CHCI Welcomes New Member: Jessica Taylor

CHCI welcomes new member, Jessica Taylor, assistant professor in the Department of History. Jessica has been working with CHCI members on the “Visualizing Virginia Tech’s History” project the past few years. She describes her interests related to CHCI in this way: "As a public historian, I work to increase accessibility of diverse, historical content about the American South. I have collaborated with the VT150 team on the AR tour of Solitude, created user-friendly oral history sound stations for the American Civil War Museum at Appomattox exhibit, and moved a physical exhibit about the Monacan Indian Nation online with University Libraries designer Scott Fralin. Through research in oral history, I also contribute  to digitization efforts alongside staff at Appalachian archives, with institutions like Calfee School and Mountain Home Center which preserve the histories of African-Americans in Appalachia. Finally, I work to broaden access to these archives, through open access publications like the primary source reader, Voices of Virginia, and virtual museum initiatives with the Rappahannock Indian Tribe.  The CHCI would gain a versatile collaborator already engaged in a broad range of methodologies and committed to community collaborations.”