About the Team
Anne Bentley has been with the MHS since 1973, first as conservator of manuscripts, then as curator of the art collection. Since 1984, she has been responsible for the Society’s numismatic collection, consisting of coins, tokens, medals, badges, paper currency, and fiscal paper. Anne has authored papers on the 1776 Massachusetts pine tree copper penny and a copper Columbia-Washington medal given to the MHS in 1791 by Joseph Barrell, himself. With mentor and good friend, John W. Adams, she researched and wrote on the Comitia Americana medals and was honored to contribute a bit of historical background to John and Fernando Chao’s Medallic Portraits of Admiral Vernon.
Cassie Cloutier is the Associate Director of Research at the MHS & Executive Coordinator of the New England Regional Fellowship Consortium. In addition to her work on both MHS-produced podcasts, she oversees the Society's fellowship programs, seminar series, and academic conferences with Kanisorn Wongsrichanalai. She earned a BA in History from Keene State College and an MA in World History from Northeastern University with a focus on twentieth century diplomatic history and digital humanities.
Lauren Gray is the Reference Librarian for Researcher Services at the MHS. She earned her MA in early U.S. History from the University of New Mexico and her MLS from Emporia State University, where she is now a doctoral student in Library and Information Management. She manages the MHS Undergraduate Library Residency Program and runs the library liaison program for incoming research fellows.
Sam Hurwitz is a part-time podcast producer and editor at the Massachusetts Historical Society and holds a PhD in History from Boston College. Dr. Hurwitz’s PhD research focused on LGBTQ+ communities in mid-twentieth-century Boston with an emphasis on Digital Humanities scholarship. As a communications professional, Sam specializes in digital storytelling and content creation, bringing historical scholarship to life through accessible, engaging multimedia projects. With experience spanning archives, higher education, and academic research, they are passionate about translating complex historical narratives into inclusive digital content that builds connection and community.
Kanisorn Wongsrichanalai is the Peter Drummey Chief Historian at the MHS. A Civil War Historian and the author of Northern Character: College-Educated New Englanders, Honor, Nationalism, and Leadership in the Civil War Era, he also co-edited So Conceived and So Dedicated: Intellectual Life in the Civil War-Era North and Wars Civil and Great: The American Experience in the Civil War and World War I. With Cassie Cloutier, he oversees the Society's fellowship programs, seminar series, and academic conferences.
Team Members from Past Seasons
Peter Drummey is the former Chief Historian & Stephen T. Riley Librarian at the MHS, responsible for library outreach and exhibitions at the MHS. Over the course of 35 years, Drummey has assisted more than 50,000 researchers who have visited the MHS and a far larger number from a distance. He has prepared exhibitions, transcribed historical documents, and written manuscript collection guides and subject surveys, including Collecting History, a guide to landmark documents and artifacts in the Society’s collections. In addition, he has contributed book reviews and bibliographic essays to professional and historical journals. Drummey’s personal historical interests center on the era of the First World War, especially the social and technological impact of the war.
The staff at the MHS will miss Peter’s knowledge and enthusiasm as he enjoys his well-earned retirement
Alyssa Machajewski is the former Podcast Producer for the MHS Research Department. She graduated with an MA in Public History from Northeastern University and a BA in Anthropology from Trinity University with specialities in museum studies and linguistics.
Katy Morris is the former Assistant Director of Research and co-host of the first season of The Object of History. She holds a BA from Smith College, an MA in Oral History from Columbia University, and her research interests include the history of women, gender, and sexuality, 20th century American history, and the American West.
