Versatile Public Historian

[dpmckenzie]

Headline: Versatile Public Historian
Name: David Patrick McKenzie
Email Address: dpmckenzie@gmail.com
Current Location: Arlington, VA, USA

Preferred Job Category: Curator

Personal Statement:
Versatile public historian seeks to utilize unique combination of education and experiences to research and share the past in varied and creative ways.

Education:
Ph.D. (anticipated), History, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, enrolled August 2011-present.
Part-time student. Anticipated major field: United States history. Anticipated minor fields: Latin America & the world, New Media. Current classes: Digital History, Ph.D. Colloquium. Completed coursework: Introduction to Digital History.

M.A., Museum Studies, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, Completed May 2006.
Coursework in exhibition planning, scriptwriting, and design; collections management; archives; colonial and revolutionary United States; historiography; economic history; cultural analysis of museum exhibits. For exhibition scriptwriting class, produced text panels, captions, and object list for hypothetical exhibit. Awarded fellowship for half-tuition; GPA: 3.91.

B.A., History and Political Science, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, Completed April 2002.
Concentration in Latin American Studies; graduated summa cum laude with a GPA of 3.80; honors in History. Participated in Bolivia Service-Learning project; Model United Nations; served as Columnist, Assistant Opinions Editor, Opinions Editor at daily campus newspaper; President of Phi Alpha Theta History Honor Society, Beta Chapter.

Professional Experience:
Interpretive Programs Manager, Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington, Washington, DC
Curatorial Associate, October 2008 - September 2010; Interpretive Programs Manager, September 2010-present
Edited text for exhibitions, coordinated with designers and fabricators, gave highlights tours, managed budgets.
Edited and augmented downtown Washington walking tour; created walking tour of Old Town Alexandria; gave downtown Washington and Old Town Alexandria walking tours to youth and adult groups.
Presented programs and lectures to K-12 and adult groups.
Wrote successful grant applications to local historic preservation and humanities funders.
Wrote and designed: rack cards with information about historic sites, traveling panel exhibitions, educational worksheets, posters, mailers and fliers publicizing upcoming events, using Microsoft Publisher, Adobe InDesign, and Photoshop.
Researched and wrote scripts for brochures and podcast; produced podcast and short videos; wrote for organization’s blog; established and managed Twitter account.
Coordinated logistics for youth and adult programs, including outreach, scheduling, personnel, and email publicity.
Trained and managed corps of volunteer tour guides. Supervised interns.


Volunteer, Mexican Cultural Institute, Washington, DC
May 2009 - Present
Wrote text for exhibition The Ceramics of Paquimé and Mata Ortiz: Tracing a Family Legacy based on curator’s text (in English and Spanish) and outside research.
Wrote and designed educational worksheets for two exhibitions; translated artist biographies from Spanish.
Designed graphic panels and advertising for several exhibitions and public programs.
Created case layouts and artifact labels for 58 pieces in Mata Ortiz exhibition.


Content Developer, The Design Minds, Inc., Alexandria, VA
August 2006 - October 2008
Researched and wrote exhibition scripts.
Planned exhibition content, including creating outlines and working with designers on planning documents.
Researched and acquired images for exhibits.
Selected artifacts and developed case layouts in VectorWorks.
Managed client-produced content and conveyed content to designers; served as client point-of-contact.
Prepared and maintained content databases using FileMaker Pro Exhibit Planner template, modifying where needed. Created object and image lists, both for client approval and as checklists for fabricators.
Produced proposals for exhibition projects; prepared marketing packages.


Gallery Educator, National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC
June 2006 – February 2007
Received training in museum educational techniques.
Assisted with programs including group tours, art classes, family days, and the museum’s grand opening.


Library Assistant, Gelman Library Special Collections, Washington, DC
January – August 2006
Processed manuscript collections, including survey, making processing plan, processing, cataloguing, and use of template to create online EAD finding aid; programmed information from finding aids into Re:discovery database for eventual online use; scanned finding aids using OCR and changing format so that finding aid can be read by Re:discovery.
Retrieved items for patrons.
Scanned books and images to create archival-quality copies.


Intern (unpaid), U.S. Supreme Court Office of the Curator, Washington, DC
August - December 2005
Gave presentations and tours on history and architecture of the Court, staffed the information desk.
Scanned images into The Museum System database, rehoused and numbered photographs.


Intern (paid), Library of Congress Moving Image Section, Washington, DC
June - August 2005
Rehoused copyright deposits of film and video, film stills, and press books to conform to archival standards.
Inputted backlogged data sheets into Microsoft Access database.
Assisted in preparation of an exhibition of treasures found by summer interns. Made object list, edited captions.


Tutor, C2 Educational Centers, Rockville, MD, and Fairfax, VA
November 2004 - November 2005
Tutored K-12 students in Spanish, history, English, basic math, and standardized test preparation.
Taught groups of one to three students at a time, making lesson plans customized for each student.


History Interpreter, The Alamo, San Antonio, TX
Summer 2000, May 2002 - January 2003, December 2003 - July 2004
Gave two self-designed (with guidance) 30-minute history talks per day to different-sized groups, sometimes including school children, occasionally in Spanish.
Answered visitors’ questions assisted with crowd control.
Researched and composed biography of Antonio López de Santa Anna currently displayed on the Alamo’s Web site.


Rural Health & Sanitation Volunteer, Peace Corps, San Lorenzo, El Salvador
January - November 2003
Lived and worked in 500-person village.
Worked with local council to improve community organization; assisted community leaders in interpreting and writing grant proposals for community projects; coordinated continuation of stove construction project with community leaders.
Taught parliamentary procedure, English, and basic health and sanitation to children and adults.
Coordinated group of children ages 8-13; served as counselor for camp on gender issues.

Applicable Skills:
Written and verbal communication, informal education, historical research, basic HTML, Omeka, WordPress, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Office Suite, proficient in Spanish.

Other:
Member: American Association of Museums, National Council on Public History, American Historical Association, The Historical Society, Potomac Corral of Westerners International.