OFFICE STAFF
Jennifer Ott, Executive Director (Seattle) – Jennifer Ott is an environmental historian with a particular interest in Seattle's history of moving dirt, rerouting waterways, and leveling hills. She has also written for Seattle magazine and the Oregon Historical Quarterly. She is the author of Olmsted in Seattle: Creating A Park System for a Modern City, general editor and contributor to Seattle at 150: Stories of the City Through 150 Objects From the Seattle Municipal Archives, and co-author of Waterway: The Story of Seattle’s Locks and Ship Canal.
Nick Rousso, Managing Editor (Seattle) – Nick Rousso is the managing editor of HistoryLink. A Seattle native and former sports editor at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, he has enjoyed a varied career in restaurants, horse racing, and journalism. He has written a handful of stories for HistoryLink, including the colorful history of Vito's Restaurant and a profile of "Golden" Guyle Fielder, Seattle's greatest hockey player.
Alan J. Stein, Editor and Historian (Edmonds) – Alan Stein has been with HistoryLink from the very beginning. He has written more than 450 essays on a wide variety of subjects, and has authored or co-authored five HistoryLink books. He also writes the weekly "This Week Then" rundown on the front page, and directs HistoryLink’s presence on social media.
Jill Freidberg, Digital Media Editor (Seattle) – When she isn't illustrating HistoryLink stories with archival treasures, Jill Freidberg co-directs the Seattle Black Spatial Histories Institute and runs the Shelf Life Community Story Project. She loves learning the histories of everyday people who never made the news and discovering the images they left behind.
Elisa Law, Project Manager (Seattle) – Elisa Law is a museologist and public historian with deep ties to Seattle. In addition to her work at HistoryLink, she curates museum exhibits (Vashon Heritage Museum, Museum of Museums, JCCCW) and leads preservation efforts at Sand Point Historic District and the Tokeland Hotel.
Mindy Van Wingen, Assistant Editor (Seattle) – Mindy Van Wingen is a historian, editor, and librarian based in Seattle. She previously worked as a historian in the Northwest Room at the Everett Public Library and has strong ties to the Everett and Snohomish County historical community. She enjoys researching and writing about women's history.
Kiku Hughes, Executive Assistant (Kenmore) – Kiku Hughes is a Yonsei cartoonist based in the Seattle area. Her first graphic novel, Displacement, was published by First Second in 2020 and was an APALA Literature Award honor title and an Eisner Award nominee. She began working as executive assistant at HistoryLink in 2021.
FOUNDERS
Walt Crowley (1947-2007) Co-founder and Executive Director (1997-2007) – Walt Crowley worked as a journalist, a social-services director, a policy planner for the City of Seattle and the Municipal League of King County, a television news commentator, and a freelance writer and communications consultant before co-founding HistoryLink in 1999. In 2007 he received posthumously the highest award bestowed by the Washington State Historical Society: the Robert Gray Medal, which recognizes distinguished and long-term contributions to Pacific Northwest history.
Marie McCaffrey, Co-founder and former Executive Director (2007-2023) – HistorLink was launched in 1999 with Marie McCaffrey as art director. When her husband and HistoryLink co-founder Walt Crowley died in 2007, McCaffrey took over as executive director. Under her leadership, HistoryLink expanded its size and scope, and produced many local history books. She also served as a member of the Seattle Arts Commission and as board president of the Seattle Public Library.
Paul Dorpat, Co-founder and Historian (Seattle) – Paul Dorpat is one of three founders of HistoryLink and an indefatigable chronicler of the local scene via both writing and photography. His book Building Washington (co-authored with Genevieve McCoy) received a Washington State Book Award for 1999. In 2001, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Pacific Northwest Historians Guild. Dorpat's "Now & Then" features appeared weekly in The Seattle Times for decades.
Read this history of HistoryLink here.
FOUNDING TECHNOLOGISTS & EDITOR
Priscilla Long, Founding Editor and Consulting Editor (Seattle) – Priscilla Long serves as founding and consulting editor of HistoryLink, the free online encyclopedia of Washington state history. She is an independent scholar, author of six books, and writes history, science, creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry.
Steven Leith, Site Administrator/Technologist (Seattle) – Steven Leith was the original technical consultant and developer for the Historylink.org project and continues to consult on the website progress. He is a Seattle resident of 42 years and lives in West Seattle. Though semi-retired he finds time between writing and reading history to consult with and build websites for small business, nonprofits, and local writers.
Chris Goodman, Consulting Technologist (Shoreline)