Contacts

Bob Quist

Kelley Farm Site Manager
Phone: 763-441-6896
Email: bob.quist@mnhs.org

Brian Pease

State Capitol Site Manager
Phone: 651-296-6808
Email: brian.pease@mnhs.org

Charles Pautler

Lindbergh House Site Manager
Phone: 320-616-5421
Email: charles.pautler@mnhs.org

Cindy Olsen

Ramsey House Site Manager
Phone: 651-296-8719
Email: cindy.olsen@mnhs.org

Craig Johnson

Hill House Site Manager
Phone: 651-296-9396
Email: craig.johnson@mnhs.org
Craig Johnson has been the site manager of the James J. Hill House since 1994. Prior to that he was a program manager, site technician and tour guide at the site. He began working for the Society at age 16 as a guide at Historic Fort Snelling. In 2002-2003, he also served as site manager of the Alexander Ramsey House.

Johnson is a native of St. Paul and attended the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (BA magna cum laude, English and theatre). He is also active as an actor and director. His work has been seen in over 130 productions at Park Square Theatre, Theatre in the Round, Actors Theater of Minnesota, History Theatre and many other area venues.

At the Hill House Craig has been responsible for many of the site's signature programs – Hill House Holidays, Victorian Ghost Stories, Summit Avenue Walking Tours and numerous others. He oversees all public programs and facility operations, plus restoration and curatorial projects. Craig's theatre background has also led him to be involved in several other programs at the Society. He wrote and directed the Ramsey House holiday program for several seasons, directed museum theater pieces at the Minnesota History Center for the Families and Territory exhibitions, and wrote two history player scripts for Mill City Museum.

David Stevens

Mill City Museum Public Programs Coordinator
Phone: 612-341-7524
Email: david.stevens@mnhs.org

Edward Nelson

Forest History Center Asst. Site Manager
Phone: 218-327-4482
Email: edward.nelson@mnhs.org

Heather Koop

Head of Southern Sites
Phone: 651-296-6654

John Crippen

Mill City Museum Director
Phone: 612-341-7648
Email: john.crippen@mnhs.org

Kevin Maijala

Fort Snelling and Sibley House Program Manager
Phone: 612-970-2841
Email: kevin.maijala@mnhs.org

Laura Salveson

Mill City Museum Manager
Phone: 612-341-7499
Email: laura.salveson@mnhs.org

Lee Radzak

Split Rock Lighthouse Site Manager
Phone: 218-226-6372
Email: lee.radzak@mnhs.org
Lee Radzak has been the historic site manager at Split Rock Lighthouse since 1982. Radzak was previously an archaeologist for the Minnesota Historical Society, working on Minnesota state parks projects. He was also an archaeologist for the Minnesota Statewide Archaeological Survey from 1976 to 1982. Radzak has a B.A. in anthropology and archaeology.

Patrick Schifferdecker

North West Co. Fur Post Site Manager
Phone: 320-629-6356
Email: patrick.schifferdecker@mnhs.org
Patrick Schifferdecker has served as site manager at the North West Company Fur Post since 1988, when he joined the Minnesota Historical Society. Previously, he had spent two seasons as an archaeological field excavator at fur post sites that had been operated by the XY Company and the North West Company, two of the dominant fur trading operations from the late 1700s and early 1800s. While there, he also produced an interpretive manual for the sites. Schifferdecker’s interest in the fur trade era began in college, when, as a member of the Voyageurs, the Northland College men’s chorus, he was introduced to the songs and fashions of the French Canadian voyageurs. He graduated from Northland College in Ashland, Wisc., in 1987, with a B.S. in outdoor education.

Sandy Scheevel

Historic Forestville Site Manager
Phone: 507-765-2785
Email: sandy.scheevel@mnhs.org
Sandy Scheevel, alias Forestville school teacher Katy Broderick ca. 1899, has worked at Historic Forestville since 1992, when the site first opened for general living-history tours. After working as a site guide and site technician resonsible for the historic site's programming, she became acting site manager in February 2004.

Skip Drake

Northern Sites District Manager
Phone: 218-327-4482
Email: skip.drake@mnhs.org
Skip Drake served as the Forest History Center site manager for 26 years and is now the manager of all the northern sites. Previously he worked for the Ramsey County Historical Society. He graduated from Bemidji State with degrees in history and geography and has a Masters of Arts in American history. Drake has served on the Grand Rapids City Council and has participated in numerous civic boards and commissions in the community. He has lived in northern Minnesota for most of his life.

Terry Weber

Forest History Center Site Manager
Phone: 218-327-4482
Email: terry.weber@mnhs.org
Site manager, Forest History Center

Tom Ellig

Historic Properties Manager
Phone: 507-697-6321
Email: thomas.ellig@mnhs.org
Tom Ellig has worked as the Society's Southern District manager, served as site manager at Split Rock Lighthouse and worked in the Society's archaeology department. Ellig's love of Minnesota history began in junior high school when he had a chance to assist archaeologists working at the recently discovered North West Company Fur Post in Pine City, Minn. He has completed work for a Masters Degree in museum studies, and finds tremendous joy in helping visitors learn about Minnesota history.

Tom Pfannenstiel

Fort Snelling/Sibley House Site Manager
Phone: 612-725-2430

Tom Sanders

Jeffers Petroglyphs Site Manager
Phone: 507-628-5591
Email: thomas.sanders@mnhs.org
Tom Sanders brings more than 20 years experience in historic sites work to his position as site manager at Jeffers Petroglyphs. He has a B.A. in anthropology from Indiana University, an M.A. in archaeology from the University of Minnesota and is certified as a basic firefighter by the National Wildfire Coordinating Group.

After working for 17 years at living-history historic sites, including 10 years as the blacksmith at Historic Fort Snelling, Sanders was named site manager at Jeffers in 1998. He considers the goals and focus of his professional life to be the advancement of sacred site preservation. At Jeffers, Sanders concentrates on the American Indian history and culture of the site, including its concepts of sacredness and the diversity and richness of the prairie ecology.

Travis Zimmerman

Mille Lacs Indian Museum Site Manager
Phone: 320-532-3632

Wendy Jones

History Center Museum Manager
Phone: 651-259-3411
Email: wendy.jones@mnhs.org