Interviewers

Spring 2017

Hannah Blankenship

Kenan Brown was born in Kansas City and raised in St Louis, MO. Kenan is an alumni of Southeast Missouri State University and is a former high school social studies teacher.  He is currently working on a Master’s thesis researching race and religion in the American Midwest and Upper South during the inter-war years of the 1920s and 1930s.  He plans to graduate in the summer of 2017 and hopes to return to teaching high school after.  New to the field of oral history, Kenan has been challenged by his experience with the Latinx KC project to become more involved in similar projects and hopes to participate in local activism in the future.

Alexander Greene

Crystal Herriage is a member of the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin. She is a senior at UMKC and will be graduating with an B.A. in History in Spring 2017. Crystal is an avid fan of history, especially Native American history. She is looking forward to conducting oral histories of her Tribe in the near future.

Jennifer Tufts is a graduate student in the Master of Arts Liberal Studies program at UMKC. She studies Urban Planning Theory and Public History, hoping lessons from both disciplines will help her understand the narratives that shape our communities. She grew up in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma with her Vermonter parents and two sisters. Before moving to the Longfellow neighborhood in Kansas City, Missouri she worked for the Confucius Institute at the University of Oklahoma – Tulsa, spent a year teaching English in South Korea, and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and English from Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri.

 

Spring 2018


Sara Shaffer Henry is a graduate student in the Master of Arts program in History, emphasis in Public History.  She grew up in Belleville, IL and now lives in the greater Kansas City area.  Her research area is focused on Native American history, as well as innovative ways for historical interpretation.  She received her Bachelor of Science degree in history, with a minor in anthropology in 2004 from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. She graduated from the University of South Dakota in 2012 with a Masters in Public Administration and a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management.  She spent two years in the Americorps program serving East Saint Louis, Illinois, as well as Vermillion, South Dakota.  She has spent the last ten years of her career in the nonprofit sector serving causes related to developmental disabilities, leadership development and healthcare.   She hopes to pursue a career in the National Park Service as an administrator.
Anthony Lopez is a undergraduate student entering his senior year in the Bachelors of Arts program in History, emphasis on Asian and Religious Histories. He grew up moving back and forth between Kansas City Missouri and Sedalia Missouri. He now live in the Kansas City area. In an effort to understand more about Asian History he is currently taking Japanese language classes. He chooses to focus on Asian and Religious Histories because of the lack of information in public schools. He hopes to begin teaching High School after recieving his degree in order to expand the knowledge of History in our youth. He also plans to one day pursue his Masters degree with a focus on Asian and Religious Histories. He is currently a full time student.
Jose Angel Sustaita was born in Kansas City, Kansas and grew up in the Argentine district. He is an undergraduate student I the Bachelor of Liberal Arts with a minor in Latinx and Latin American Studies program. He will graduate in May 2018. Jose is an elected officer of the electricians union, IBEW local union 124 and is currently the chairman of the examining committee. Jose is also a musician and performs has been performing with Trio Aztlan since 2002. He is plays the upright bass and sings.