin Press, 2008) and the editor of A Constant Struggle: AfricanAmerican History from 1865 to the Present Documents and Essays (Kendall Hunt, 2002).

He is the co-editor of The Black Panthers: Portraits of an Unfinished Revolution (Nation Books, 2016), In Search of the Black Panther Party, New Perspectives on a Revolutionary Movement (Duke, 2006), and Liberated Territory: Toward a Local History of the Black Panther Party (Duke, 2008). He also served as general editor for the Association for the Study of African American Life and History's 2002 and 2003 Black History Month publications, The Color Line Revisited (Tapestry Press, 2002) and The Souls of Black Folks: Centennial Reflections (Africa World Press, 2003). Dr. Williams served as an advisor on the popular civil rights reader Putting the Movement Back into teaching Civil Rights. Dr. Williams has appeared on a variety of local and national radio and television programs most notably Aljazeera America, BET, CSPAN, EBRU Today, Fox Business News, Fresh Outlook, Huff Post Live, and NPR and was featured in the Ken Burns PBS Documentary Jackie Robinson and the Stanley Nelson PBS Documentary: The Black Panthers.

He is also one of the hosts of the History Channel’s Web show Sound Smart. A regular political commentator on the Cliff Kelly Show on WVON, Chicago, Dr. Williams also blogs regularly for the Huffington Post and is a contributor to the Progressive Magazine. Dr. Williams's scholarly articles have appeared in the American Bar Association’s Insights on Law and Society, The Organization of American Historians Magazine of History, The Black Scholar, The Journal of Black Studies, Pennsylvania History, Delaware History, the Journal of Civil and Human Rights and the Black History Bulletin. Dr. Williams is also presently finishing a new book entitled In the Shadow of the Whipping Post: Lynching, Capital Punishment, and Jim Crow Justice in Delaware 1865-1965 under contract with Cambridge University Press.