“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin, and culture is like a tree without roots.”
I’m a professional oral historian, part of a team at the Oral History Center at UC Berkeley’s Bancroft Library. Through recorded interviews and careful transcription, we preserve not only historical voices but the memories and perspectives of individuals and organizations that might otherwise be lost to time. I’m also a career historian and scholar, Professor Emerita at San Francisco State University, where I worked for many years teaching LGBTQ history, feminist and critical race theory, and oral history methods and methodology. My areas of specialization include San Francisco and California history and politics.
MY WORK
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ORAL HISTORY PROJECTS
I’ll work with you to define the scope and scale of your oral history project, whether it’s a single interview with an individual or a series of oral histories with key stakeholders at an organization or institution. Every oral history includes research, interviews, transcription and vetting.
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ACADEMIC RESEARCH
With decades of experience as an academic historian, I know how to navigate the often arcane process of bibliographic research and citation. It’s important to understand the intellectual genealogy of each project’s social and cultural context.
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HISTORICAL INTERPRETATION
For me, historical interpretation has more often taken the form of writing peer-reviewed articles for academic journals, but I’ve also done a lot of public service like volunteering at community-based archives and historical societies, consulting on historical preservation projects, guiding historical walking tours, and participating in podcast and documentary film productions.