Tour Leaders:

• Janet Foster

  Janet Foster

  

  Janet W. Foster is an architectural historian and historic preservation consultant, as well as a proponent of New Jersey and its vernacular architecture. She teaches and writes on the topic, and is an adjunct faculty member in the Columbia University Historic Preservation Program. She serves on the Madison Borough Historic Preservation Commission, and on the Trustees of the Hartley Dodge Memorial. Ms. Foster was elected Chair in 2016 after serving two years as Vice Chair, and also serves on the Grants and Loans, Education and Outreach, and Legislation and Policy Committees.

• Gregory Lattanzi

  Gregory Lattanzi

  

  Gregory Lattanz is Curator/State Archaeologist for the Bureau of Archaeology & Ethnography at the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton, New Jersey. He obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from the State University of New York at Binghamton. He went on to earn a Master’s degree in Anthropology from the City University of New York, Hunter College, and in May 2013 received his Ph.D. from Temple University. Before working at the New Jersey State Museum, Dr. Lattanzi was employed at a number of contract archaeological firms in the northeast participating in excavations in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. He has published a number of articles, book reviews, and given public presentations. His current research involves different projects, including the role of copper during the Early to Middle Woodland periods and Middle Woodland Abbott zoned ceramics and their implications on social organization in the Middle Atlantic region.

• Kelly Ruffel

  Kelly Ruffel

  

  Kelly C. Ruffel is the Director of the Department of Cultural and Historic Affairs for the County of Passaic. She oversees all of the County’s historic assets through the administration of preservation grants, implementation of cultural and history programming, and management of restoration and rehabilitation projects. She served as the Historic Preservation Specialist for the City of Paterson for four years, assisting in public preservation projects and regulatory permitting review. She continues to serve as a commissioner on the City of Paterson Historic Preservation Commission. Ms. Ruffel holds her BA in History, BA in Anthropology, and an MA in History from William Paterson University.

Moderator:

• Linda Caldwell Epps

  Linda Caldwell Epps

  

  Dr. Linda J. Caldwell Epps is President and CEO of 1804 Consultants. She brings to clients more than 40 years of experience working with educational and cultural institutions, including The New Jersey Historical Society, a statewide museum, library, and educational facility, where she served as President and CEO, and New Jersey Network Television and Radio where she served as Vice President for Institutional Relations. She held various positions at Bloomfield College where she worked for 27 years. In her role as Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, she helped create an award winning campus-wide student assessment project to help assure student and faculty success. As Vice President for College Relations, she helped lead the institution to successful completion of its first capital campaign which raised $8.4 million. She served as a Ford Foundation-funded consultant to several institutions of higher learning—including Keene College in New Hampshire, Union College in Ohio, and the College of St. Elizabeth in New Jersey— on issues of diversity and equity in higher education. The recipient of numerous awards, Dr. Caldwell Epps was inducted into the Douglass Society, the highest honor accorded to Douglass College graduates. She also received the highest award accorded to Seton Hall University alumnae, the Most Distinguished Alumnae Award. Dr. Caldwell Epps holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Rutgers University’s Douglass College, a Master’s Degree in American Studies from Seton Hall University, and a doctorate from Drew University where she received the Evelyn Jacobs Ortner Prize. She completed the Institute for Higher Education Management program at Harvard University, the American Associate of Colleges and Universities Diversity Institute at Georgetown University, and is a Leadership New Jersey Fellow, Class of 1992. She serves on various boards including Chair of the James Brown African American Room at the Newark Public Library, Board member of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center Brick City Development Board, The Newark History Society Executive Board, the Board of the Historical Society of Elizabeth, NJ, Secretary of The New Jersey History Advocates Executive Board, The Jewish Museum of NJ Advisory Board, the Newark Archives Board, the Timbucto NJ Advisory Council, and VP of the Board of Deacons of Bethany Baptist Church of Newark, NJ.

Sessions Panelists:

• Heather Brady

  Heather Brady

  

  Heather Brady has been actively involved in the fields of art and museum education for over fifteen years. In 2015, she joined Grounds For Sculpture as its first ever Director of Education and Engagement. In this role, she oversees a diverse mix of education, performing arts, and community programs. Heather came to Grounds For Sculpture from The Noguchi Museum, where she served collectively more than 10 years, seven of which were as its Head of Education. There, she developed programs to support visitors of every age and ability, shaping the vision for all on- and off-site education offerings, including guided tours, hands-on workshops, and experiences designed specifically around the museum’s permanent collection, temporary exhibitions, and garden space. Heather also worked as the Director of Education at the Museum of Chinese in America, and earlier in her career was an educator at the Bronx Museum of Arts, the Museum of Modern Art, and in schools and community based organizations throughout New York City.

