Steven Lubar
Director of the John Nicholas Brown Center and professor in the Department of American Civilization
Recent work includes Legacies: Collecting America’s History at the Smithsonian (Smithsonian Press, 2001; see Smithsonian Legacies on the Web) and “America on the Move” at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. His interests include the history of museums and memorials, material culture studies, and cultural theory in the study of history of technology. For more information on Professor Lubar, see the Department of American Civilization web site, follow him on Twitter, or visit his blog.
For academic programs, the M.A. in public humanities, and fellowships, please contact Steven Lubar.
Ron M. Potvin
Assistant director and curator of the John Nicholas Brown Center
Responsibility for budget, administration, and museum and archival collections. His museum experience includes working with fine and decorative arts, manuscripts, exhibitions, collections management, and historic sites. He serves on the board of directors of the New England Museum Association and the Curators Committee of the American Association of Museums and is chair of the CurCom Program Committee. His research interests include historic house museums and the changing nature of curatorship.
For administration, museum collections inquiries, and property, please contact Ron M. Potvin.
Anne M. Valk
Associate director for programs of the John Nicholas Brown Center
A historian by training, her interests include oral history, local history, women’s history, and African American history. She has worked extensively on community oral history projects in the Midwest and the South, examining experiences of immigration, industrialization and deindustrialization, and racial segregation. Her book, Radical Sisters: Second-Wave Feminism and Black Liberation in Washington, DC, was published by the University of Illinois Press in 2008.
For public programs, collaborative projects, and the public humanities practicum program, please contact Anne Valk.
Chelsea Shriver
Administrative Coordinator
She has been at Brown since February 2004, and previously worked in the Office of Public Affairs and University Relations. Her responsibilities include providing support to the JNBC students, staff, and faculty, and managing the daily administrative duties of the program office.
For events, general information, and accounts, please contact Chelsea Shriver.