Germanna Foundation

Preserving the historic heritage of the original settlers of the Fort Germanna Colonies in Virginia

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You are here: Home / About / People / Germanna Foundation Staff

Germanna Foundation Staff


Executive Director

Timothy Sutphin

Tim Sutphin
(Click for larger image)

Tim became the Executive Director of the Germanna Foundation in December 2018.

Previously Tim worked at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation for 27 years, starting as an instructor for the Fifes and Drums and finishing up his career at Colonial Williamsburg as Director of Revolutionary City programs and Annual Events. He has managed multimillion-dollar budgets, worked closely with local officials, carried out long-range planning, developed exciting new programs, and handled media relations, among other duties. Tim was responsible at one time or another for the Fifes and Drums, Military Programs, Evening Programs, the Revolutionary City, Reenactor Events, Grand Illumination and July 4th, along with a host of other special events. As his wife said, “if it made noise, went bang or was outside, it was his responsibility.”

While he was the Director of the Revolutionary City, Tim directed a staff of over 400 in creating an immersive Revolutionary-era experience for more than 600,000 visitors per year. He fostered successful collaboration with multiple departments to design, develop, and implement all living history programming on the streets of Colonial Williamsburg’s Historic Area, to produce a unified vision of the eighteenth-century city.

When he was the Director of Historic Events, Tim developed and directed eight special initiatives for the Historic Area, including special evening programs and visits by high-level dignitaries. He designed, developed, and executed multi-day events consisting of 500+ volunteers for audiences of 30,000+, including a variety of entertainment, city services and internal staff (Colonial Williamsburg Grand Illumination, July 4th events, Williamsburg Storytelling Festival, and several Historical Re-enactor Weekends). He also served as the official public spokesman to the media.

Tim holds a degree in history from East Tennessee State University.


Archaeologist

Dr. Eric LarsenEric Larsen, Ph.D.

Dr. Larsen has more than 25 years of archaeological experience, having worked with the National Park Service at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, and for the University of Maryland on sites in Annapolis, Maryland.  He directed fieldwork at the Freedmen’s and Contraband Cemetery for the City of Alexandria, Virginia, and most recently assisted with excavations at George Washington’s Boyhood Home at Ferry Farm (near Fredericksburg, Virginia) for the George Washington Foundation.  He has taught introductory Archaeology classes and trained numerous students through a variety of Field Schools primarily in the Mid-Atlantic States.


Archaeologist

Kelly Arford-Horne, MA, RPA

Kelly Arford-Horne has been working with the Germanna Foundation since June of 2020. Her responsibilities there include, among others, directing excavations at the Fort Germanna/Enchanted Castle site and other archaeological sites on the Germanna Foundation’s historic properties. She has brought with her to Germanna a passion for archaeology and local history that weaves through her personal and professional lives. She views archaeology as an instrument to both connect with individuals of the past and to make connections with people and communities of today.

Kelly has almost 25 years of experience in the field of archaeology and has worked as an archaeologist for multiple CRM companies, local government organizations, and non-profits. She directed over 50 archaeological projects while working as a field director in CRM, authored or co-authored dozens of technical reports, and worked on archaeological sites across the country. Before coming to work at the Germanna Foundation, she also co-directed archaeology and history summer camps for kids ages 6-14. Like most archaeologists, she has taken on a variety of exciting and diverse challenges as a part of her daily work responsibilities including: creating public exhibits and displays; leading tours of historic houses and archaeological sites; reviewing archaeological projects for compliance with local, state and federal guidelines; developing public outreach programming; training and supervising volunteers; producing and maintaining GIS layers and files; artifact analysis; lab management; creating technical graphics; writing social media posts; developing lesson plans for students; crafting hands-on activities; equipment maintenance; clearing of trees and overgrowth; snake handling; small mammal wrangling; and, of course, archaeological excavation – just to name a few.

Kelly is thrilled to be working with the Germanna Foundation, taking on new challenges, and learning more about the archaeology, history, and people associated with historic and present-day Germanna. She is enthusiastic about the discoveries being made at Germanna and about sharing those discoveries with others.


Membership Development Manager

Ashley AbruzzoAshley Abruzzo

Ashley joined the Foundation team in February 2017 as its new Membership Development Manager. Within this role, Ashley focuses on fundraising and membership relations, community outreach, and event planning. She connects up Germanna supporters with one another and deepens the relationships across our 300-year-old community.  She looks forward to going out into the community and sharing the history of Germanna and making personal connections with everyone.

Ashley grew up in Rockford, Illinois and received her B.A. in History from the University of Illinois at Springfield and her M.A. in Applied History from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania. She is a Germanna descendant as her 7th great-grandfather was Jacob Crigler and founded Criglersville in Madison County. He was one of many to arrive with that second wave of colonists in 1717.

