Age: 37
Occupation: Curator, Springfield Art
Association
Email: collections@springfieldart.org
Education: Master’s degree in museum studies from University of Kansas; Bachelor of Arts in religious studies from Western Illinois University
Family: Just three incredibly spoiled cats
Affiliations/community activities:
Secretary, social media chair and editor of Historico, Sangamon County Historical Society; percussionist, Trinity Wind Ensemble; pianist in lobby of Simmons Cancer Institute; speaker for various organizations such as Daughters of the American Revolution, retirement communities, historical groups, schools, daycares and universities; actor in Springfield theater companies; play volleyball at Spartan Sports Park; play bocce ball at Obed and Isaac’s and regular attendee of Lucky Horseshoes games.
What is your guiding principle in life? I’m guided by kindness and honesty. I want to live well, and I want others to live well.
What led you to your career? It was almost a spur-of-the-moment decision. I was graduating and didn’t know where to go next. A friend of mine said, “Why don’t you go into museums? You love museums.” It hadn’t occurred to me that I could.
What is your greatest hope for Springfield? I hope that we can come together as a city to support the great things we have to offer.
What obstacles have you overcome in your career path? Some of the biggest obstacles in my career come from the museum field being so small. I initially moved to New Mexico to find a job. It took almost five years before something opened up for me in central Illinois.
What has been your greatest professional achievement? What I am most proud of in my career is the robust camp program I’ve built at Edwards Place. We went from having a couple of camps to nearly 40, some of which I teach, which I never thought I’d do.
Who was your childhood or teenage celebrity crush? I can’t believe I’m going to admit this publicly, but since I was a child, it’s been Gary Oldman. The 4-year-old me had a crush on him as the long-haired, sunglass-wearing Dracula. This is odd for a couple of reasons: 1) Why was I watching this movie as a kid? and 2) I’m not even attracted to men, yet the crush persists to this day.
This article appears in July SBJ 2026.