It's A Team Effort

Project Managers:

Heidi Benedict, Exhibition Curator and University Archivist

As Roger Williams University Archivist, Heidi plans and implements the collection management program for the archives, curates exhibits using archival material, works with students in the classroom, and coordinates outreach initiatives with cultural institutions in surrounding communities.

Julia Bradley, Roger Williams University Hassenfeld Fellow

Julia, from Newburyport, Massachusetts, is a 2019 graduate of Roger Williams University, where she majored in history. She is now working on her master's in library and information science.

Advisory Board:

Stephan Brigidi, Artist & Author

Stephan is a working artist and teacher. He is author of five books of his photography, most recently Portraits 2017. He is currently working on a new book of his work in Rome from the 1970’s, scheduled for publication in 2019. His work is held in more than thirty museum and corporate collections in the US and Europe.

Marian Mathison Desrosiers PhD, Historian and Professor

Marian has published works on Lt. Col. Mary Agnes Brown Groover, Director of the WACs in the Pacific and Justice Florence Kerins Murray. Her most recent book is John Banister of Newport: The Life and Accounts of a Colonial Merchant. While Marian taught American history for three decades, she was honored as a Schlesinger Library Fellow, New England Regional Consortium Fellow, RICH Scholar, and twice selected as a Fulbright Fellow.

Russell DeSimone, Author and Independent Scholar

Russell is a native Rhode Islander. He was employed in the defense industry in support of various US Navy submarine programs for forty-two years before retiring in 2009. As an adjunct professor at University of Rhode Island’s Library, from 2002 to 2009, he developed numerous talks and exhibits pertaining to Rhode Island history. He also has published a number of books and articles on the subject.

Arlene Violet, Former Rhode Island Attorney General

Arlene, the first woman elected State Attorney General in the U.S, is a weekly columnist and television news commentator. Besides practicing law, she has written three books -- Convictions, My Journey from the Convent to the Courtroom; The Mob and Me; Dance of the Chameleon -- and appeared twice for 16 performances in Providence in the touring musical, Nunsense. She has received over 100 awards for her community service.