APH Board Members
Sarah White President |
Sarah White provides writing services for individuals, families, businesses, and communities from her home base in Madison, Wisconsin. Typical projects include books, interviews, workshops, and intergenerational programs. She joined APH and attended her first conference in 2002, and launched First Person Productions in 2006. She served on the board (2005-06 as marketing director, 2007-08 as Regions Director). She hopes to bring to the office of President a commitment to look after the long-term interests of APH. This position in particular interests her because of the opportunity for Board action to be guided by APH’s recently updated strategic plan.
» Read more about Sarah » Email Sarah White |
Sam Uhl Vice President |
Sam Uhl is founder of The Cheerful Word, a company whose mission is to honor, encourage, and inspire elders and their families by preserving their legacies and connecting us across the generations. Her genuine interest in older adults enables them to rediscover, share, and preserve their treasured memories in Life Story Books or Audio Keepsake CDs. Before launching her career as a personal historian, Sam served for many years on the boards of organizations related to public relations, technical and medical writing.Growing up at the feet of older adults, Sam became captivated by their stories of life so very different from her own. Her lifelong experience with the elderly gives her that special something¯ that creates a fast and trusting bond.A seasoned writer and public speaker, Sam is just as comfortable one-on-one as she is in front of a thousand people presenting topics such as For Love & Money: How to Leave a Meaningful Legacy. ¯For fun Sam hikes in Canada, motorcycles with her husband, rescues Boston Terriers, and listens to stories of people everywhere from the local church pew to the corner bar. She is looking forward to being part of the APH Board and supporting the mission of APH.
» Read more about Sam » Email Sam Uhl |
Solomon Kahn Treasurer |
Solomon Kahn is the founder of Memoir Place, a site to help people write their memoirs. He was inspired to pursue the personal history business after receiving a memoir from his great-grandfather. Memoir Place makes it easy for people to record their own personal history, or help record the personal history of loved ones. Before Memoir Place, Solomon worked in leadership positions in financial start-ups, doing everything from business development and strategic planning to investment research. Solomon has passed the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exams as well as the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) exams. Before entering the personal history business, he had his series 7, 63, and 65 licenses through FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority). Solomon is a graduate of Columbia University.
» Read more about Solomon » Email Solomon Kahn |
Deborah Perham Secretary |
Deborah Perham loves hearing family stories, and became her family’s self-appointed historian. In the 1950s, Deborah’s maternal grandmother lost all her personal belongings (including all photographs) in a basement flood. There was nothing but left but stories to tell. And there were countless stories. Memorializing events is in part of who Deborah is… Since the early ‘80s, she has owned a court reporting agency with offices in NYC and on Long Island. In 2012 she decided to move beyond the court reporting community, establishing “A Lifetime Legacy.” Deborah is now a full-time professional historian, assisting families and corporations recording their own events. A three-decade career in the court reporting community combined with the fact that she’s a sentimental gal makes for one enthusiastic personal historian. Deborah is proud to be assisting members of APH in their efforts and looks forward to many productive years together.
» Read more about Deborah » Email Deborah Perham |
Sue Hessel At-Large Director |
Sue Hessel, from La Crosse, Wisconsin, calls her personal history business Lessons From Life because she believes that we all have stories, experiences and lessons to share with current and future generations. In writing dozens of history books for individuals, families, businesses, organizations and communities, Sue prides herself in doing research that fills in the history or what she calls the back story behind the events of individual lives. She believes the strength of personal history lies in connecting generations and helping young people appreciate the experiences of previous generations. Sue considers it an honor to be nominated to serve on the APH board. "I have gotten so much from APH since I joined in 2005 that I’m eager to give back to this association."
