The Atlanta Historical Society was founded in 1926 to preserve and study Atlanta history. In 1990, after decades of collecting, researching, and publishing information about Atlanta and the surrounding area, the organization officially became Atlanta History Center. What began as a small, archival-focused historical society grew over the decades to encompass 33 acres of curated Goizueta Gardens, four historic houses, varied programming, and a range of signature and temporary exhibitions housed in the Atlanta History Museum (completed 1993).
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Susana Braner
Vice President of Sales & Operations
Susana received her BA in Public Relations from Georgia State University and has worked in the field of event and wedding planning for more than two decades. Prior to joining the Atlanta History Center team, Susana spearheaded the community events team at Emory University’s Crawford Long Hospital. While at Emory, she discovered her passion for working with the public to design events to be remembered for years to come. Susana later lead the event production team at A Divine Event. There, she oversaw the planning and execution of many events hosted at Swan House. She says that, with all that time spent planning weddings at Swan House, joining the History Center’s team felt like a homecoming. She is a past VP of Programs for Les Dames d’Edcoffier.
Email | 404.814.4087
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Paul Carriere
Chief Operating Officer
Executive Vice PresidentPaul Carriere has been with Atlanta History Center since 2015. He began his career as a practicing attorney, but found himself more interested in the daily operations of the businesses he represented, rather than the practice. This set him down a path in the nonprofit sector. Prior to joining the team at Atlanta History Center, Paul spent ten years at the American Cancer Society. As the COO, Paul is ultimately responsible for day-to-day operations, as well as the management of the HR, marketing and brand strategy, and private events teams. Among his other responsibilities as COO, Paul lead the strategic planning process back in 2016, as well as the updated process for 2021.
Email | 404.814.4165
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Sarah Carter
Olga C. de Goizueta Vice President
Goizueta Gardens & Living CollectionsSarah provides the vision for Goizueta Gardens, serves as curator and garden designer, and leads the horticulture and agriculture staff. Together, this team creates immersive, meaningful, and ecologically beneficial gardens that represent Atlanta’s unique landscape history. Sarah’s 20+ year career in public gardens began with an internship in curation at the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, where the importance of rich botanical diversity shared publicly in a beautiful way took root. She went on to become Curator of Herbaceous Plants and Outdoor Gardens at the New York Botanical Garden. Sarah holds a Bachelor of Science honors degree in Horticulture from Berry College, and a Postgraduate diploma with distinction from Garden Design School in England. Sarah has written for numerous publications, been featured on Martha Stewart Radio, the Canadian Broadcast Corporation, GardenSmart TV series, and the podcast Stuff You Missed in History Class.
Email | 404.814.4073
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Paul Crater
Vice President of Collections & Research Services
Paul manages the Kenan Research Center. He is the author of three books on the history of Atlanta, including Baseball in Atlanta, World War II in Atlanta, and co-author of Lost Atlanta. He is the curator of Voices Across the Color Line, an award-winning exhibition of the Atlanta Student Movement that appeared at the Atlanta History Center in 2010. In 2014, he was awarded an Emmy for his contribution in the development of 37 Weeks: Sherman on the March, which aired on Georgia Public Broadcasting. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and Georgia State University.
Email | 404.814.4049
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Shatavia Elder
Vice President of Education
Shatavia serves as the strategic lead for all of our educational initiatives, reflecting the importance of the Education Department in delivering our mission. Through her role in developing and coordinating AHC’s educational programs, Shatavia seeks to leverage the diverse resources of the institution with innovative education practices to create immersive, meaningful, and relevant experiences for children of all ages. Prior to joining the Atlanta History Center in 2019, Shatavia accrued over 15 years of experience in the public school system serving in multiple capacities. Most notably, Shatavia facilitated trainings locally, nationally and internationally to include: National Youth at Risk, First Generation at Yale University, International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), Georgia Educational Technology Conference (GaETC), and Haiti Educational Council. Shatavia received her B.A. in Political Science from the University of West Georgia and her Master of Education from Nova Southeastern University. She was named Outstanding Georgia Citizen & District Wide Teacher of the Year (Dekalb County).
Email | 404.814.4146
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F. Sheffield Hale
President & Chief Executive Officer
Sheffield Hale is President and CEO of Atlanta History Center. Prior to joining Atlanta History Center in 2012, he served as Chief Counsel of the American Cancer Society, Inc. and was a Partner practicing corporate law in the firm of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP.
