President
Britt is the Acting Advisor, Strategic Planning of Exhibitions at the Canadian Museum of History. She holds a Master of Museum Studies and a Juris Doctor from the University of Toronto, and a Bachelor of Arts & Science from McMaster University. Her passion for cultural heritage was ignited as a student intern at the Immigration Museum in Melbourne, Australia. Since then, she has put this into practice, developing exhibitions, programs and online offerings with the Multicultural History Society of Ontario (Toronto), the Canada Science and Technology Museum and the Canadian War Museum. Her work focuses on exhibition storytelling, as well as promoting accessibility and inclusion in museums. Britt comes to the Board as a strong believer in the importance of collaboration and mutual support within the heritage sector. She served as CHC|CPC secretary in 2020-21 and President in 2021-22.
Vice-President
Sarah Catterall has served on the Board since 2020 and is currently serving as Vice-President. She holds a Masters in Public History from Carleton University and has extensive experience in the education, heritage, and non-profit sectors. She has worked as an educator, program developer at Goulbourn Museum, and most recently as the Managing Director of the Journal of the Canadian Historical Association, in addition to other roles. She lives in the Ottawa area with her husband and son.
Treasurer
Jaime (they/them/iel) is a recent graduate of Carleton’s MA in Public History and Digital Humanities program. They hold a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Waterloo in Arts & Business and Archaeology, and are currently pursuing a certificate in Museum Studies from the Ontario Museum Association. They have over eight years of museum experience and have four years of experience serving as Treasurer for both academic and non-profit organizations. As a member of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, they are passionate about improving representation in museums, and are currently working with the Transgender Metadata Committee and the American Alliance of Museum’s Transgender Inclusion Taskforce to create recommendations to improve transgender and gender expansive representation within museums and other cultural heritage institutions.
Secretary
Cindy Stelmackowich is an artist, curator, and academic. She has a BA and BFA from the University of Saskatchewan, MA focusing in Cultural Studies and Women’s and Gender Studies from Carleton University, and Ph.D. in the History and Theory of Art from Binghamton University, New York. She has a studio at the Enriched Bread Artists in Ottawa, and her artworks have been exhibited across Canada, the United States, and Europe in solo and group exhibitions.
As a museum professional, Cindy has developed innovative curatorial projects that often feature historical artifacts. She has planned exhibitions for the Canada Science and Technology Museum, Canadian Museum of Nature, Bytown Museum, Canadian Consulate in New York, as well as for contemporary art galleries, including the Dalhousie University Art Gallery, Carleton University Art Gallery, Enriched Bread Artists, and Artists Space in New York City.
Director
Elizabeth is a Technical Project Manager at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. She holds a Bachelor of Arts (History) from Carleton University, a Diploma in Museum Studies, and Certificate in Project Management from Algonquin College. She has worked in the museum and heritage field for 25 years as an Exhibition Project Manager and Collections Manager including time at the National Gallery of Canada, Canadian Museum of History, Canadian War Museum, Library and Archives Canada and the Canada Science and Technology Museum. She has also worked as a consultant for the Omàmiwininì Pimàdjwowin / Algonquin Way Cultural Centre and the Arnprior & District Museum.
Elizabeth has been a part-time Professor for the Algonquin College Applied Museum Studies program for the past 7 years and enjoys teaching and mentoring the next generation of heritage professionals. As a member of CHC|CPC, she hopes to continue this important work by helping the organization grow its membership, heritage networking opportunities and programming.
Director
Skylee-Storm Hogan-Stacey (they/them) is an Indigenous public historian whose research focuses on Indigenous archival practice, residential schools, and Kahnawá:ke history. They have published in various journals and books and presented at national and international conferences on these research areas. Skylee-Storm is a Historian with Know History based out of what is now known as Ottawa, Ontario, on the unceded territories of the Algonquin. During their time with Know History’s Ottawa office, Skylee-Storm has worked on large and small projects, including oral history and documentary film, focusing on Indigenous clients and their father’s community in Kahnawá:ke. After their early experiences working with the Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre, Skylee-Storm has become an advocate for critiquing power dynamics in heritage and settler Canadian historical narratives. Their forthcoming book with Krista McCracken, Decolonial Archival Futures, continues this work.
Director
Francesca D’Ambrosio is a long-time business professional and public servant who is firmly committed to strategic collaborations in a variety of forward-thinking business sectors.
She is an established professional with more than 18 years experience, including eight years in executive (governmental) leadership, a run for city council and five years as a business owner. The focus of Francesca’s extensive Federal Government experience and her innovative work with not for profits has been in assessing viable strategies to alleviate systemic issues facing vulnerable groups and determine how to help organizations create a safe and thriving work environment, free from judgment and blame. As an advocate of diversity, equity and inclusion, Francesca works closely with community leaders and large corporations to move the needle forward, towards a more inclusive society.
Ms. D’Ambrosio is multi-lingual in English, French, Spanish and American Sign Language. She holds a Masters degree in Business Administration, Industrial/Organizational Psychology and is currently pursuing her third career in medicine at Harvard University.
Director
A PhD in History from Carleton University, Emmanuel is passionate about the value of historical knowledge and public communication. Emmanuel has over ten years’ experience as an educator—as a sessional instructor at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa—and in scholarly publishing—as an editor and director of academic journals. He has worked as an editor and director for the Journal of the Canadian Historical Association, as the book review editor, and as managing editor Histoire sociale / Social History. He is the current Executive Director of Histoire sociale / Social History’s parent non-profit independent publisher. He also served as the managing editor of the University of Ottawa Press. In 2017, Emmanuel was elected as the President-elect of the Canadian Association of Learned Journals (CALJ). He has since been a vocal advocate on behalf of members to federal funding agencies, government departments, and other important stakeholders in the scholarly publishing industry, serving on several boards and advisory committees. Emmanuel hopes to serve the heritage community, something he holds dearly, with similar enthusiasm and commitment.
Director
Keely McCavitt is a historical researcher and media coordinator for Ottawa historical research firm Know History. She has a BA in Studio art, as well as an MA in Art history with a focus on museum studies, both from the University of Western Ontario. She worked at the Museum of Anthropology at UBC as a collections management intern and worked abroad in Iziko Museums South Africa to develop an MOU between institutions regarding the repatriation of Ancestral remains, while based out of Cape Town, SA.
She relocated to the capital region in 2018 to join the team at Know History and fell in love with the rich history of the area.Her most recent work involves oral history interviews and projects, as well as traditional Knowledge and Land use studies. Keely also loves filming and editing documentary footage and audio, lending her technical knowledge to both professional and creative projects.