A B O U T U S
ContemPlace is a nonprofit that creates transformational educational experiences in spaces of informal learning.
The ContemPlace team is made up of educators, designers, data scientists, humanities scholars, and engineers. We have forty years of experience in the museum, technology, and themed entertainment industries informing our approach.
GERARD EISTERHOLD
p r e s i d e n t
Gerard has been a leader in exhibit design for nearly four decades. He is the founder of ContemPlace and Eisterhold Associates, Inc. His work seeks to educate, entertain, and commemorate, and his spaces have been experienced by an audience of millions in museums across the nation. Gerard has a strong vision for a future in which individuals become agents of change through the use of critical thinking and dialogue.
ALEXANDRA KERN
c o n t e n t d e v e l o p e r
Alexandra is a recent graduate of the University of Missouri – Kansas City’s Public History master’s program, where her research focused on queer and marginalized histories and oral history methodology. As a content developer with ContemPlace, Alexandra draws upon her work as a historian and her passion for public education to enrich and guide the storytelling process while prioritizing accessibility.
MICHAEL R. SPRAGUE
c o n t e n t d e v e l o p e r
Michael is a historian who studied at the University of Missouri – Kansas City. He is a generalist in the field whose research has included such topics as environmental injustice in the Kansas City metropolitan area to the historical roots of the Uyghur genocide in the Xinjiang province in northwest China. Michael researches and interprets complex social problems with the goal of connecting to and emboldening a diverse audience.
ASHNA JERRY
e x p e r i e n c e d e s i g n e r
Ashna was born and raised in Mumbai, India. She attained a Bachelor of Architecture from Mumbai University and traveled to the United States to pursue an MFA in Themed Entertainment Design from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Ashna’s passion for art and architecture is realized through potent visualizations of abstract ideas and systems.
DAVID BROWN
m u t i m e d i a i n t e g r a t o r
Since 1995, GLOBE schools in 89 countries have created a database of over 12 million atmospheric measurements. As GLOBE’s Director for Systems, David led the team that developed the data management, mapping, and analysis tools and the program website. These represented pioneering efforts in student online access to and use of data, including graphing and visualization of real-time and historical weather data.
BILL RUGGIERI
s e n i o r e x h i b i t d e s i g n e r
Bill will be involved in all phases of exhibition design and planning: conceptual design, team management, detail design, and production supervision. His many years of design management allow him to provide an accurate, pragmatic assessment of design solutions, budgets, and strategies. Bill’s responsibilities include developing the conceptual design, and then integrating it with traffic flow and the architectural program.