Naima Jefferson attended Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, where she earned a bachelor’s of business administration in accounting and has a Master of Business Administration from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C where she was awarded the Dean’s Citation for Outstanding Service and was a Georgetown MBA Scholar. Professionally, Naima develops federal policy and works closely with high-level officials to promote the agency’s mission and purpose. She has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry and is also an entrepreneur. She serves as the president of the Shepherd Park Citizens Association, trustee for the Committee of 100 for the Federal City, as a national committee co-chair for national membership organization with over 10,000 members across the country, and served on the board of the Southern Methodist University Black Alumni Association. She is married and lives in Northwest Washington, DC with her husband in two amazing daughters.

Noel Lopez is the Cultural Anthropologist for National Park Service, National Capital Area. His NPS projects include a study on subsistence/supplemental fishing on the Washington waterways, an investigation of Summer in the Parks and its effects on the GoGo and Punk scene, and ethnographic explorations of community usage of parks throughout the DC region. He wrote his dissertation on White urban Appalachians who were members of the Original Rainbow Coalition along with the Black Panthers and Young Lords in 1960s Chicago. Noel has discussed his research topics on Kojo Nnamndi, WTOP and other local media programs. Noel grew up and lived throughout DC, Maryland and Virginia. He lives with his wife and three kids in Alexandria, VA.Cut

Dr. Samir Meghelli serves as Museum Curator at the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum. Prior to joining the Smithsonian Institution, he was a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as well as a Visiting Scholar at Northeastern University (Boston, MA) and the Paris Institute of Political Science (Paris, France). He received his B.A. (magna cum laude) from the University of Pennsylvania and his M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D. in History from Columbia University.

"I began photographing people in the projects and on park benches in New Haven, Connecticut in 1965. Two years later, I was photographing the same subjects in New York City. I graduated from the City College of New York in 1970 with a major in sociology and minor in photography. I got an MS from Columbia University School of Social Work in 1972 and came to DC to go to Antioch Law School the same year. In DC, I continued photographing people on park benches, as well as political movements, human struggles and extensively documenting the community I live in. I graduated from Antioch Law School in 1978. For 20 years, I worked for a news service where my beat was Capitol Hill and the State Department. I’ve been a member of the National Press Club for 25 years. For three years (2012-2015) I worked for The Washington Informer. I was an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner in Adams Morgan for seven years. First, from 1982 to 1984, and second from 2007 to 2010. My collection of hard copy photographs has been in the Washingtoniana section of the Martin Luther King Jr. Library since its temporary closure in March 2017. Since then, I’ve been working on digitizing my 36 linear feet and 50+ years of negatives. I’ve completed the digitization of 3 years, 1976, 1977 and 1978. My photos have been published around the world, including in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, USA Today, Paris Match and more."

Kimberly E. Springle is an Historian with a focus on community history. Her research interests include 20th Century African American History, the history of public education, and capturing the untold stories of lesser known contributors to society. Kimberly is the Founder and Principal Consultant of K.E. Springle Cultural Consulting, serving communities and individuals nationwide in preserving their cultural assets and lecturing on topics related to cultural heritage. Kimberly also presently serves as the Executive Director of Charles Sumner School Museum and Archives, the official museum and repository for DC Public Education. In her capacity, she is the steward of the Historic Museum site and serves as the Historian and Archivist for the DC Public Education System. Over her 17 year career in the museum field, Kimberly has worked with various cultural institutions including the Smithsonian Institution Archives, National Museum of American History and with Lord Cultural Resources, a Canadian-based museum consulting firm. She currently serves on the Executive Board of the National Council on Public History (NCPH), and is a member of the Editorial Review Board and Diversity and Inclusion Committee for American Association for State and Local History (AASLH). In addition, she is a member and First Vice President of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, DC State Organization, which promotes professional and personal growth of women educators and excellence in education worldwide. Kimberly earned her Master of Arts Degree in History Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program (State University of New York, Oneonta). She also earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History with a Minor in African American Studies from College of Charleston, Charleston, SC. She is a proud native of Greenville, South Carolina. Photo courtesy of Rocview Photography

Lisa Warwick is currently serving as the Interim Manager of the People’s Archive at DC Public Library. She holds her M.A. in Information Science from the University of Maryland and a B.A. in Film Studies from the University of Pittsburgh. Lisa worked in academic and specialty research libraries, including the University of Maryland and Dumbarton Oaks Research Library, before coming to DC Public Library in 2013. Working at the People’s Archive combines her love of old paper smell with serving the public. Outside of work, she enjoys biking, baking and reading at home with her cat, Bruce.