About Austin Albanese

Historian · Strategist · Storyteller

I'm a historian and writer dedicated to uncovering overlooked stories—especially those rooted in Jewish life, civic memory, and small-town American experience. My work lives at the intersection of public history, spiritual reflection, and community resilience—often highlighting how forgotten legacies still shape our present and future.

I currently serve as Assistant Director of Advancement for Neuromedicine at the University of Rochester Medical Center, where I use storytelling to deepen donor engagement and honor the people behind our progress. I've written for publications, including The Jerusalem Post, The Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and The Times of Israel, where I maintain an active blog exploring Jewish memory and universal values. My writing has been syndicated by MSN, Yahoo, and Advance Local, and has been covered by WOSU, The Columbus Dispatch, and other regional and public media outlets.

Whether helping a town rediscover its Jewish heritage or framing a donor story around intergenerational impact, I approach each project with a blend of intellectual curiosity, historical rigor, and narrative care. My essays often bridge past and present, linking archival research to contemporary questions of belonging, faith, and civic identity. Many of my historical deep dives have supported museum exhibits, Holocaust education, interfaith dialogue, and communal legacy planning.

My academic journey began in small-town Ohio, where the absence of visible Jewish life sparked a lifelong inquiry into hidden histories and nearly vanished communities. I earned a Master of Public Administration from Cornell University, with a focus on public and nonprofit management. Before that, I helped secure state grants to support safety needs at religious sites, advocated for higher education access, and led programs supporting Jewish, LGBTQ+, and interfaith communities.

I’ve now documented stories from more than 30 Jewish communities across the U.S.—many of them nearly forgotten. I see this work not just as preservation, but as hospitality: an open tent of memory where others may find themselves reflected.


Degrees & Affiliations



“I believe the stories we preserve today will shape the moral imagination of tomorrow.”

Thank you for visiting. I hope these stories offer something worth remembering.