The division welcomes new staff members
Please join the Delaware Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs (HCA) in welcoming the newest staff members:
Allison Reardon (she/her) joined the division in November 2023 as the lead museum/historic site interpreter at the New Castle Court House Museum. In this role, she leads tours of the building and helps with the planning and implementation of interpretive programs at the site. Although Reardon began her undergraduate career as a biology major, an introductory history class that she took her first semester convinced her to pursue a history major as well. As she spent time in history classes and at museums, Reardon became very passionate about the ways in which history can be used to understand how the world works today and the potential of museums to act as community centers and advocates. While living in her home state of Indiana, Reardon worked as an intern for the Indiana Medical History Museum and the National Council on Public History and volunteered as a docent at the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site. She also held a collections management internship with the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta, GA. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her cat and working on crochet and painting projects.
Josh Van Winkle (he/him) joined the division in November 2023 as a casual/seasonal museum interpreter at the New Castle Court House Museum. Van Winkle has always been interested in history, even as a child. Places like Colonial Williamsburg and Harpers Ferry National Historical Park made history come alive for him, which is one reason why he thinks public history and museum sites are so important. Van Winkle has worked in several public history sites both for private nonprofits and the National Park Service, including as a house tour guide for Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and James Monroe’s Highland. He also worked as a park ranger/guide at Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, Pipe Spring National Monument, The National Mall and Memorial Parks in Washington, D.C., and Independence National Historical Park. He’s excited to join the division and learn more about the history of Delaware!
Jordyn Willis (they/them and she/her) joined the division in October 2023 as an exhibit art specialist at the Delaware Center for Material Culture. In this role, Willis helps provide all kinds of graphic arts services such as video editing, framing and designing content for web and print. Their whole life, they’ve been drawn toward the digital world and at first, hated it. They always wanted to learn more artistic skills than computer skills, but eventually learned to combine them. Willis’s passion is art, and art is interwoven throughout everything we see from landscapes to furniture. They love that you can tell a story from just looking at how something was made. As a recent graduate, their experience before joining HCA included apprenticeships with painters and working part-time with exhibit coordinators. In their free time, Willis likes to animate characters and graphics for video games and social media influencers. Their favorite game is Overwatch, which they played competitively on a collegiate level as a support class.
Mark Wilson (he/him) joined the division in November 2023 as lead interpreter at the Zwaanendael Museum. In this role, he works with casual/seasonal staff, creating and implementing programming, conducting research, and and engaging with visitors while also working closely with the site supervisor to run the museum. Wilson fell in love with history at a young age and his teachers and family supported his love for it. His family usually visited at least one museum every vacation they took. Wilson previously worked as a historical interpreter at the Fort Miles Museum in Cape Henlopen State Park for the past four years before joining HCA. He is originally from Seaford, Delaware, but now lives in Ocean City, Maryland. When he;s not working, he can usually be found drawing, fishing, doing WWII living history or volunteering his time as a volunteer firefighter for the Ocean City Fire Deptartment. He is excited for this new chapter in his career and for the opportunity to tell Delaware history!