Affiliates
Graduate Affiliate
Gail Coleman is a 4th year Ph.D. candidate in early American history. She is studying enslaved refugees to the United States from the Haitian Revolution, in the period 1791-1810. She anticipates that the chapter on runaways will include digital maps. She is a retired lawyer from the U.S. Department of Labor. In addition to her law degree from Boston University, she also has a master’s degree in medieval history from the Catholic University of America.
Graduate Affiliate
Chapman “Chappy” Hall is a history PhD student at George Mason University. He graduated from the University of Maine with a B.A. in history in 2024. His research interests are centered on French colonialism and empire in the late 18th and the 19th centuries. He is also interested in how video games as a unique form of media can affect historical discourse and influence public understandings of history.
Graduate Affiliate
Graduate Affiliate
Graduate Affiliate
Hannah is a PhD student and teaching assistant in the History and Art History Department. She holds an MA in Public History from Duquesne University, as well as a BA in History and BFA in Ballet Performance from the University of Oklahoma. Her research fields include United States women’s and gender history, public history, and environmental history. Hannah’s professional public history work includes roles at the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, the Girl Museum (online), and the Ballets Russes Archives and Special Collections at the University of Oklahoma.
Graduate Affiliate
Jennifer Mills is a PhD Student in History at George Mason University, focusing on 19th-century U.S. History with a particular interest in the interactions between labor and the military during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods. She received her M.A. and B.A from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, where she researched the Hare Krishna Movement, Sikh Migration, and African American Labor organizing during Reconstruction. Her research interests examine the intersection of race, religion, military establishments, and the early labor movement. Her current research project examines the relationship between early African American labor organizing efforts and Confederate military networks employed to suppress them during the Reconstruction period.
Graduate Affiliate
John Peyton is a first-year PhD student in the History
Department. His research focuses on central Great Lakes Indigenous communities
and their strategies for maintaining sovereignty during the removal era. He
holds a master’s degree in U.S. history from Indiana University—Bloomington and
another master’s in public history from Indiana University—Indianapolis. He is
excited to participate in projects through the RRCHNM.
Graduate Affiliate
Amber Pelham is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in History at George Mason University. She holds an M.A. in Public History from New York University, with a specialized focus on the preservation of local communities in the Carolinas. Amber’s research is dedicated to exploring migration patterns of African Americans within the Carolinas.
Beyond her academic pursuits, Amber is deeply committed to community engagement. She actively participates in the creation of resources aimed at fostering digital interaction within rural communities.
