Paula Gangopadhyay, Project Director/Host Scholar
Paula Gangopadhyay is the Chief Learning Officer for The Henry Ford. She holds a master’s degree in history, certification in archival, museum and editing studies and a fellowship in education policy while bringing more than 17 years of experience in the cultural sector with education, policy and business leaders, to her position.

In her current role as one of the core members of The Henry Ford’s senior management team, Gangopadhyay is responsible for providing leadership, strategic direction, concept, design and development of ‘education’ in a broad and comprehensive sense at The Henry Ford. She’s responsible for a vast array of onsite, online and offsite student, educator, youth, family, adult and leadership programs, products and experiences. She led the visioning of a dynamic education strategic plan as well as the conceptualization and development of many paradigm-shifting educational products and programs. She spearheaded the development of compelling K-12 curricula, Innovation 101 and Reading Inspiration which are currently being enthusiastically adopted and implemented by teachers nationwide through the Henry Ford’s Innovation Education Incubator project.

Prior to joining The Henry Ford, Gangopadhyay served as executive director for the Plymouth Community Arts Council, curator of education, public programs and visitor services at the Public Museum of Grand Rapids, executive director of the Great Lakes Center for Education, Research and Practice and executive director of the Commission for Lansing Schools Success (CLASS). Gangopadhyay is heavily involved in several professional organizations. She serves as a reviewer on state and federal grant panels as well as a thought-leader on several national forums. She has served as the Project Director of National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grants.

President Barack Obama appointed Gangopadhyay as a member of the National Board of Museums and Libraries for a four-year term. She was the recipient of the 2012 American Association of Museums (AAM) EdCom Award for Excellence in Practice and named the 2014 Informal Science Educator of the Year by the Michigan Science Teachers Association. Gangopadhyay also was appointed as a member of the Henry Ford Academy Board of Directors.

Christopher Hemler, Workshop Staff
Chris is the Manager of Education and Learning Programs for The Henry Ford. Chris graduated from the University of Detroit Mercy with a Bachelor of Arts in Social Studies Education and is completing work on his Master of Arts in History from Oakland University. He is responsible for content development, implementation, and evaluation of programs for youth service providers, families, and adults, with a focus on teacher training and teacher workshops. Chris also connects teachers, students, and other educational audiences to special programs and events at The Henry Ford, such as Maker Faire Detroit. Prior to joining The Henry Ford, Chris taught middle school social studies and served as the director of the school’s award-winning Social Studies Olympiad program.

Geralyn Bond, Workshop Staff
Geri is the part-time project coordinator for the workshop. She received her Master of Education, Elementary Education and Teaching, Mathematics K-8 from Marygrove College in 2012. As project coordinator, she works with the project director and other workshop staff to coordinate the logistics of the workshop and communicate with potential NEH Summer Scholars.

Bob Casey is a world-renowned automotive historian and the retired Senior Curator of Transportation at The Henry Ford. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, American History, and an M.A. in the History of Technology. He combines his love of engineering with his love of history. During his tenure at The Henry Ford, he played a pivotal role in the conception and execution of such major exhibits as “Heroes of the Sky,” “Made in America,” and the re-interpretation of the historic buildings Ford Motor Company and Henry Ford Birthplace, both in Greenfield Village. Prior to joining The Henry Ford, Casey was the Curator of Industrial History for the Detroit Historical Museum in Detroit, Michigan where he was responsible for the automotive, tool, printing, electronics, and office equipment collections.

Nancy Gabin received a B.A. from Wellesley College in 1977 and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1984.  A faculty member in the Department of History at Purdue University since 1983, she teaches courses in American women’s history and labor history as well as the United States history survey and a course on the 1960s.  She is the author of Feminism in the Labor Movement:  Women and the United Auto Workers, 1935-1975.  Articles on women, work, and the labor movement have been published in Labor History, Feminist Studies, Labor’s Heritage, and the Indiana Magazine of History and in several anthologies and encyclopedias.  She is completing a study of women workers and the political economy of gender in Indiana and the twentieth-century Midwest.