• Sharon (Elaine) Buck

  Sharon (Elaine) Buck

  

  Sharon Elaine Buck, who prefers to be called Elaine, is a founder the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum and a member on the Advisory Board.  Elaine is also a thirty year Trustee of the Stoutsburg Cemetery Association which is a historic cemetery for people of African descent located in the Sourland Mountains in Hopewell, New Jersey.  Along with her research partner, Beverly Mills, Elaine has co-authored a book entitled If These Stones Could Talk which is based on over a decade’s worth of research on the contribution of African Americans who lived in the Sourland Mountain region and surrounding area.  She is a co-founder of Friday Truehart Consultants which is a consulting company that works closely with K-12 educators from various school systems who are interested in including African American history in their lesson plans and curriculum. For many years Elaine, along with fellow trustees of the Stoutsburg Cemetery Association, has presented at various schools, historic sites and community groups. In her capacity as a researcher and speaker, Elaine has partnered with the William Trent House, 1804 Consultants, the Grounds For Sculpture and the National Assessment of Educational Progress for the State of New Jersey to host a series of symposiums designed to explore African American history in New Jersey, how to interpret African American history at historic sites and museums as well as how to present and discuss difficult topics in African American history. Elaine has been married to John Buck for over forty years and is the mother of two adult sons, Aaron and Jason.  She is the third generation to live in her home in Hopewell Borough, NJ. For numerous years Elaine has also served as the Church Clerk for the Second Calvary Baptist Church in Hopewell, New Jersey. 

• Sam Stephens

  Sam Stephens

  Dr. Samuel A. Stephens is a Trustee of the Trent House Association Board, which works with City of Trenton to maintain the 1719 William Trent House Museum and provide programming related to the history of the House.  With a background in sociology, Sam has led the Trent House Association’s work on expanding its research into and deepening its interpretation of slavery at the Museum.

• Beverly Mills

  Beverly Mills

  

  Beverly Mills is a retiree as the Director for the Workforce Development Board in Mercer County, New Jersey.  Beverly is a founder of the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum and a member on the Advisory Board and a thirty-five year Trustee of the Stoutsburg Cemetery Association.  Along with her research partner, Elaine Buck, Beverly has co-authored a book entitled If These Stones Could Talk based on over a decade of research on the contribution of the African American population who lived in the Sourland Mountain and surrounding region.  It was through this research that Beverly has been able to trace her ancestry to African Americans who were enslaved in the Hopewell Township, New Jersey area prior to the Revolutionary War.  Beverly is a co-founder of Friday Truehart Consultants which is a consulting company that works closely with K-12 educators from various school systems interested in including African American history in their lesson plans and curriculum.  For many years Beverly, along with fellow trustees of the Stoutsburg Cemetery Association, has presented at various schools, community groups and historic sites.  She has also partnered with the William Trent House, 1804 Consultants, the Grounds For Sculpture and the National Assessment of Educational Progress for the States of New Jersey to host a series of symposiums created to explore African American history in New Jersey, how to interpret African American history at historic sites and museums and how to present and discuss difficult topics in African American history. Beverly is the first African American woman to hold the elected position as a Councilwoman in Pennington Borough, NJ.  Her past affiliations include Trustee on the board of Ellarslie, (The Trenton City Museum), a Trustee of the Hopewell Valley Historical Society, a member of the Friends of the Trenton Public Library and Chairperson of the Trustee Board of the First Baptist Church of Pennington.  Beverly currently lives in her ancestral home in Pennington, New Jersey (which has been in her family since 1911) with her husband Robert Mills to whom she has been married  for forty-five years.  She is also the mother of two adult sons, Jason and Drew and the grandmother of five.

• Bruce Daniels

  Bruce Daniels

  

  Bruce Daniels has been the Facilities Director and Project Manager at Grounds For Sculpture (GFS) for over 30 years. He was involved in the initial planning of the park, and was responsible for all of its building and landscape construction, as well as the day to day supervision of its operations. Daniels is also the Vice President of the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum (SSAAM) and has been acting as the liaison between SSAAM and GFS, helping to expand GFS’s audience and programming. He has a Master’s Degree in Sociology from Rutgers College. Daniels has lived on or near Sourland Mountain for most of his life.