Mr. Hale serves as a Trustee of the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Buckhead Coalition, Midtown Alliance, and The Westminster Schools. He is Chair of the Advisory Board of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, an ex-officio member of the Board of the Old Salem Museums and Gardens, and a member of the Advisory Board for the Center for the Study of the American South. He is a Past Chair of the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, Atlanta History Center, St. Jude’s Recovery Center, Inc., and the State of Georgia’s Judicial Nominating Commission. He was the Chair of the City of Atlanta Cyclorama Task Force and the Co-Chair of the Advisory Committee on City of Atlanta Street Names and Monuments Associated with the Confederacy. Mr. Hale was a recipient of the 2021 Georgia Governor’s Award for Arts & Humanities.
Mr. Hale received his B.A. in History from the University of Georgia summa cum laude in 1982, and received his J.D. in 1985 from the University of Virginia School of Law. He is a member of the American Law Institute.
Email | 404.814.4020
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Claire Haley
Vice President of Special Projects
As Vice President of Special Projects, Claire leads the development and coordination of a variety of programs and partnerships at Atlanta History Center, including author talks, dialogue series, and more. She joined Atlanta History Center in 2017 as a research and writing assistant. She then pursued opportunities to expand her expertise in communications and special projects, leading involvement in the national history and civics initiative Made By Us, among other projects. Claire graduated from the honors program at the University of Georgia with a B.A. in History and a B.A. in International Affairs, summa cum laude.
Email | 404.814.4129
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Jackson McQuigg
Vice President of Properties
Jackson handles capital projects, construction management, leases, and building-related contracts at the Atlanta History Center. A graduate of Wake Forest University, he most recently managed the move of the Battle of Atlanta Cyclorama painting to AHC. An avid transportation historian, he has authored or co-authored three books on railroad history, as well as numerous articles for Trains, Lines South, Canadian Rail and other railroad history publications. He has been with the Atlanta History Center since 1996. He maintains active memberships in the International Association of Museum Facility Administrators and the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Email | 404.814.4064
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Erin O’Leary
Chief Development Officer
Executive Vice PresidentErin leads all aspects of fundraising at Atlanta History Center. Joining Atlanta History Center in 2021, Erin brings over 18 years of experience. Spending the majority of her career with organizations in New York City, Erin has worked with organizations in NY, FL and GA such as Carnegie Hall, The New York Public Library, Teach for America, the Foundation for Excellence in Education and Points of Light. She brings a vast range of fundraising experience including leading Capital Campaigns and other major fundraising initiatives. Erin received a BA from Southern Methodist University and a Master in Public Administration from NYU.
Email | 404.814.4056
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Jeff Rutledge
Vice President of Finance & Information Technology
Jeff has been at Atlanta History Center for more than thirteen years. He began his career at the History Center in accounting, which led him down the path to financial and information technology leadership. Prior to joining the team, Jeff worked for other non-profits across Atlanta. He has his BS in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.
Email | 404.814.4156
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Kristian Weatherspoon
Vice President of Digital Storytelling
Kristian Weatherspoon is Vice President of Digital Storytelling. With nearly 10 years of digital journalism experience, she has worked with news, public policy and government organizations to effectively deliver content to a variety of audiences across digital and social media platforms. Her passion for amplifying untold stories has taken her across the Southeast from blueberry farms in South Georgia exploring issues surrounding immigration to coastal Louisiana documenting the devastating impact of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico Deep Water Horizon oil spill on local communities. As much of her work has been traditional broadcast journalism, she’s also spent time building digital issue campaigns in efforts to shift policy to improve the lives of the underserved populations in Mississippi. Kristian has received awards from the Georgia Associated Press and the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists (AABJ) for her work. Kristian received her master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from Northwestern University’s renowned Medill School of Journalism and a Bachelor of Science from Jackson State University.