» Read more about Sue » Email Sue Hessel |
Carol Kern Communications Director |
Carol Kern of Irving, Texas, knows first hand the appreciation and joy felt when discovering precious nuggets of family history - each nugget providing a glimpse into a loved one’s life and daily events. Carol’s interest in family history began as a young child after hearing a story of how her grandfather left home one day and never returned. Carol’s curiosity of what happened to her grandfather developed into a lifelong passion for genealogy and capturing family stories. In 2003, Carol’s passion for family history transitioned from that of family historian to that of professional historian. Carol founded Your Personal Historian, a family history business dedicated to enriching lives through the writing, sharing and preserving of family stories and life experiences. Carol joined APH in 2012 to meet others who share her passion for family and personal histories. As the Communications Director and past Texas Chapter Coordinator, Carol looks forward to continuing to assist other APH members and the community come together, sharing experiences, and learning from each other.
» Read more about Carol » Email Carol Kern |
Marianne Waller Conference Director |
Marianne Waller of Philadelphia, PA, discovered APH just before the 2003 Denver conference, as she was considering next career steps after more than 20 years in the corporate and advertising agency areas of the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry. After four incredible conference days in Denver, she returned to Philadelphia eager to get started in her new profession. By the time of the 2004 conference, she had produced a book for her first client, a retired coalminer turned railroad conductor from western Pennsylvania. She has worked with numerous Holocaust survivors, helping them preserve the stories behind their tragedies and triumphs, and is currently working on a trilingual, multicultural project with the family of a grandmother born and raised in Rajasthan, India, who has spent her adult life in Japan. As APH conference director, Marianne provides long-range planning and board oversight to ensure that the annual APH conference offers a professional forum for advancing the field of personal history and the education of APH members.
» Read more about Marianne » Email Marianne Waller |
Tim Pierce Documents Director |
Tim Pierce is a storyteller. He has always been fascinated with family history. The turning point came when he lost his grandparents in just a few years time. All of the stories and memories that he took for granted were now valuable jewels that he began to seek out. With each treasure found, there were 10 more questions that could no longer be answered. Tim looked into how to capture these memories for himself and others and he found a group of dedicated, friendly and passionate people known as the Association of Personal Historians. Tim began the business of storytelling just this past year through the use of video, photography and storybooks. Following Tim's first Association of Personal Historian's Conference in Las Vegas, NV in 2011, he went back to Phoenix, AZ to pursue his degree in film production as his business is beginning to grow. Tim also became involved in the local APH chapter and is looking forward to volunteering for the national board of APH as the Documents Director with the goal of doing whatever he can to bring enthusiasm, diversity and growth to the premier organization dedicated to preserving personal history.
» Read more about Tim » Email Tim Pierce |
Stephanie Nichols Education Director |
Stephanie Nichols discovered personal history in 2008 when the New York Times labeled it an “emerging field.” She had been searching for a new career path after 20 years in Unitarian Universalist parish ministry, and the idea of personal history resonated immediately. Within two months Stephanie had joined APH and started soaking up new information like a sponge. Now in 2013, her business is alive and well due in no small measure to the resources and contacts provided by APH. With gratitude for what she has learned so far, and because every answer generates at least two new questions, Stephanie is honored to serve in the role of education director. She is based in Winchester, Massachusetts, where she lives with her husband, David, and their beloved old golden retriever, Rocky.
» Read more about Stephanie » Email Stephanie Nichols |
Marcy Davis Marketing Director |
Marcy Davis grew up steeped in the fine art of promotion with both parents in PR and marketing. From an early career in theater direction, she went on to produce TV/Radio commercials/corporate films for over 20 years at New York advertising agencies. As VP, Senior Producer, Marcy worked on everything from public service announcements to major rebranding campaigns. Her career continued as a marketing consultant and project director for companies such as Microsoft and Starbucks and finally formed her own business helping smaller ventures flourish via their websites, marketing materials, special events and projects. When her brother had a late-in-life child, Marcy “discovered” personal history as she created a family blog especially for her nephew. Since joining APH in 2009, she has had the honor of serving on the board as secretary. Now, she will be putting her marketing background to better use. As Marketing Director, Marcy endeavors to bring greater awareness to APH and its members by enthusiastically trumpeting the joy of life story preservation in all of its forms.
