Press Release: Chairman Mendelson Swears-In Archives Advisory Group

News Release — DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson and Archives Advisory Group

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Bill Rice

November 30, 2021

WASHINGTON, DC – Earlier this month, DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson swore-in the members of the DC Archives Advisory Group to inform the Council and the DC Government on the path to a new, state-of-the-art DC Archives. “The DC Archives is important to the District and while councilmembers have some awareness of its value, it’s just not a cause that rises to the top when we consider the budget and other matters,” said Mendelson. “This Advisory Group is constituted because of your engaged interest and your ability to focus and advocate for a new, state-of-the-art Archives.” 

The members of the seven-member group are: Trudy Huskamp Peterson (chair), Anne McDonough, Neil Flanagan, Gayle George, Kimberly Bender, Caroline L. Petti and Greta Fuller (see brief bios below).

“We thank Chairman Mendelson and the Council for creating this group that will help bring the new Archives to the UDC Van Ness campus, the site chosen by the Mayor and the Council,” said Trudy Peterson.  

Following the induction, the members discussed collecting reports and other information already developed and setting up briefings from the Secretary of the District (which includes the Archives), the Department of General Services and the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) as well with the University of the District of Columbia.  

All meetings will be open and documents publicly available. Below, find biographical information of the Advisory group members.

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Archives Advisory Group Biographies

Trudy Huskamp Peterson (chair) has extensive local, national and international experience as a practicing archivist, author and consultant, including as Acting Archivist of the United States and as president of the Society of American Archivists and the International Roundtable on Archives. She has provided archival advice to governments in Latin America, Africa and Asia; she is a past chair of the Friends of the DC Archives. She lives in Ward 6.

Kimberly Bender is the founding executive director of the Heurich House Museum, which she transformed over the last decade into a vibrant and inclusive space that explores DC labor history. Key to her work is her background as an attorney, which also aids her research on Myrtilla Miner and Belmont, Chevy Chase.  She has lived and worked in Ward 2 for twelve years.

Neil Flanagan practices architecture and is a published author of history who has done substantial research in the DC Archives. His publications and presentations have covered local history and design in Washington City Paper, Greater Greater Washington, the Architects’ Newspaper, and for the Washington History Conference among others. He grew up in Tenleytown and now lives in Ward 5. 

Greta Fuller has 25+ years of engineering experience in designing and implementing telecommunications and mobile radio systems, holding positions with CACI, Motorola Solutions, Inc., U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Air Force and Navy. She is a DC Preservation League Board Member, a founding member and Co-President of the Historic Anacostia Preservation Society (HAPS), and a four-term Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner (ANC).  Greta helped bring a Busboys and Poets to Historic Anacostia, worked to create the MLK Gateway, and advised the DC Department of Transportation on the award-winning 11th Street Bridge Project. She lives in Ward 8.

Gayle George is a doctoral candidate, adjunct professor, and researcher at the University of the District of Columbia. As a sixth generation native Washingtonian, she established Weems the People Foundation to preserve the legacy of her third great grandparents’ escape from captivity on the Underground Railroad and Gayleforce Publishing to tell the story. She lives in Ward 4.

Anne McDonough is the deputy director of the DC History Center in the historic Carnegie Library in downtown DC, responsible for the collections, educational activities and the programs of the nonprofit community-supported educational and research organization, founded in 1894.  She has previously held archives, library and research positions with the Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan, the DC Public Library and The Washington Post. She lives in Ward 1.

Caroline L. Petti, retired after more than three decades of protecting the environment at the US Environmental Protection Agency and environmental NGO’s, now works on affordable housing, city planning, and other citywide issues including DC Statehood.  She headed the Brookland Neighborhood Civic Association, helped establish the Clara Barton “Missing Soldiers Office” on 7th Street, NW and helped organize the exhibit “A Right to the City” at the Smithsonian’s Anacostia Community Museum. She lives in Ward 5.