Auni Gelles Email & Phone Number

Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Baltimore, Maryland Area

Responsible for conceptualizing and implementing a creative suite of public programs serving adult and intergenerational audiences, including signature, campus-wide, annual events and original programming for more niche audiences. Manage community relations, including a weekly Farmers' Market, and partnerships with a variety of institutions. Work collaboratively with colleagues in the Education Department to understand and improve the visitor experience. Serve as project manager for new museum audio guide, YouTube channel, and the limited-edition podcast series, "Sparrows Point: an American Steel Story."

Frederick, Maryland

Responsible for grants administration, communications, outreach, and other duties at the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area (HCWHA), one of Maryland’s thirteen certified heritage areas covering portions of Carroll, Washington and Frederick counties. I work closely with museums, historic sites and local governments in a three-county area to support and promote superior visitor experiences in this region rich with Civil War history. I coordinate public programs, professional development workshops, and social media initiatives across the Heritage Area and provide technical assistance to partners. Managing a new education initiative which aims to establish the Heritage Area as a hub for student group travel through a suite of classroom materials linked to national educational standards.

Frederick, Maryland

One of two staff members of the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area (HCWHA), one of Maryland’s thirteen certified heritage areas covering portions of Carroll, Washington and Frederick counties. Duties include outreach to museums, historic sites and other visitor-serving organizations; administration of HCWHA's mini-grants program; maintaining an engaging social media presence; creating monthly newsletters for visitors and stakeholders; coordinating a major website redesign; providing technical assistance to partners; preparing regular reports to funders; contributing to new education and heritage tourism initiatives; assistance with grant-writing and other development efforts. Responsible for implementing Civil War Selfies, a sesquicentennial activity at historic sites across the Heritage Area. As a Certified Tourism Ambassador in the Journey Through Hallowed Ground--a 180-mile scenic byway from Gettysburg to Monticello--I interact with visitors at the Newcomer House, the Heart of the Civil War Heritage Area's visitor center at Antietam National Battlefield.

Washington D.C. Metro Area

Completed a summer internship in the New Media department at the National Museum of American History, a unit of the Smithsonian Institution. This position was centered around maintaining the museum's blog, O Say Can You See (blog.americanhistory.si.edu). Working collaboratively with an interdepartmental team of contributors, tasks included brainstorming content related to upcoming historical anniversaries and events, creating approximately 1,000-word posts related to objects in the museum's collections, editing existing posts, preparing posts for publication, and collecting and analyzing analytics. Other responsibilities included creating content for the museum's social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, Pinterest, and Flickr), designing email newsletters, and photographing special events.

Baltimore, Maryland Area

As a graduate assistant, I was responsible for assisting with two separate projects at UMBC: creating an online presence for the Center for Digital History Education (CDHE) within the Department of History and processing the Joseph L. Arnold Papers in the Special Collections. For CDHE, tasks included designing and building the website using UMBC's WordPress platform, creating and managing an active Twitter profile (@DigitalHistUMBC), and establishing an audience of K-12 social studies educators and the digital history community. In Special Collections, my responsibilities included editing footnotes and fact-checking a manuscript, researching online publication platforms, processing a large collection of subject files, and developing a finding aid for the collection.

Baltimore, Maryland Area

Assisted two Program Officers at a private educational nonprofit with statewide reach. Worked on the following programs: Maryland History Day, a history research competition for middle and high school students which engages over 19,000 students across the state each year; Speakers Bureau, a public lecture series for out-of-school adults; Chautauqua, an annual living history series; One Maryland One Book, Maryland's statewide community reading program; Letters About Literature, a reading and writing program for students in grades 4-12; Making Sense of the American Civil War, an ALA/NEH-sponsored reading and discussion series.

Baltimore, Maryland Area

Assisted with the Arts in Education programs of this state government agency, including residencies, visiting performers and Poetry Out Loud.

Baltimore, Maryland Area

Led tours and activities relating to the history of flags, the War of 1812, and life in early 19th century Baltimore for school groups visiting the museum and historic house.

Served as an intern for the folk and traditional arts program through the Governor's Summer Internship Program. Duties included research and fieldwork in folklore and a policy presentation to Governor Martin O'Malley.

Master Of Arts (M.A.), Historical Studies

Completed the public history track. Thesis project: "Commemorating the Defense of Baltimore, 1815-2015"

Bachelor Of Arts, Anthropology & Sociology

Activities and Societies: Founder & President, Suicide Awareness & Prevention Group; Treasurer, CAUSE Community Service Club; Officer.