Board of Directors and Staff

Board of Directors Announcement

In the Fall of 2021 the CI Board of Directors formed a nominating committee to review applications from our membership for new Board of

Directors, as current Board Members end their terms. The following candidates were approved by the nominating committee and were put

forward to the Annual Members to be voted on and were voted in on October 9th 2021

Sean Considine, PMP is an agile and experienced professional whose extensive and diverse professional experience combined with his

passion for history and material culture will further the mission and goals of the Conococheague Institute (CI).

Mr. Considine is a Program Manager for Lockheed Martin, where he manages very large Government contracts with hundreds of personnel

worldwide, including unique and specialized work. On his current contract, he lead, oversaw, and orchestrated significant growth through the

addition of 14 task orders, additional scope, ceiling increases, and multiple contract extension extending the contract by four year.

Additionally, he directly supports business capture and growth strategy by serving in the role of Capture Manager, Volume Lead, author, and

reviewer for business captures. He regularly works with the Government, large and small businesses, non-profit organizations, Universities,

and educational institutions. He is regularly recognized by his executive leadership for his performance, including his effective and genuine

leadership, as well as his ability to lead successfully large teams on complex efforts.

Mr. Considine has several awards and certifications, including winning the Lockheed Martin Excellence Award (the highest company award)

in 2014, several Individual and Business Capture Special Recognition Awards, and individual others. His certifications include a Program

Management Professional certification from the Program Management Institute, and he is a certified Level 2 Program Manager and Level 1

Capture Manager with Lockheed Martin.

Mr. Considine has a passion for 18th century history and material culture, which has been demonstrated through is volunteer efforts and the CI

and other historic sites. He has organized and participated in historic programming at the CI, and provided impactful volunteer efforts in

support of the expansion and improvement of historical interpretation at the site, including drafting patterns and making clothing for CI interns,

providing clothing and material culture consulting services, writing clothing standards and an interpretive review process, presenting the “Plaid

in Pennsylvania” digital lecture, creating digital content, and donating time and items to the interpretive programs. Mr. Considine is actively

involved in 18th century living history including serving as the Vice President and Commander of the 17th Regiment of Infantry, and regular

individual volunteer efforts at the CI, Fort Loudoun, and other historic sites. He is an independent researcher and is committed to efforts to

modernize and contextualize historic interpretation.

If elected to the CI Board, Mr. Considine will apply his extensive professional experience and passion for history to the position to allows the

CI continues its current growth trajectory. He will ensure the success of the CI mission by applying his professional experience to the

execution of short-, mid-, and long-term business goals. The application of his vast leadership and management experience will drive

successful planning and execution of campaigns and projects, and foster future success of the Institute through lessons learned and process

improvements. He will apply his business development experience to building lasting and substantial community and organizational

relationships. His commitment to accurate and compelling historical interpretation will continue to grow CI’s reputation as a high-quality

institution to experience history through meaningful programming and knowledgeable interpretation.

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Kitty Clark is an arts administrator, events coordinator, and dance artist. She currently works as Community Events Coordinator for the City

of Hagerstown where she oversees the City’s Arts & Entertainment and Main Street districts, plans the City’s cultural offerings, and works

with a wide variety of people and organizations who do events on City property and need logistical coordination. In this and in previous

positions, she has successfully garnered funding from the Maryland State Arts Council, the New York State Council on the Arts, the WV

Commission on the Arts, the WV Humanities Council, the NJ Council for the Humanities, the District of Columbia Arts & Humanities

Council, the Ontario Arts Council, the Mardi Gras Fund, the Puffin Foundation, and other funding bodies. In her career as a dance artist, Kitty

has long been committed to spearheading performance projects that make contemporary dance and performance accessible to a broader

audience. In 2020, she was awarded an Independent Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council; and in 2006, she received the West

Virginia

Governor’s Arts Award as “Arts Innovator” in recognition of her work in that state. From 1999-2014, she was based in Shepherdstown, WV,

where she was Founder/Director of the non-profit Goose Route Arts Collaborative and directed her dance company kittyclarkmoves. She is

currently part of the Maryland-based MAD Dance. She is interested in place, history, and the environment, and her dance works reflect this,

with the production of numerous site-specific performances that have taken place on a working farm, a city park, at the National Conservation

Training Center, the banks of the Potomac River, and at Antietam Battlefield. Kitty holds a Bachelors of Arts in History from Vassar College

and a Masters of Fine Arts in Dance from Smith College. She is also a certified yoga instructor. She has taught dance and yoga at area

universities, studios, and in community settings.

Sam Cathey:

“I grew up in the town of Sturbridge, Mass which is home to the well-known living history museum Old Sturbridge Village. From age 10 to 22

I worked there as drummer in the fife and drum corps and a potter and farmer. After completing a BA in history at the University of Vermont, I

landed a job as a park ranger at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park where I continued to pursue my interest in wearing period clothing and

discussing history with visitors. Eventually I became certified to teach high school and began working on a MA in history. I spent 7 years

teaching mostly American History at TJ High in Frederick, finished my Master's degree, and added school library media to my teaching

certificate. For the last 20 years I have been a school librarian at a Berkeley county middle school. Through all these years I have maintained a

great interest in the benefits of costumed interpretation and regularly volunteer at numerous historic sites and national parks. During the 150th

anniversary of the Civil War I created and presented a number of programs at national parks throughout this region. Recently I have re-kindled

my childhood interest in 18th century American life. I have had great enjoyment interacting with visitors at CI and think that trying to bring the

farmstead to life with folks in costume is a very worthwhile endeavor. As a board member I would like to help CI continue to be a site that has

a buzz of activity to help visitors become engaged with the past and see the worth of sites like CI.”

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Melanie Desmond:

“For those who don’t know me, I’ve been around CI since 2001, and I’m local to Franklin County, having moved here in 1990 from the DC

area. I have a BA in Archaeology and Art History from the U. of MD, and a MS in Education with a specialty in School Library Media from

McDaniel College.

Although I recently retired, my past employers have been Montgomery County (MD) Public Libraries; System Automation Corporation (on a

DoD contract); The Renfrew Institute for Cultural and Environmental Studies; Washington County (MD) Public Schools; and The Renfrew

Museum.

I’ve always enjoyed a good rapport with people, whether it’s parents and teachers, or historians and staff as well as the general public at the

various museums and historic sites where I’ve volunteered. I look forward to helping CI further its mission of education, research, and

preservation. “

The Board of Directors of the Conococheague Institute work with the Executive Director to ensure the sound management of the organization and help it accomplish its mission.

They are a diverse group of Business Leaders, Historians, Philanthropists, Naturalists, and work together to form a whole.

The Board of Directors can serve for a term of four years, and may elected for a second term after which time they must take a year break.

The Board of Directors elects its Officers (President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer) at it’s January BoD meeting, and new Board members are voted in during the Annual Members Meeting.

The Board of Directors are volunteers, are receive no compensation for their services to the Conococheague Institute.