Leading the marketing communications division for AmericanAncestors.org and NEHGS, Jim Power is a veteran of several Madison Avenue agencies and of Boston’s own Polaroid Corporation where for more than a decade he directed the marketing services division of its Latin American & Caribbean unit, headquartered in Miami, Florida.
More recently Jim was principal of a small marketing boutique firm, providing non-profits and businesses in Boston and on Cape Cod with creative marketing and public relations services. At NEHGS he directs all marketing initiatives for the organization and leads the public relations, press and conference divisions.
Jim developed a passion for researching family history with the uncovering of the story of his paternal great-grandfather, a newspaper editor and publisher in the 19th Century south. The details of that family exploration led him to the further discovery of his family’s descendance from a Revolutionary War General in 1700s Georgia, and from a Tennessee pioneer who migrated to Texas in the 1830s and became one of the Republic of Texas’ first Texas Rangers. Until recently, none of these ancestors were known to him or to his family. Their discovery reveals understanding to uncommon family names, parallels of talent and of professions, and old tin-type portraits even reveal resemblances to living family members.
NEHGS’ Director of Marketing & Sales thus claims witness to the adage that “Genealogy changes the chart, but uncovering our family history changes the heart.” To share the possibilities of that type of adventure with the New England Historic Genealogical Society’s growing membership through the marketing of the Society’s website, AmericanAncestors.org, and its many unique constituent services is the marketing division’s highest goal.
Tricia joined NEHGS in July of 2014. A recent graduate of Clark University with an MA and a BA in History, Tricia comes to NEHGS with several years of customer service and administrative experience. Some of her previous professional roles have been at the American Antiquarian Society, the People’s World Peace Project, Skinner Inc., and the Worcester Historical Museum. Tricia is very interested in both New England and immigration history and spent her undergraduate and graduate years researching the Acadian Deportation of 1755 - a topic closely tied to her own family history and Maine roots.
John W. Tyler, longtime Editor of Publications for the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, recently retired from a thirty-six-year-long career teaching history at Groton School. Author of Smugglers & Patriots: Boston Merchants and the Advent of the American Revolution (1986), and a number of scholarly articles and reviews, Tyler received his Ph.D. at Princeton.
Christopher Carter Lee is a Fellow of the Massachusetts Historical Society, past member of the Committee on Heraldry of the New England Historic Genealogical Society, and contributor to NEHGS's The Mayflower Descendant and other peer-reviewed journals. He has been part of the teaching staff of Boston University's graduate certificate in Genealogical Research and overseen implementation strategies for lineage and genealogical organizations. As a management and development professional, he has leveraged his expertise for roles with the U.S. Institute of Peace, General Society of Mayflower Descendants, Leyden Preservation Group, and the Center for Education Reform. He serves on several heritage organization and preservation boards and is also co-founder and director of programs that support the homeless and disabled.
Henry Hornblower became the Marketing Manager at NEHGS in February of 2014. He brings with him 11 years of financial analysis, marketing and event management experience. Most recently he worked for Agganis Arena at Boston University where he managed the ticket sales for all concerts, events, and outside shows. He grew up locally in Dedham and attended St. Sebastian’s High School in Needham. Henry holds a B.A. in Public Policy from Hamilton College and also spent a semester abroad in Stockholm, Sweden where he studied European Economics. His interest in genealogy can be attributed to his many childhood visits to Plimouth Plantation and his father’s lifelong passion for history and antiquities. In his spare time he enjoys golf, tennis, squash, skiing, attending concerts, and cheering on all the sports teams in Boston.
Leah began her work at AJHS New England Archives as a volunteer in the summer of 2012, originally assisting with the cataloging of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society Collection. Since September of 2012, she has become a part-time staff member and helps with the transfer of the physical archives to the digital server using metadata to coordinate the upload of scanned images.
Leah is currently in her junior year at Boston University where she majors in English and minors in History and Deaf Studies. She hopes to continue her studies by gaining a master’s degree in library science with a focus on youth services.
Kelsey Sawyer was the Reference and Photo Archivist for the Wyner Family Jewish Heritage Center at New England Historic Genealogical Society until 2020. She received her B.A. in History from the University of Massachusetts at Boston and a M.S. in Library and Information Science with a concentration in Archives Management from Simmons College.
Kyle, Genealogist of the Newbury Street Press, holds a B.A. in both history and anthropology from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and has a master’s certificate in Museum Studies from Tufts University. With experience at the National Archives and Record Administration in Waltham, Kyle has worked on a wide variety of research projects as part of the Research Services team at NEHGS and, with Newbury Street Press, has contributed to a number of family histories. She has been credited for her contributions to The Root, TheRoot.com, and she has also written for American Ancestors magazine.