Bios
Dr. Richard Rabinowitz
Richard Rabinowitz is one of the leading public historians in the United States. As founder and president of American History Workshop he has led efforts over the past 50-plus years to create over 500 successful and innovative history programs at sites like the New-York Historical Society, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum in New York; the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute; the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati; and other historical agencies in 33 states and the District of Columbia.
Between 2004 and 2011, he curated six blockbuster history exhibitions at the New-York Historical Society, including Slavery in New York and Revolution! The Atlantic World Reborn. In 2010-11, he drew up the interpretive and curatorial plan for the “Slavery and Freedom” exhibition at the new National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
Rabinowitz has a BA summa cum laude and a PhD from Harvard University. He began his museum career as education director at Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts and later served on the staff of the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities. He has published scholarly and popular books about American history (See “WRITINGS” on this website). In 2013, he was awarded the Herbert Feis Award by the American Historical Association for distinguished contributions to public history. In 2015-16 he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in the Humanities.
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Lynda B. Kaplan
Ms. Kaplan has been a principal at American History Workshop for over twenty years. She was the co-curator, project manager, and media producer for several pathbreaking exhibitions at the New-York Historical Society: Slavery and New York (2005); New York Divided: Slavery and the Civil War (2006); French Founding Father: Lafayette‘s Return to Washington’s America (2007); Lincoln and New York (2010) and Revolution! The Atlantic World Reborn (2011). Each exhibition was rich with collection objects, custom designed media installations, and innovative technologies to reach the accessible audience. Ms. Kaplan has also directed projects for Chesterwood, the Municipal Art Society, Lower East Side Tenement Museum, Arizona Historical Society, and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, among others. She has worked as a film and video producer at ABC, WCBS and WNET.
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