Public Speaking
Bringing the Chesapeake's stories to life.
Every community, every landscape, every working waterfront carries traditions that connect us to the people who came before.
Through engaging presentations that combine historic photographs, maps, archival research, and contemporary storytelling, This Old Shore explores the people, places, and landscapes that have shaped life around the Chesapeake—and why those stories still matter today.
My work draws on more than two decades of experience as a Chesapeake historian, educator, museum curator, and writer. I am the author of Chesapeake Oysters: The Bay's Foundation and Future, recipient of the Marion V. Brewington Prize for Maritime History, former Director of Education and Associate Curator at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, Adjunct Faculty in Chesapeake Studies at Washington College, and Chair of the Maritime History Committee at the Maryland Center for History and Culture.
Every presentation is grounded in original research and designed for a broad public audience, bringing the same thoughtful, accessible storytelling that defines This Old Shore.
AVAILABLE PROGRAMS
Presentations are approximately 45–60 minutes and can be adapted for museums, libraries, historical societies, conferences, educational institutions, and community organizations.
The Chesapeake's Working Landscape
The industries, traditions, and people whose work shaped the Chesapeake and continue to influence life around the Bay.
American Blues: The Diverse, Delicious Story of the Chesapeake Blue Crab
The Big Tomato: Produce, Industry and Chesapeake's Packing Houses
Chesapeake Oysters
These presentations draw on research from Chesapeake Oysters: The Bay's Foundation and Future, recipient of the Marion V. Brewington Prize for Maritime History, by Kate Livie
Chesapeake Oysters: History on the Half Shell
Chesapeake Oysters: Politics and Policy
Oyster Wars of the Chesapeake Bay
By Water
Exploring the vessels, waterways, and waterfront communities that connected—and transformed—the Chesapeake.
Beacons of the Bay: Chesapeake Lighthouses, History & Lore
Steamboats & Swimsuits: The Resort Towns of the Upper Eastern Shore
Showboat Days Are Here Again: The Chesapeake's James Adams Floating Theater
Wildlife, Art & Outdoor Traditions
How the Chesapeake's natural world inspired craftsmanship, recreation, and enduring cultural traditions.
400 Years of Chesapeake Waterfowling
Carvers at the Crossroads: Decoy Carving in the Susquehanna Flats
Chesapeake Landscapes of Change
The people, places, and environmental transformations that reshaped the Chesapeake over time.
A Dammed Land: A Bay Barricaded, Transformed and Freed
Navigating Freedom: Slavery, Place and Self-Liberation in the Chesapeake
Custom Programs
Looking for a presentation on a particular Chesapeake topic, community, historic site, or anniversary?
Custom programs can often be developed in partnership with museums, historical societies, libraries, educational institutions, and community organizations.
Interested in bringing This Old Shore to your organization? I'd love to hear from you.