Wisconsin Historical Society Speakers Bureau

The Wisconsin Historical Society Press authors are a unique and diverse group of people from all walks of life, from an arborist, to a Harley rider, to a women's studies director to a folk storyteller. We think our authors are pretty remarkable people, and we’d love to share them and their interesting stories with you.

The Press Speakers Bureau is an exciting new opportunity for one or more of our valued authors to speak in your own community at local historical societies, public libraries, and other appropriate venues. Our authors will travel the state to entertain and engage, speaking on various topics concerning Wisconsin history, including sports, Native Americans, early immigrants, military history, women's history, even topics of interest to kids.

Due to time and financial constraints, many of our speakers require a fee, so please keep this in mind as you are planning your event. For the latest updates on authors who have joined the WHS Speakers Bureau, please continue to check our website.

For more information on the Society Press Speakers Bureau, contact us by email or by phone at 608-264-6465. We hope you will take advantage of this exciting new opportunity to host a member of the Speakers Bureau in your community!

Speaker Bureau Members

Jerry Apps is the author of Ringlingville USA: The Stupendous Story of Seven Siblings and Their Stunning Circus Success as well as more than 35 books on Wisconsin and U.S. history. He has won numerous awards for his writing. He splits his time between his home in Madison and his farm, Roshara, in Wild Rose, Wisconsin.

Brett Barker is assistant professor of history at University of Wisconsin–Marathon County and is the author of Exploring Civil War Wisconsin: A Survival Guide for Researchers, published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press. His research interests include the northern home front during the Civil War and Wisconsin history.

Nancy Bauer, a former educator, has been actively researching and writing about her family ancestors and studying the history of the times in which they lived. A Madison native, she currently works as a volunteer for the Wisconsin Historical Society.

Matt Blessing is head of the department of special collections and university archives at Marquette University. He is a writer for the Wisconsin Magazine of History, published by the Wisconsin Historical Society, and is knowledgeable on the history of Reuben Gold Thwaites, Michael Dennis Cullen, and the "Milwaukee 14."

Shelia Cohen, author of Mai Ya's Long Journey, became an ESL teacher in the late 1970s, just as a group of Hmong families began to arrive in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. She is presently on the Board of Directors of the United Refugee Services of Wisconsin and works as a freelance writer. She lives with her husband in Madison.

Keith Crowley has written for Sporting Classics, Wisconsin Outdoor Journal, Wisconsin Sportsman, Minnesota Sportsman, Rocky Mountain Game & Fish, and Florida Game & Fish. He lives in Hudson, Wisconsin.

Terry Frei is the author of Third Down and a War to Go and son of 1942 Badgers guard Jerry Frei, a decorated World War II P-38 fighter pilot. After his father's death, Terry set out to learn about the men in the team picture that hung in a place of honor in his father's den. Frei is a reporter and columnist for The Denver Post and ESPN.com. He lives in Denver.

Richard Carlton Haney, author of "When is Daddy Coming Home?" An American Family During World War II, earned his doctorate in history from University of Wisconsin–Madison and later graduated from West Point's postdoctorate military history program and the Army's National Security Seminar at Carlisle Barracks. He is a professor of history at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater, where he has received teaching excellence awards by Students for an Accessible Society.

Jack Holzhueter served on the Wisconsin Historical Society staff from 1964 through 2000 and has been a contributor to the Wisconsin Magazine of History since 1966. He currently serves on the Society's Board of Curators and is active in Frank Lloyd Wright preservation organizations.

Russell Horton, an Oshkosh native, received his bachelor's degree is history at University of Wisconsin–Madison and master's degrees in history and library science from University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. Russ currently works as an archivist at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum in Madison. He is also a writer for the Wisconsin Magazine of History.

Patty Loew is the author of Indian Nations and Native People of Wisconsin, and an assistant professor in the Department of Life Science Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is also a producer for WHA-TV (PBS), a co-host of In Wisconsin on Wisconsin Public Television, and an award-winning documentary producer. Loew is an enrolled member of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe.

Nancy Oestreich Lurie's many books include Wisconsin Indians and Mountain Wolf Woman. Lurie is curator emerita of anthropology at the Milwaukee Public Museum and has received many awards and honors, including the Anisfield-Wolf Award, and the Wisconsin Historical Society's William B. Hesseltine Award.

Bobbie Malone is director of the Office of School Services at the Wisconsin Historical Society. She has authored and edited many student books and teacher's guides on Wisconsin history for the state's classrooms. Titles include Wisconsin History Highlights, Voices and Votes, Working with Water, Digging and Discovery, and Learning from the Land, to name a few.

Dr. Genevieve G. McBride, author of Women's Wisconsin: From Native Matriarchies to the New Millenium, is director of women's studies and an associate professor of history at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She is a past member of the Society's Board of Curators and serves on the Advisory Board of the proposed National Women's History Museum.

Julie Pferdehirt is an educator, writer, and professional storyteller, sharing true stories from Wisconsin history with children and adults. She is the author of They Came to Wisconsin, a collection of first-person stories of Wisconsin immigrants from past and present and Freedom Trail North: Stories of the Underground Railroad in Wisconsin. Pferdehirt works with school and library groups to create hands-on history programs.

Jerry Poling is a writer for the Wisconsin Magazine of History, published by the Wisconsin Historical Society. A native of Eau Claire, he is the co-author of Wisconsin Golf Getaways published by Trails Books and an avid golfer.

Michael Stevens is administrator of the Division of Historic Preservation-Public History at the Wisconsin Historical Society and serves as Wisconsin's State Historic Preservation Officer. He holds a doctorate in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Stevens is the author or editor of 13 books including Yesterday's Future: The Twentieth Century Begins, Voices from Vietnam, Women Remember the War and The Family Letters of Victor and Meta Berger.