Staff
For all general inquiries, please call (540) 672-2728 x200, or email center4constitution@montpelier.org.
Kelly Carmichael Booz, Director of Civic Education
(540) 672-2728 x202
Kelly C. BoozKelly Carmichael Booz is the Director of Civic Education, where she is responsible for developing and implementing programs and services that enhance civic engagement and constitutional education for the Center for the Constitution and The Montpelier Foundation. This includes directing programs for educators, elected officials, and the general public as well as developing and directing outreach and partnerships with other civic-related organizations, and directing online courses for educators and the public on the Constitution. Kelly works with teachers and social studies specialists across Virginia conducting professional development using the "We the People" material and providing classroom support to civics and government teachers. In addition, Kelly directs the Virginia We the People State Finals, which occurs in Richmond, Virginia, each year. Kelly works directly with the Virginia Commission on Civic Education, the Campaign to Promote Civic Education at the Center for Civic Education, and the Virginia Consortium of Social Studies Specialists and College Educators to influence and recommend sound civic education policy. Kelly has also served on the YMCA DC Youth and Government Board of Advisors since 2007 and was awarded the Service to Program in November of 2007 for her work overhauling the lesson plans and curriculum provided to the student advisors. Prior to working at the Center for the Constitution, Kelly worked in the Curriculum Department at the Close Up Foundation, serving as the Manager of Teacher Programs. Kelly received her M.Ed. in Social Foundations of Education at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, and her B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Women's Studies at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota.
Belinda Eddins, Catering Manager
(540) 672-2728 x204
Jennifer Patja Howell, Project Director
(540) 672-2728 x205
Jennifer Patja Howell is the Project Director for the Center for the Constitution, where she oversees the development of a new online initiative based on Madison's Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787. When she started at the Center in 2007 as the Program Manager, she managed the Montpelier Seminars, the Center's marketing effort and website updates, tracked program statistics, and was responsible for evaluating the long-term effects of the Center's programs. Jen has also worked with the Center for Civic Education in Washington, D.C., where she helped to run the D.C. We the People program, worked in congressional relations on Capitol Hill, and managed the national We the People Alumni program. Prior to her work in civic education, Jen was a Teaching Assistant in Sociology at the University of Virginia for courses including Classical Sociological Theory and Sociological Research Methods, and a Graduate Instructor in Criminology. Jen has worked as a Freelance Editor and Researcher for 10 years, completing both academic and corporate projects. In 2008, she co-wrote an article for White House Studies, titled "Conceptualizing James Madison's Constitutional Vision: The Center for the Constitution at James Madison's Montpelier." Jen received her M.A. in Sociology from the University of Virginia, and a B.A. in English with a minor in Anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley.
Sean T O'Brien, Executive Director
(540) 672-2728 x206
Sean O'Brien
Sean graduated from the University of Virginia with a Ph.D. in Environmental Science in 1994. While working on his dissertation on tropical forest ecology he lived in Costa Rica and Panama for ten months. After leaving UVa he worked with Stephen Hubbell at Princeton University on temperate and tropical forest ecology. Sean has pursued several unusual opportunities for a scientist. For example, in the spring of 1996, he worked as the Finance Director of the Rush Holt for Congress campaign in central New Jersey (12th CD). Dr. Holt is a physicist with a background in nuclear non-proliferation and alternative energy technology. After the campaign, he then returned to Princeton to complete a project with Professor Hubbell and then went to the Center for Energy and Environmental Studies at Princeton to work with Professor Rob Socolow on several workshops, including one on carbon sequestration and another on scientists following nontraditional career paths. In the spring of 1998, Sean again worked as the Finance Director on the Rush Holt Campaign. He left the campaign to work at the W. Alton Jones Foundation in technology and communications planning with nonprofit organizations around the US and around the world. In 2002 Sean began working at the Sorensen Institute for Political Leadership under the leadership of Bill Wood; Sean became the Executive Director of Sorensen in 2005. The Sorensen Institute is a nonpartisan political leadership training organization the runs programs for young people and adults in Virginia interested in getting involved in public service and elected office. Sean is a co-author on papers in Science, Ecology, and Climatic Change. He came to the Center for the Constitution in January 2008. Sean is a member of the Governor's Commission on Civics Education and the Governor's Bipartisan Redistricting Commission.
Susan Simpson, Program Manager
(540) 672-2728 x200
Andrew Washburn, Managing Director
(540) 672-2728 x201