She comes to the Germanna Foundation after two years as the Tourism & Marketing Manager for The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership, a nonprofit organization that brings awareness of history, education, conservation and preservation to a 180-mile swath of land ranging from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to Charlottesville, Virginia.

In that job, she handled itineraries for domestic and international visitors, marketing and merchandising, and she lead the Certified Tourism Ambassador training that allows people from throughout the Journey Through Hallowed Ground to become more knowledgeable about the region they work in. She interacted with people in the tourism industry ranging from small local businesses to historic sites, hotels, visitor centers, and more.

Before that she worked as a museum educator at Morven Park in Leesburg, VA

Ashley is very excited to be working for the Germanna Foundation and bringing more awareness to the historical and cultural significance of what the Foundation stands for. She says that Germanna is not only an important piece of Virginia’s early history, but the entire country’s as well.

She invites everyone who goes by the Germanna Foundation Visitor Center to stop in sometime and say hi!


Director of Advancement

Michael Phillips

Michael Phillips has been named the Director of Advancement for the Germanna Foundation. Michael brings over 12 years of diverse experience across museum, nonprofit, government, and corporate worlds. His museum work includes curating exhibitions, planning symposia and festivals, tours, lectures, and fundraising as well as consulting on collections and individual works of art.

Throughout his career, Michael has utilized programs, public relations, and media to enhance fundraising efforts and raise the profile for nonprofits and museums. He served as a Guest Curator for Preservation Virginia (APVA) and increased visitation and interest in the 1790 John Marshall House. He incorporated media, publications, special events, tours, admissions, and a lecture series to raise funds and awareness for the historic houses and for Preservation Virginia.

Michael has experience planning and leading teams on projects that advance an organization’s mission. He founded and assembled a board and team to conduct the first Virginia Festival of the Antique at the Virginia Historical Society.
He is a skilled writer, editor, and public speaker and has served in a variety of communications and publications roles. Recently, he managed communications related to historic content for NPR/PBS in Virginia. He has also held communications and public relations leadership positions in the government and non-profit spheres.

Michael received a B.A from the University of Virginia where he studied history and archaeology and has an extensive background in early American architecture and material culture.

Michael has given a number of lectures, talks, and tours for the benefit of organizations including the Battersea Foundation, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA), Wilton House Museum, William & Mary, and the Decorative Arts Trust.
He has served in leadership positions and on a variety of boards dealing with historic preservation including Historic Richmond. He also serves on the Board of the Richmond Antiquarian Society and as President of the Board of the Archaeological Institute of America-Richmond Chapter.

He is a published author and lecturer on early American furniture and curated the first exhibition on early Richmond furniture and decorative arts entitled Classical Richmond Furniture: Early American History & Craftsmanship in Virginia’s Capital in partnership with Preservation Virginia. He has been a contributor to The Magazine Antiques.

Michael has planned our inaugural Evening with Germanna event, engaged in outreach and research collaboration with scholars and architecture historians, and conducted new research on our sites, including Salubria and the Enchanted Castle site. He developed the inaugural Friends of Germanna group.


Office Manager

Barbara BoundsBarbara Bounds

Barbara Bounds joined the foundation in September 2011 after eight years of teaching foreign language in the Culpeper and Spotsylvania public schools. Prior to that she worked for twenty years as an administrative assistant, an accounting clerk, and in electronics purchasing.

From Pittsburgh, PA, she is married to a Spotsylvania native, Gary, who works for the Virginia Department of Transportation. Together they have six children and three grandchildren. They live at Lake of the Woods and enjoy its community activities.

She enjoys the foundation and looks forward to Germanna’s exciting future. Her co-workers add that Barbara’s good cheer, hospitable nature, excellent organizational and planning skills, and her marvelous baking, make her wonderful to work with!


Volunteer Coordinator

John Howard

John Howard, our volunteer coordinator, was born in Seattle and lived in Bremerton, Washington until 1966.

He spent three years in the Army and then worked for the Navy in ship design until retirement 38 years later. His career took him to Washington DC in 1966, where he lived in Arlington and met his wife Ann. They have two married children and three grandchildren.

John retired in 1993. In 1998 they followed two Falls Church neighbors to Lake of the Woods. John came out of retirement to work first for the Orange County Visitor Center at Germanna in 2004 and then subsequently stayed with the Germanna Foundation when Orange County transferred its visitor operations.

A valuable resource for our visitors, John keeps the library organized and helps others research their family history.

When he is not working at the Center, he keeps busy stamp and beer can collecting.