» Read more about Marcy » Email Marcy Davis |
Annie Payne Membership Director |
Annie Payne, an Australian personal historian, founded History from the Heart, in 2006, when she joined APH. She first commenced interviewing people about their life stories in 1988 as a Bicentennial project and hasn’t stopped following her passion. Annie attended the 2008 and 2010 conferences, reaffirming her personal history work and strengthening friendships. She draws on the skills and knowledge in her kit bag from her professional experience in nursing, social work, membership, events and PR management, and tertiary education lecturer, to apply to her latest career. Annie spreads the personal history word in Australia and New Zealand via frequent radio interviews and articles in ‘Inside History,’ Australia’s new Family History magazine, and community newspapers. Living in Australia, where the concept of personal history is largely unknown, Annie understands the difficulties faced by overseas members of APH who can’t easily access many of the Association’s resources and benefits. As the first Membership Director from outside North America, Annie aims to encourage more member interaction, especially from/with international APH’ers.
» Read more about Annie » Email Annie Payne |
Jane Shafron Nominations Director |
Jane Shafron joined APH in 2007, the year she and her husband established Your Story Here LLC, a boutique documentary production company specializing in creating bespoke video biography and personal history documentaries. Jane's passion is to bring personal stories to life, insisting on the highest standards in all phases of the production process. She has studied oral history and voice acting and is a master video biographer. Before becoming a personal historian, Jane practiced as an attorney in Australia. Based in Orange County, California, and traveling across the US for her clients, Jane's projects have delighted hundreds of satisfied clients and their friends and families. Her touching documentary films have been featured in festivals in the United States and Canada, and have won numerous awards.
» Read more about Jane » Email Jane Shafron |
Beth LaMie Online Director |
Beth LaMie of Kankakee, Illinois, discovered the joy of family stories while sitting around the kitchen table as a child, enthralled by the tales told by family members. In 2007, she started writing life stories about her family and realized there was a good market for short personal histories, such as tributes, memorials, and vignettes. Beth joined APH that same year and later contributed as a writer to the APH Toolkit on products & services (for members only). In addition to her writing, Beth teaches workshops, teleclasses, and webinars on personal histories and ethical wills for adults, teens, and children as young as eight. As the APH Online Director, she hopes to use forty years of corporate and project management experience and writing skills to urge people to preserve their stories while they can.
» Read more about Beth » Email Beth LaMie |
Lynne Uyeda Publicity Director |
Lynne Choy Uyeda developed a passion for preserving personal and family histories on video in 1995. Prior to establishing her company, “Linking Lives & Legacies,” she owned and operated “Lynne Choy Uyeda & Associates,” a Los Angeles-based public relations and marketing communications firm with offices in San Francisco, California. In 1998, she was “lured” to public service by the U.S. Census Bureau as Media Director for the 2000 Census. Lynne was into her first retirement when she was recalled to active duty for 2010 Census – again serving as Media Director with a team of 7 Media Specialists for California and Hawaii. In May, 2012, Lynne was recently inducted into the Minority Business “Hall of Fame” as a pioneer advocate for the utilization of minority-owned businesses by major corporations and government agencies.
Now, into her second retirement, Lynne looks forward to putting together an effective team in 2013 to promote the Mission and Objectives of the Association of Personal Historians.
» Read more about Lynne » Email Lynne Uyeda |
Elisabeth Pozzi-Thanner Regions Director |
Elisabeth Pozzi-Thanner of Oral History Productions USA - Europe likes deep listening and diversity. Based in New York City and in Vienna, Austria, she travels all over to find and record stories that otherwise might not be told. She works for oral history projects based at universities, museums, historical societies and assists organizations, communities, businesses and private families to capture the essence of lives and experiences. A member of APH since the mid-nineties she likes to connect with colleagues in an ongoing exchange of creative thinking and mutual encouragement and looks forward to supporting regional and chapter coordinators all over.
» Read more about Elisabeth » Email Elisabeth Pozzi-Thanner |