Email | 404.814.4096
Hailey Morgan
Director of Education
Email | 404.814.4053
Chelsey Brown
Director of Children’s Experience
Email | 404.814.4045
Barbara Manwell
Manager of Education Programs
Email | 404.814.4135
Celenia Bidot
Manager of Group Sales and Logistics
Email | 404.814.4110
Isadora Hohaia
Manager of Education Outreach
Email | 404.814.4116
Ashley Sankey
Education Programs Assistant
Email | 404.814.4017
Nik Kekel
Historic House Manager
Email | 404.814.4143
Peter Finnerty
Major Gifts & Individual Giving Director
Email | 404.814.4102
Ariana Yandell
Membership & Donor Services Director
Email | 404.814.4101
Lena Denton
Membership Manager
Email | 404.814.4100
Staci Catron
Cherokee Garden Library Director
Email | 404.814.4046
Teresa Burk
Librarian
Email | 404.814.4078
Kate Daly
Visual Culture Archivist
Email| 404.814.2055
Erica Hague
Collections Manager
Email | 404.814.2068
Jena Jones
Manager of Reprographic Services
Email | 404.814.4067
Ariana Lee
Processing Archivist
Email
Maggie Inman
Research Assistant
Email | 404.814.4041
La’Neice Littleton
Director of Community Collaborations
Email| 404.814.4122
Kathryn Turnbull
Research Manager
Email | 404.814.4040 or 404.814.4048
Jennie Oldfield
Cherokee Garden Library Cataloger & Archivist
Email | 404.814.4124
Ginny Van Winkle
Cherokee Garden Library Project Archivist and Outreach Assistant
Email | 404.814.2056
Sue Verhoef
Director of Oral History & Genealogy
Email | 404.814.4042
Manager of Animal Collections
Email | 404.814.4148
Travis Fisher
Senior Horticulturist & Plant Records Manager
Email | 404.814.4072
Cameron Wethern
Senior Horticulturist, Entrance Gardens
Email | 404.814.4070
For more information on volunteering please email volunteerservices@atlantahistorycenter.com or contact
Q Turner
Manager of Volunteer and Intern Services
Email | 404.814.4134
Atlanta History Center is a non-profit, public-benefit organization. The Board of Trustees of Atlanta History Center serves in the public interest as it relates to the constituent parts of Atlanta History Center and considers itself accountable to the public as well as the institution. The Board acts as the ultimate governing authority for Atlanta History Center and is responsible for the formulation and maintenance of its general policies, standards, conditions, and procedures
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Joia Johnson
Chair
Joia M. Johnson is an experienced public and private company director. She retired in 2021 as Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Hanesbrands Inc. (NYSE: HBI), a leading global marketer and manufacturer of apparel. In her nearly 15-year tenure there, she served as executive leader for the board’s Governance and Nominating Committee, and during her tenure she oversaw the legal, corporate social responsibility, real estate and government/trade relations functions of the company. For four years, she also oversaw the human resources function and served as executive leader of the board’s Compensation Committee.
Johnson has held leadership positions on both corporate and civic boards. She currently serves on the board of Global Payments Inc. (NYSE: GPN), a leading Fortune 500 payments technology company, Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE: RF), one of the nation’s largest full-service providers of banking, wealth management, and mortgage products and services, and Sylvamo Corporation (NYSE: SLVM), the world’s paper company. Johnson is a member of several different committees among those boards and chairs the Compensation Committee at Regions.
For eight years, Johnson was a member of the board of Crawford & Company (NYSE: CRDA and CRDB). For four of those years she served as Chair of the Compensation Committee, and throughout her tenure she served as a member of the Audit Committee. As well, and for 15 years, Johnson was a member of the board of H.J. Russell & Company, a private real estate development, construction and property management business.
A native Atlantan, Johnson earned her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania, her Master of Business Administration degree from The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, and her bachelor’s degree from Duke University. Johnson serves on the board of The Atlantic Council, a nonpartisan organization that promotes constructive leadership and engagement in international affairs, and on its Executive Committee. She also serves on the Board of the Woodruff Arts Center, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Atlanta History Center. She has served on and chaired the boards of several other non-profit organizations over the years.
Beau Allen
Jenny Alton
Chloe Barzey
Dallas Clement
Cath Coetzer
Joseph Crespino
Jennifer Dorian
Michael Golden
Marc Hardy
Joia Johnson
Garrett Langley
Sandra Hall Mulrain
Bill Peard
Sachin Shailendra
Will Skeean
Cynthia Neal Spence
Caroline Rawls Strumph
Kathy Waller
Support for the Atlanta History Center website has been generously provided by the Fraser-Parker Foundation, SunTrust Trusteed Foundations: Florence C. and Harry L. English Memorial Fund, The Imlay Foundation, Victoria and Howard Palefsky, and Mr. and Mrs. James C. Kennedy.
Learn. More.
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Atlanta History Center’s guiding principles.
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Explore our biannual member publications online.
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Governance of Atlanta History Center.
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Explore career opportunities at Atlanta History Center.