Speakers:

Dexter Arnold

Dr. Arnold is a labor activist and labor historian who grew up in a blue-collar union family in Nashua. He has a PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he wrote his dissertation on worker activism in the Merrimack Valley textile industry during the early twentieth century. He has been a rank-and-file union activist and elected officer and worked as a union staffer for twenty years. In recent years, he has taught as a visiting lecturer in the University of Illinois’ Global Labor Studies.

Robert Forrant

Dr. Forrant is a professor in the History Department at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, teaching courses on global labor issues, labor history, immigration, and international development. He has been a consultant to the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the International Labour Organization, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the International Metalworkers Federation, and several trade unions. Professor Forrant is the editor of three volumes on sustainable regional development, the author of numerous published articles and reports and a forthcoming book on industrial development and decline in the Connecticut River Valley and New England. Before completing his graduate education, he worked as a machinist and union business agent at the now closed American Bosch plant in Springfield, MA and ran a community-based economic development program. He analyzes and reports on the Massachusetts industrial economy for the journal Massachusetts Benchmarks, a joint publication of the University of Massachusetts and the New England Federal Reserve Bank and he writes a monthly column on the economy for the Lowell Sun.

Lesly Melendez

Lesly returned to Groundwork Lawrence as the Community Engagement Director in the fall of 2014 and has served as the organization's Deputy DIrector since 2016. Lesly previously worked for GWL from 2004 – 2007 managing outreach, projects and events. Between working for GWL Lesly worked for Comcast and partnered with GWL to lead Earth Day/Comcast Cares Day for 5 years. As a lifelong resident of the City of Lawrence, she has always been passionate about serving the community. She has served on numerous volunteer boards and on the City’s Planning Board as a voting member and later as chair, and is currently a board member of the Open Door Pantry in Lowell, MA. In 2016, Lesly completed a certificate program with the Institute for Non-Profit Practice through the Jonathan M. Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University. Lesly brings her love of writing, community and civic engagement and her passion for trees and open space to GWL.

Brian Sheehy

Brian Sheehy is the History Department Coordinator at North Andover High School in North Andover, MA, where he teaches AP European History, AP United States History, Sports of the Past, and Sports in American Culture. He is the 2020 Organization of American Historians: Mary K. Bonsteel Tachau Teacher of the Year Award 2020 and Williams College: Olmstead Secondary Teacher of the Year Award 2020. In 2018 he created the North Andover High History Learning Lab, which focuses on enriching and enhancing the history curriculum through object based learning. Brian is also a sports historian who has traveled all over the country giving presentations at conferences, symposiums, historical societies, and museums. He has designed and created professional development for other teachers so that they can incorporate sports-related themes and topics into their everyday history classrooms. Brian is the president of the Essex Base Ball Organization, a nonprofit group that plays base ball as it was played in the 19th century.

Moderator:

Brad Austin

Brad Austin is an Associate Professor of History at Salem State University, where he teaches modern U.S. history, sports history, the history of New England and slavery, and history education courses. He has served as the chairperson of American Historical Association’s Teaching Prize Committee. He is the author of Democratic Sports: Men’s and Women’s College Sports During the Great Depression (University of Arkansas Press, 2015) and the co-editor of Understanding and Teaching the Vietnam War (University of Wisconsin Press, 2013). He is also co-editor for the University of Wisconsin Press’s Harvey Goldberg Series for Understanding and Teaching History. In 2012, he won the Graduate Studies Teaching Award from the Northeastern Council of Graduate Studies, an organization representing more than 200 universities in the eastern United States and Canada.

Contact:

Beth Beringer

Director of Education Programs, Essex Heritage, can be reached at bethb@essexheritage.org