Prof. Martin Hershock is an Associate Professor of History and Chair of the Department of Social Sciences at the University of Michigan-Dearborn where he teaches courses on the 19th century United States. Hershock received his Ph.D. in Nineteenth Century American History in 1996. He is the author of The Paradox of Progress and co-editor of The Political Lincoln and The History of Michigan Law.  Currently, he is completing work on a new book, Oh Lord Make Haste to Help Me: The Life and Times of Timothy M. Joy, Debtor, 1789-1813, which will be published by Harvard University Press in 2010.

Prof. R. Douglas Hurt received his Ph.D. from Kansas State University and is Head of the History Department at Purdue University.  Dr. Hurt is a specialist in American Agricultural History.  He is a past president of the Agricultural History Society and has served as the editor of the international journal for agricultural history entitled Agricultural History.  Dr. Hurt is the author of eighteen books, the most recent being The Great Plains during World War II.  He is currently writing a book entitled The Big Empty: The Great Plains during the Twentieth Century and is conducting research on agriculture during the Civil War.

Dr. Paul Israel is director and general editor of the Thomas A. Edison Papers at Rutgers University. After he joined the staff of the Edison Papers, he earned his Ph.D. in history. The Edison Papers provides leadership in publishing and developing the documentary legacy of America’s most prolific inventor and innovator.  To date the project has produced six volumes of The Papers of Thomas A. Edison as well as an online edition with over 200,000 document images (http://edison.rutgers.edu).  In 2005 the Edison Papers received a special Eugene S. Ferguson Prize from the Society for the History of Technology (SHOT) as an outstanding and original reference works that will support future scholarship in the history of technology.  The Edison Papers are also working to advance the Edisonian legacy through interdisciplinary initiatives in young and higher education.

Dr. Israel is the author of Edison: A Life of Invention (Wiley, 1998), which was awarded the Dexter Prize by the Society for the History of Technology.  He is also the author of From Machine Shop to Industrial Laboratory: Telegraphy and the Changing Context of American Invention, 1830-1920 (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992) and coauthor of Edison's Electric Light: Biography of an Invention (Rutgers University Press, 1986).

Marc Greuther, Chief Curator and Curator of Industrial Design
Marc Greuther has a B.A from the Courtauld Institute of Art at the University of London, and over twenty years of experience with industrial technology at The Henry Ford.  His seven years as a member of the institution’s Historic Operating Machinery unit involved him in the operation and troubleshooting of a wide range of artifacts, from 19th century machine tools and steam engines to late 20th century robots and production equipment.  His writings for The Society for the History of Technology’s journal Technology and Culture usually spring from or explore areas where art history and the history of technology overlap.

Jeanine Head Miller, Curator of Domestic Life
Jeanine Head Miller’s background includes studies in American History, Art History, and Psychology. She received her M.A. from Wayne State University in American History/Archival Administration. She has thirty years of experience in the history museum field in a variety of roles. She has developed cataloging systems, designed historic interiors, created educational programs, authored publications, and curated exhibits. Jeanine has written and produced many visitor-focused museum programs, including museum theater, first-person video and audio components for exhibits, and audio tours.

Ryan Spencer, Manager of Firestone Farm and Equine Operations
Ryan manages Firestone Farm and Equine Operations in Greenfield Village.  He oversees historic interpretation, animal husbandry, and crop care.  He has a Master of Letters in Museum Studies from The University of St. Andrews, Scotland: School of Art History, and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Hillsdale College as well as a secondary teaching certificate.  He taught at two charter schools, was a presenter in Greenfield Village, and worked on several projects for The Henry Ford’s Education Team prior to joining Greenfield Village Administration.  His other museum work includes the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh; St. Andrews Museum, Scotland; and Will Carleton Poor House, Hillsdale, Michigan.  He is active in the American Association of State and Local History.

Matt Anderson, John and Horace Dodge Curator of Transportation
As Curator of Transportation, Matt Anderson is responsible for the extensive collection of historic automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, railroad locomotives, horse-drawn vehicles and aircraft at The Henry Ford. He has a B.A. and M.A. in History, with a concentration in Public History, both from Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo MI. Matt was previously curator at the Minnesota Historical Society in St. Paul, MN. for over 5 years where he managed a collection of 250,000 three-dimensional objects and acquired objects for transportation, industry, agriculture, military, medical, other collections. He has also served as Assistant Director of Collections & Archivist at the B&O Railroad Museum, Baltimore, MD, and as Curator of Collections for the Fort Miami Heritage Society, St. Joseph, MI.