Our Team

Bri is a fourth-generation college student. Bri is a Sophomore and a filmmaking major from the suburbs of Chicago, who freelances with La Reina Productions. Her great grandparents immigrated from the Caribbean and taught her the value of their history, which created a love for learning new histories and new cultures. Besides history, she loves watching movies from different countries and dissecting them. Another passion Bri has is music, she love music and it helps her concentrate. Her ultimate goal is to travel the world filming movies in as many countries and languages as possible.

Adiam (‘23) is a third-year student at Columbia College Chicago completing a B.A. in English with a minor in Cultural Studies. Personal narrative is her chief interest. She is particularly interested in recording stories about marginalized people that explore identity, challenge dominant narratives, and celebrate histories that often go overlooked. After graduation she plans on working as a developmental editor to assist writers in constructing their stories. 

Erin McCarthy – Associate Professor of History, teaches oral history in the honors program at Columbia College Chicago. Other courses include Public History: Presenting and Interpreting the Past; Oral Traditions; and the History of Chicago. Currently, she is revising a manuscript on the life and career of Amos Alonzo Stagg.  

Her article ’Is Oral History Good for You?’...”, was published by the Oral History Review (2010), and her essay “Oral History in the Undergraduate Classroom: Getting Students into History” is included in Preparing the Next Generation of Oral Historians: an Anthology of Oral History Educators (Alta Mira Press, 2006). In 2006, she received the Oral History Association’s Postsecondary Teaching Award. From 1997-2004, she was the lead oral historian for the Columbia College Chicago Oral History Project. Since 2000, McCarthy's honors students have contributed more than 400 transcribed, oral history interviews to the Veterans History Project, National Hellenic Museum, Chicagoland Anti-Apartheid Movement Project, and Chicago Area Women's History Council. McCarthy received her B.A. from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and her M.A. and Ph.D. from Loyola University Chicago.

Heidi Marshall - Head of College Archives & Special Collections at Columbia College Chicago, in 2005, returned to Chicago to establish the Columbia College Chicago Archives and Special Collections and, as of 2019, also manages its Center for Black Music Research Library and Archives. She leads the development and management of physical and digital material, oversees the operation of the institutional digital repository, articulates the role of special collections and archives within the context of current challenges facing academic libraries, teaches students and researchers about primary material research, and serves as a member of the College Library management team. She has co-authored a book on the history of Columbia College Chicago and serves on regional archival organizations.

 Previous archival positions include establishing the New England Jesuit Archives when held in Worcester, MA and working at Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections in South Hadley, MA; she also held positions in several New England public libraries. She has served as archival consultant to non-profit organizations, government agencies, and other repositories. She holds a MA in History and a MS in Library & Information Science from Simmons College, Boston, MA.

Analy is a first-generation college student, attending Columbia College Chicago completing a B.F.A. in Photography with a concentration in Fashion/Commercial work. Analy is a transfer student from the College of DuPage where she completed her AAS in Photography. Analy's work focus on capturing and emphasizing the beauty in every person, challenging the normal ideals of what beauty is, and helping society learn to love themselves for who they are and how they look. In her work, she finds it very important to provide a wide range of cultural representation that isn't highlighted as much in the photography industry. 

Professor Peter Fitzpatrick – Special Advisor Community Engagement Office of the Provost, is an Australian artist/educator and former Chair of Photography at Columbia College Chicago. He currently holds the position of Special Advisor Community Engagement in the Office of the Provost and teaches the Photo Social Practice course in the Photography Department. Peter works with still and moving image, reaching across analogue and digital technologies. He has been involved in developing the teaching and research programs at the Photography and Media Arts Department at the School of Art, Australian National University and the Australian Centre for Photography. Peter has taken part in artist residency programs, festivals, education forums, and exhibitions in Australia, China, Czech Republic, Singapore, New Zealand, and the USA. He holds a Master of Fine Arts Research at the College of Fine Arts, University of New South Wales in Sydney. Peter has received project funding from The Australia Council and Arts ACT. He has been involved with photography education and practice since 1989. Peter volunteers as the Education Director for the 501c3 Eyes on Main Street Inc. in Wilson North Carolina.

Emerging professional in the Chicago area. MA in Museum and Exhibition Studies program from the University of Illinois at Chicago and a BA in Arts Management and Art History from College of Charleston, with experience in Programming and Event Management, Community Engagement, and Development.

Andrew is a fifth-generation Chicagoan with an education and professional experience in historical archaeology and museum anthropology. He completed a master’s degree in historic preservation from the University of Texas at Austin and worked for nearly ten years in the Anthropology Collections Center at the Field Museum of Natural History. Andrew is interested in material culture, heritage studies, memory, and community engagement. His most recent work involves the study, interpretation, and preservation of ruins.