WHA Standing Committees

The WHA benefits from the service of members who contribute to various Standing Committees and Ad-Hoc Committees. The Standing Committees are organized as either "Operations" or "Planning and Finance" as noted below. 

Are you interested in serving on a committee or learning more? Contact the Chair of each Standing Committee to find out how you can participate or become active in the WHA!

Standing Committees for Operations:

Committee on Assault Response and Educational Strategies (CARES)
Membership Committee
Committee on Race and the American West (CRAW)
Public History Committee
Committee on Teaching and Public Education
Technology Committee
Committee on Contingent and Adjunct Faculty  

Standing Committees for Planning and Finance:

Financial Advisory Committee  
Program Committees (2019, 2020)  
Local Arrangements Committees (2019, 2020)  

Ad-Hoc Committees:

Ad-Hoc Strategic Planning Committee

Committee on Assault Response & Educational Strategies (CARES)


 S. Deborah Kang, Chair
 California State University,
San Marcos
 Erika Pérez
 University of Arizona
 Jennifer McPherson
 Purdue University
 Jose Alamillo
 California State University,
Channel Islands

Membership Committee


 Laurie Arnold, Chair
 Gonzaga University
 Patricia Loughlin
 University of Central Oklahoma

 Melody Miyamoto Walters
 Collin College
Sandra Enríquez
 University of Missouri-Kansas City
Kat Whitely
 University of Michigan
Mark Johnson
University of Notre Dame
Brenden Rensink
 Brigham Young University
Renée Laegreid
 University of Wyoming

Committee on Race in the American West (CRAW)


Mary E. Mendoza, Chair
University of Vermont
 Karen Leong
 Arizona State University
 Katherine Benton-Cohen
Georgetown University

-CRAW Advisors-

Kevin Leonard
Western Washington University
Ernesto Chávez
University of Texas, El Paso
Erika Pérez
University of Arizona
Maria Montoya
New York University
Traci Voyles
Loyola Marymount University
Jennifer Macias
University of Utah
Pablo Mitchell
Oberlin College
Lina-Maria Murillo
 University of Texas, El Paso
Kelly Lytle Hernandez
University of California, Los Angeles
Danielle Olden
 University of Utah
Cathleen Cahill
Pennsylvania State University

Kent Blansett
University of Nebraska Omaha

Public History Committee


Rebecca Hunt, Chair
University of Colorado, Denver
Tamsen Hert
University of Wyoming
Billy Bryans
Oklahoma State University
Jeremy Johnston
Buffalo Bill Center of the West
Kathryn McKee
University of Wyoming
Jennifer Stevens
Stevens Historical Research Associates
B. Erin Cole
Minnesota Historical Society

Eric Nystrom
Arizona State University

Committee on Teaching & Public Education


Mark Johnson, Chair
University of Notre Dame
Brian S Collier
University of Notre Dame
Peter Blodgett
The Huntington Library
Steven Fountain
Washington State University
Patricia Loughlin
University of Central Oklahoma
Alicia Dewey
Biola University
Andrea Radke-Moss
Brigham Young University-Idaho
Lindsey Passenger-Wieck
St. Mary's University, San Antonio
William DeStefano
Tuscon, Arizona
Linda Sargent Wood
Northern Arizona University
Michelle Lorimer
University of California, San Bernardino
Lindsay Marshall
University of Oklahoma
Sheila McManus
University of Lethbridge

Michelle Lorimer
California State University,
San Bernardino

Technology Committee


Jason Heppler, Chair
University of Nebraska at Omaha
Douglas Seefeldt
Ball State University
Rebecca Wingo
University of Cincinnati
Lindsey Passenger Wieck
St. Mary's University, San Antonio
Jana Remy
Chapman University
J. Wendel Cox
Dartmouth College Library
Durwood Ball
University of New Mexico
Leisl Carr Childers
Colorado State University

Financial Advisory Committee


 David A. Johnson, Chair
 Portland State University
 James Brooks
University of California, Santa Barbara
 Janet Fireman
Independent Scholar

Committee on Contingent and Adjunct Faculty


Amy Essington, Co-Chair
 Cal State Fullerton
Carol L. Higham, Co-Chair
 UNC-Charlotte
 Greg Thompson
 University of Utah, Marriott Library
Heather Ponchetti Daly
 UCLA
Andrew Thomas Dietzel
 Central Michigan University
Steve Fountain
  Washington State Univ., Vancouver
Catharine Franklin
 Texas Tech University
John R. Gram
 Missouri State University
Amy Haines
 Univ. of Colorado, Colorado Springs
Paivi Hoikkala
 Cal Polytech, Pomona
John Lauck
 Midwestern History Association
James Leiker
 Johnson Country Comm.College
Matthew Luckett
 California State Univ., Dominguez Hills
Donna Schuele
 Cal State Los Angeles

Program Committees


2019 Program Committee Co-Chairs:
(view full committee here)
 Josh Reid, University of Washington (2019 Co-Chair)
 Rachel St. John, University of California, Davis (2019 Co-Chair)
2020 Program Committee Co-Chairs:
(view full committee here)
Leisl Carr-Childers, Colorado State University (2020 Co-Chair)
Lori Flores, Stony Brook University (2020 Co-Chair)
Amy Lonetree, University of California, San Cruz (2020 Co-Chair)

Local Arrangements Committees


 2019 Local Arrangements Committee Co-Chairs: 
 (view full committee here)
William Bauer, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (2019 Co-Chair)
Michael Green, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (2019 Co-Chair)
Andy Kirk, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (2019 Co-Chair)
Susan Johnson, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (2019 Co-Chair)

Ad Hoc Strategic Planning Committee


Stephen Aron
University of California, Los Angeles

Cathleen Cahill
Penn State University

Mark Johnson
University of Notre Dame

Connie Chiang
Bowdoin College

Laurie Arnold
Gonzaga University 

Maria Montoya
New York University

David Wrobel
University of Oklahoma

Martha A. Sandweiss
Princeton University


Western History Association

UNO History Department

6001 Dodge Street

Omaha, NE 68182   (402) 554-5999

westernhistoryassociation@gmail.com 



The WHA is hosted on the campus of the University of Nebraska at Omaha and benefits from the generous support of the College of Arts and Sciences and UNO Department of History. The Western History Association is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.