The Revolutionary She: Preserving Women's History at Historic Sites
About this Session
Panel: The Revolutionary She: Preserving Women’s History at Historic Sites
*please note: speakers are listed at the end of this description, they will be creating individual accounts this week.
Women have always been central to the making of New Jersey’s history, yet their lives, labor, and leadership remain underrepresented at many historic sites. The Revolutionary She brings together curators and site directors to explore practical, research-driven strategies for centering women’s experiences in interpretation, collections, and public programming. Rather than treating women’s history as additive or symbolic, this session focuses on integrating women as essential historical actors whose work shaped political movements, economies, households, and communities.
Panelists will examine how archival research, material culture, archaeology, and site-based storytelling can uncover women as political organizers, workers, strategists, caretakers, and community builders across time periods. Case studies from New Jersey historic sites will demonstrate successful approaches to incorporating women’s histories into exhibitions, tours, educational initiatives, and digital interpretation, while remaining grounded in rigorous scholarship.
The session will also address common challenges faced by historic sites, including limited documentation, entrenched interpretive narratives, and assumptions about audience interest. Panelists will discuss strategies for navigating these obstacles, including creative research methodologies, cross-institutional collaboration, and interpretive reframing that makes women’s histories legible and compelling to the public.
Designed for professionals working directly with historic properties, The Revolutionary She offers concrete tools and collaborative models for transforming historic sites into spaces where women’s histories are visible, accurate, and central to public understanding of the past. The session emphasizes sustainability, rigor, and accountability, encouraging participants to move beyond temporary programming toward long-term interpretive change.
Speakers:
Rachael Glashan Rupisan, Executive Director, Alice Paul Center for Gender Justice
Rachael Glashan Rupisan is a nonprofit executive and strategic leader working at the intersection of gender equity, art, culture, history, and civic engagement. As Executive Director of the Alice Paul Center for Gender Justice, she has transformed the organization since 2019 through a full rebrand, expanded mission, strengthened development and public programs, and major philanthropic growth, positioning Paulsdale as a nationally significant site for feminist storytelling and intergenerational leadership. Her career spans the arts, cultural heritage, and social-impact sectors, with experience leading capital and preservation projects, producing exhibitions and public programs, building youth civic initiatives, and advancing feminist narratives. She is a recognized voice in the national movement to advance the Equal Rights Amendment, having spoken at rallies nationwide and partnered with ERA champions to educate and mobilize communities. Rachael serves on committees and boards including Dance/USA, the New Jersey History Conference, Philadelphia 250 Women’s Committee, and the Forum for Executive Women’s Pay Equity Committee. A recipient of multiple leadership honors, she holds a BFA from Temple University and a Women in Leadership certificate from Yale University
Contact info:
Rachael Glashan Rupisan
Executive Director, Alice Paul Center for Gender Justice
rgrupisan@alicepaul.org
Angelica Diggs, Executive Director, Montclair History Center/Black Heritage Site Montclair YWCA
Bio: Angelica Diggs is an experienced nonprofit professional specializing in history museums and archives. She began as Executive Director of the Montclair History Center in August 2022, and previously worked for the organization from 2012-2019 in a variety of roles including Assistant Director. Angelica was previously employed as the Assistant Director of Operations at the Museum of Early Trades & Crafts, Project Manager for Montclair Community Farms, and the Archival Associate at Felician University. She holds an M.A. in Museum Management and a B.A. in English from Montclair State University. Angelica has a background in strategic planning, development and fundraising, project management, program planning, archival management and digitization practices, and community engagement. Angelica has contributed to professional publications, presented at history and preservation professional conferences, serves on the Essex County Arts & Cultural Advisory Board, and is a facilitator for the New Jersey Council for the Humanities' Oral History Community of Practice.
Contact info:
Angelica Diggs
Executive Director, Montclair History Center
angelica@montclairhistory.org
Melanie Bump, Curator of Collections and Exhibits for the Morris County Park Commission (MCPC)
Bio: Melanie Bump, Curator of Collections and Exhibits for the Morris County Park Commission (MCPC), oversees the interpretation of the MCPC's over 50,000 artifacts and curates exhibits for historic sites, including New Jersey Heritage Trail sites, Bamboo Brook Outdoor Education Center, and Fosterfields Living Historical Farm. Through exhibits, she presents the significant history of New Jersey women, including Caroline Foster, Martha Brooks Hutcheson, and many others. Mrs. Bump has worked in the field for over 20 years, on many projects, including the IMLS-funded Multisensory Toolkit and the NEH-funded Sustainable Collections Environments, and judged for the Essex County Teen Arts Festival. She is a member of the New Jersey Association of Museums' Collections Committee and was on the Telling Untold Histories Unconference Planning Committee. Melanie received her M.A. in Museum Professions from Seton Hall University and a Fine Arts degree from William Paterson University and California State San Bernardino (NSE).
Contact info:
Melanie Bump
Curator of Collections and Exhibits
Morris County Park Commission
973-285-6536
mbump@morrisparks.net
Panel Organizer and Moderator: Denise Rompilla, PhD
Bio: Denise Rompilla, PhD is a historian, curator, and public history consultant specializing in women’s history, African American history, and historic preservation. Her work centers on archival research, interpretive scholarship, and the integration of underrepresented histories into historic sites and public institutions.
She currently serves as Project Historian for the African American History and Historic Sites Survey of Morris County and as the Project Historian and Interpretive Specialist for the Revolutionary War–era site 120 East in Trenton. For the past three years, she has directed The Revolutionary She, a digital public history initiative funded by the New Jersey Historical Commission and developed with Honors students at Middlesex College.
Prior to relocating to New Jersey, Rompilla was Manager of Interpretive Strategy at the Alice Austen House Museum in Staten Island, where she helped lead a major reinterpretation of the site through the lenses of women’s history, immigration, and LGBTQ+ history.
Contact info:
Denise Rompilla
AV Needs: Projector, Screen, Laptop, Microphones
