The Division welcomes new staff members
Please join the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs in welcoming the newest staff members:
Laurie Conner is ready to help serve the public visiting the Zwaanendael Museum as the museum’s newest interpreter. As a child, Conner spent her summer vacations at Cape Henlopen State Park and visiting the historical sites and museums in Lewes. She credits the large, diverse and curious collection at the Zwaanendael Museum for her love of teaching and interpreting at various museum sites. From building dioramas at the Byron Prairie Preserve in Illinois to working as a zookeeper back in her home state of Pennsylvania. Most recently, she worked as a teacher and naturalist at Abbott’s Mill Nature Center in Milford, Delaware.
Natalie Davey is handling fiscal matters as the new accountant at 15/21 The Green. For the past five years, she provided financial services to credit union members. Outside of work, she enjoys reading, walking, and spending time with friends and family.
Kaitlyn Dykes serves at the first site manager for the Cooch’s Bridge Historic Site in Newark. Dykes has been working in historical interpretation at a variety of historical sites for more than seven years. Throughout that time, she created and delivered programs on a variety of Delaware-based historical topics, from the state’s involvement in WWII to the history of shipwrecks along the Delaware coast. Most recently she worked as the lead interpreter at the Zwaanendael Museum, where she led historical interpretation staff through several projects, including the museum’s digital “Museum Minutes” programming. With previous experience at Mount Harmon Plantation and the Fort Miles Museum and Historical Area, she is looking forward to the expansive opportunities of the Cooch’s Bridge Historic Site. She holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with a minor in anthropology from Virginia Commonwealth University. When she’s not working, Dykes enjoys reading, crafting, and foraging and preparing wild foods.
Blaise Glowiak works with the public at the New Castle Court House Museum as an interpreter. The Newark, Delaware, native graduated from Wilmington Friends School before pursuing a degree in international relations at the University of Delaware, where he studied in Italy and Russia while minoring in history and Russian. His hobbies include Revolutionary War reenacting and watching Russian cinema.
Maddy Lauria works with staff as a contractor, overseeing the Division’s monthly digital newsletter. She is a professional writer and photographer with more than a decade of storytelling experience and has worked for multiple local newspapers, including Delaware Online/The News Journal, and as a communications specialist. She currently works from Dover, Delaware, as a freelance journalist and communications professional and as a part-time writer at the University of Delaware’s College of Engineering.
Amber O’Donnell address administrative activities as an administrative specialist at 15/21 The Green. She joined the Division after working as an administrative specialist for the state Office of Highway Safety. In her spare time – which doesn’t come along often with two dogs, two cats, and an 8-year-old – O’Donnell enjoys reading and is pursuing an office administration degree.
Juliette Wurm, in her role as the lead historical interpreter, works with the community at the New Castle Court House Museum. The Landenberg, Pennsylvania, native received a bachelor’s degree in history from State University of New York at Cortland and a master’s degree in museum education from George Washington University. Most recently, she worked at the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science and Technology in Syracuse, New York, assisting in creating and running school trips, summer camps and other programing. In her free time, Wurm enjoys swimming, hiking, podcasts, and occasionally escaping the real world with books and games.