Joel Lefever’s interest in American architecture and decorative arts was sparked by a childhood collection of old Antiques magazines, and honed through degrees from Hope College, Holland, Michigan, and the Cooperstown Graduate Program in History Museum Studies in New York. After 20 years at the Holland Historical Trust, Holland, Michigan, he established Lefèbvre Museum Consulting, with clients in Michigan, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania. In 2012, he took up the reins at Old York, where he oversees all of the museum’s day-to-day operations, manages building restoration projects, and is responsible for developing a robust series of permanent and temporary exhibitions and interpretive programs. He lives with his wife and son in an historic 18th-century house in York.
Janet Blyberg began her museum career at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, where over the course of her fifteen-year tenure she worked on a number of major exhibitions and publications. After moving to Maine in 2012, she served as assistant curator at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. She also volunteered her time to raise funds, and manage a project to conserve Old York’s historic Bulman bed hangings. After becoming mother to a son in 2016, she worked with Old York as Membership and Marketing Coordinator. She is now focused on an upcoming OYHS publication. She holds degrees from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and from The George Washington University in DC, and has a passion for photography, needlework, textiles, and old houses.
Kaitlyn Fitzgerald is originally from Massachusetts, but has a long family tradition of visiting York in the summertime. She received a BA in Studio Art Photography from Boston College, and a MA in Photography Preservation & Collections Management from Toronto Metropolitan University in Toronto, Canada. She has worked in various museum positions such as a gallery assistant, archivist, collections assistant, and assistant to a private collector. She joined the Old York team in 2021 as a Perkins Fellow assisting in the archive, and became Old York’s first full time archivist in 2024. She loves to spend time with her husband, family, and friends, and you can usually find her walking her dog Chicken on Long Sands.
Diane Johnson raised her family in Westborough, Massachusetts, before moving to York in 2009. She holds a BS in accounting from Boston College and a Master’s in education from Lesley University. She taught math and science to sixth graders for 21 years, and now provides bookkeeping services to three local nonprofit organizations, including Old York. She is doting mother, mother-in-law, and grandmother, who loves spending time with her family, reading anything well written, playing board games, and dining with family and friends.
Helen was born on the naval base at Newport, Rhode Island, but moved to Pennsylvania at the age of three. Her early love of reading lead to an interest in history, and while in high school Helen volunteered as a docent at the Oliver Miller Homestead, South Park, Pennsylvania—the site of the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794. After graduating from Bethany College, West Virginia, with BA in Communications, she returned to New England and received a Masters of Public Administration from Framingham State University, as well as a certificate in Interior Design from MassBay Community College. She moved to York 20 years ago and has always had an affinity for the Old York. Her daughter not only attended summer camps, but volunteered there as a child! When not working, Helen enjoys spending time with her naughty pug, Edwin, reading, and watching the NFL during the season (Go STEELERS!).
Elena M. Sarni is a native of the New Hampshire Seacoast. Her interest in history started early as she would visit her father, a finish carpenter, at historic buildings throughout New Hampshire and southern Maine. She received a BA in English and an MA in History and Museum Studies from the University of New Hampshire. She has worked at several museums and historical societies throughout New England, as well as held research fellowships at Historic New England and New Hampshire Historical Society. She previously worked at Old York as the Visitor Experience and Communications Director! Elena left Old York to work on a book and in 2023 her debut book, Trailblazing Women Printmakers: Virginia Lee Burton Demetrios and the Folly Cove Designers was published by Princeton Architectural Press/Chronicle Books. The book was the winner of the 2024 Historic New England Book Prize and has been translated into Japanese. A French translation is pending. Elena lives in southern Maine with her beloved cat Leland and is pleased to have returned to Old York.
Erin is a York native, and has been a part of Old York since 2017 when she joined the visitor services team. She went on to become a Perkins Research Fellow, doing primary research on colonial court records related to York, and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Southern Maine with a BA in history and a minor in political science. Having grown up attending school field trips to Old York, she has embraced her role as education coordinator, and is excited to foster an interest in history and museums in a new generation of young people. She is a voracious reader, with a deep love of history, nature, and wildlife.
Peggy Wishart is charged with caring for and tracking Old York’s extensive collection of objects, both on display and in storage. Peggy came to Old York from Historic New England, with a background in archaeology, house museum management, programming, and collections care. First introduced to the New Hampshire and Southern Maine seacoast as a college intern at Strawbery Banke Museum, Peggy was so enamored of the area, that she has made it her home ever since.