Volunteers

Visitor Center Docents:
Russ Williams
Liz Arndt

Wilderness Battlefield Grounds Force (Siegen Forest hiking trails maintenance):
Paul Alderman
Wade Aylor
Ken Froehnert
Gary Mauss
Hank Sisbarro
Tony Studer
Myron Wasiuta
Terry Wasiuta
Kurt Utz
Myles Embrey|
Amy and Harry Gross,
Laurie Miller
Chris Mitchell
Campion Coleman

 

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Comments

  1. Jeff Rosenberger says

    April 5, 2022 at 3:24 pm

    Our family has quite a collection of Rosenberger (Descendants of Erasmus who resided in Strausburg, VA in the late 1700s) genealogical documentation. A number of large genealogical charts prepared by Erika Rosenberger are included. Also in the collection are books authored by Francis Coleman Rosenberger. We are looking for a permanent home for the collection as the current owners are in their late 80s. Is this something Germanna might be interested in? If not, any suggestions?

    Reply
    • Germanna Foundation says

      April 11, 2022 at 10:09 am

      Mr. Rosenberger, Thank you for reaching out to the Germanna Foundation. We would be interested in pursuing the collection. Please contact us at 540-423-1700 to discuss further.

      Reply
  2. Jeff Rosenberger says

    April 5, 2022 at 3:26 pm

    I noticed Fishback on the website. I believe there is a Fishback cemetery at Fleetwood in Jeffersonton, Va, where Erasmus Rosenberger lived and several generations of his descendants after him.

    Reply

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Tuesday, May 3, 2022 at 7 pm ET

Evening with Germanna presents a virtual lecture by Jerilynn Eby MacGregor on the use of Aquia freestone in Virginia.

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Germanna Foundation’s Mission and Stewardship

The Germanna Foundation tells America’s story of liberty through the frontier experience of her settlers and descendants using archaeological, historical, and genealogical research and interpretation. We are stewards over these important properties and initiatives:

  • Fort Germanna Visitor Center campus which includes a Museum, Genealogy Library, the Hitt Archaeology Center, and the Germanna Memorial Garden
  • Siegen Forest – 170-acre Hiking and Nature Trails along the Rapidan river
  • 1714/1717 Fort Germanna Archaeology Site
  • Virginia Lt. Gov. Alexander Spotswood’s home “Enchanted Castle” Archaeology Site
  • 1757 Georgian-style Salubria Manor
  • 1800 Peter Hitt Farm
  • Publishing “The Germanna Record” genealogy/ history books
  • Maintaining a genealogy database with over 130,000 records of descendants of the Germanna colonists

Your donation helps support our mission:

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Become a member or renew your membership in the Germanna Foundation:

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RECENT POSTS

  • Join Us On May 21st For Our Next Salubria Public Access Day!
  • Feel Good Flow Fundraiser at Salubria
  • Germanna Foundation Global Big Day Field Trip
  • Virtual Event: The Aquia Freestone Industry
  • Join Us For Our First Salubria Public Access Day of 2022!
  • Volunteer Clean-Up Day at the Fort Germanna/Enchanted Castle Archaeological Site
  • Germanna Foundation Natural and Cultural Resources Walk

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Germanna 101

Watch a video about the history of the Germanna Colonies in America.

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Become a member of the Germanna Foundation and get access to Germanna’s exclusive genealogy database, GermannaFamily.org, with thousands of names. Research your Germanna roots!

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Germanna Foundation

The Germanna Foundation
MAILING: P.O. Box 279
LOCATION: 2062 Germanna Highway
Locust Grove, VA 22508-0279
Phone: 540-423-1700
Fax: 540-423-1747
Contact Us Page

Remember the Germanna Foundation in your Will and Estate Plans.

Fort Germanna Visitor Center, Museum & Library

2062 Germanna Highway (Route 3)
Locust Grove, VA 22508
(Next to the Germanna Community College campus)

Hours of Operation:
Monday-Friday, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Saturdays, 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
Closed on Sundays

Out of town visitors are urged to call us at 540-423-1700 to confirm or to make special arrangements for groups.

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Hike Siegen Forest!

Behind the Fort Germanna Visitor Center is our 170-acre Siegen Forest nature and hiking trails along the Rapidan river. Trails are OPEN 7 days a week, during daylight hours. When visiting the trails, please practice “Leave no Trace” ethos. If you enjoy the trails, consider donating to the Germanna Foundation to help support their upkeep.

 

About

The Germanna Foundation is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to exploring the Colonial Virginia frontier via the historic 1714 Fort Germanna and its German colonists and their descendants.

It conducts archaeological exploration and conservation, genealogical research and publishing, and historic preservation and interpretation.

The Foundation owns and maintains several historic sites and properties, such as Salubria Manor, that were part of or closely connected to the Germanna colonies, the town of Germanna, and the other early colonial Virginia settlements and towns in the Piedmont area of Virginia.

Copyright © 2022 The Memorial Foundation of the Germanna Colonies in Virginia Inc. (The Germanna Foundation) | Website by CJKCREATIVE.COM

 

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