Sarah Drake Brown

Interim Executive Director

Sarah Drake Brown earned her PhD in curriculum studies from Indiana University. A former high school teacher in Chicago’s western suburbs, Sarah holds an MA in history from Purdue and a BA in history from Illinois State University. She was a faculty member at Florida State University and most recently at Ball State University where she served as Director of History/Social Studies Education. 

Sarah’s most recent work with practicing teachers focuses on how they understand history as a discipline and how this understanding relates to their teaching, use of assessment, and engagement in civic education. A member of NCHE since the 1990s, Sarah has participated as an education specialist in NCHE colloquia and served on the Board of Directors. She joined NCHE as Associate Director in July 2021.

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John Csepegi

Director of Conferences & Events

John Csepegi has been the Director of Conferences & Events for the National Council for History Education (NCHE) since September 2007. He started working for NCHE in January 2007 as a Project Manager for the Teaching American History grant program. In addition to planning the annual National Conference, he has also been the Director of Memberships since June 2013.

John is happily married to Kate and together they have two pugs (Morgan and Bailey), a bulldog (Frank), and a cat (Sammi). He was born and raised in Madison, Ohio and he earned a Bachelor of Science in Education degree from Bowling Green State University, with a focus on Secondary Social Studies.  

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Laura Wakefield

Program Coordinator

Laura Wakefield earned her B.S. in Political Science/Social Studies Education from Florida State University and a Master of Arts degree in History from the University of Central Florida as a James Madison Fellow. A National Board-Certified history teacher, she taught in the School District of Osceola County, Florida and at Florida Virtual School. She was recognized as the National Middle School Social Studies Teacher of the Year in 1995 and was trained as one of the first American Memory Fellow’s by the Library of Congress.

Laura authored and directed three separate Teaching American History (TAH) grants. She has served NCHE since 2004, first as a Master teacher providing professional development for history teachers, and then as a member of the Board of Directors. Laura joined NCHE’s staff full time in December 2019. 

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Kathleen Barker

Education Coordinator

Kathleen Barker earned a BA in history and women’s studies from the University of Michigan, an MA in public history from Northeastern University, and an MI in School Librarianship from Rutgers University. She has more than twenty years of experience as a museum and library educator, most recently as the Director of the Center for the Teaching of History at the Massachusetts Historical Society, and as Director of Programs for History UnErased. In these roles she designed professional development programs for educators, including NEH Landmarks workshops, as well as inquiry-based programs for K-12 students using Library of Congress collections.  

Kathleen has been attending and presenting at NCHE conferences since 2008. She joined the staff of NCHE in December 2021.

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Dalton Savage

Program Assistant

Dalton Savage is a high school social studies teacher at Edmond Memorial High School in Edmond, Oklahoma. Previously, he was a middle school social studies teacher at the Middle School of Piedmont in Piedmont, OK. Dalton earned his M.Ed. in Instructional Leadership and Academic Curriculum from the University of Oklahoma in 2017.Dalton is the president of the Oklahoma Council for History Education where he works to impact history educators and enthusiasts in Oklahoma's 77 counties. His research interests include history education, professional learning, and teacher preparation. He has been a member of NCHE since 2020. He joined NCHE as a Program Assistant in October 2021.

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