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About

Looking Back Transforms
Your Future

For more than 40 years, History Factory has shown leading brands and corporations that their heritage isn’t just about the past. It’s about transforming the future–by turbo-charging strategy, brand positioning, marketing communications, internal communications and ultimately the performance of your content, communications and programs.

Your Company
Has a Unique Story

We Were Born to Tell It

We were the first to help clients realize the transformative power of their history. By utilizing content based on your unique heritage, History Factory can provide you with engaging, motivating stories no one else can tell.

Our History Is About
Improving Your Future

History Factory, originally known as Informative Design Group, was founded in 1979 with a simple philosophy: Use history as an informative communication tool.

In the ensuing decades, as more corporations learned the power and value of their histories, our services expanded to include:

What History Factory discovers and develops from your history can be integrated across a number of communication channels such as experiential events and exhibitions, publications, training modules, and customer engagement.

Use Your History to
Look Ahead

We Start With the Future
and Work Back

We realized early on that corporations could employ their most underused asset—their heritage—to achieve future success.

How? By focusing on long-term business goals and using historical assets to guide and support efforts to achieve them.

A Tale Worth Telling

When History Factory first worked with Brooks Brothers in the 1980s on an archiving project, America’s oldest clothier was a bit threadbare. Changes in ownership and a hasty expansion had played havoc with company morale. Product quality and sales were in tatters. With the help of History Factory, Brooks Brothers’ new owner resolved to leverage the company’s illustrious legacy to create a brand whose future was as glorious as its past.

Read the Full Story

What It Takes to Get There

Obsession

It’s the nature of our work. When you immerse yourself in the history of your clients’ business history—some spanning 100 years or more—you can’t help but develop a laser-like focus.

Passion

We find joy and excitement in exploring and preserving history. For us, nothing is more rewarding than discovering and developing stories that we know will engage customers and drive business results.

Creativity

What sets us apart is our storytelling. We use imaginative techniques, across many platforms, to tell unique stories that inform, entertain, and motivate customers and employees alike.

 

Helping Our Clients Make History.
Every Day.

Our people are as diverse in their skills, origins and perspectives as our clients. Artists, writers, historians, curators and planners—they are all drawn by the chance to use the power of history to shape the future.

Bruce
Jason
Alan
Adam
Scott
Erin
Rod
Andrew
Louis
Fred
Sara
Andrea
Mary
Kerry
Katie
Paul
Melissa
Harley
Jason
Nikole
Justin
Ryan
Michael
Zack
Rob
Jessica
Paul
John
Gabrielle
Brittany
Helen
Peter
Verena
Tracy
Sam
Alex
Dario
Rick
Emilia
Jennifer
Chris
Damion

Bruce Weindruch

Founder

Bruce’s unique background, blending history and business, has given him insights that help major corporations, brands, nonprofit organizations, and associations use their historical resources to benefit their bottom line. Described by Forbes Magazine as the man who’s “Making History Pay,” Bruce travels the world helping top companies benefit from the field of corporate memory management which he helped create.

Jason Dressel

CEO

Since joining History Factory in 1999, Jason has worked with dozens of clients on all kinds of engagements spanning the agency’s spectrum of capabilities. He works closely with clients and prospective clients to help them “Start With the Future and Work Back” to achieve their goals, and leads many of History Factory’s thought leadership initiatives.

Alan Maites

Chief Solutions Officer

Alan is focused on our clients and their goals throughout a program’s entire life cycle, driving growth through sound strategic planning and superior creative execution. Alan brings three decades of experience and insights with clients including Verizon, Deloitte, KPMG, McDonald’s, Jim Beam, Discover Financial, Harley-Davidson, DuPont, American Express, Nestlé and more.

Adam Kirshon

Chief Operating Officer

Adam joins History Factory with over a decade of experience assessing, analyzing, and recommending innovative and creative solutions for professional services firms. As Chief Operating Officer, he is charged with leading the firm’s day-to-day operations including IT, HR and Finance. Adam’s strong foundation in IT, data analytics and process engineering also positions him to take responsibility for the development and implementation of strategies related to business and financial planning, enterprise systems and workflows, and human capital management. Anchored in his firm belief in History Factory’s value proposition and his commitment to both clients and operational excellence, Adam’s leadership will help sustain History Factory’s ability to deliver exceptional value to its clients.

Scott McMurray

Vice President, Editorial

Scott writes books and conducts oral history interviews for key clients of History Factory, from national oil companies in the Middle East to global consulting firms, insurance companies, cable television pioneers, money managers, biotechnology companies and nonprofit health-care systems. Scott works with clients to help shape the editorial components of their heritage projects, including book-length histories, online content for employees as well as external audiences, and material supporting milestone advertising campaigns.

Erin Narloch

Senior Director of Business Insight and Performance

As senior director of business insight and performance, Erin leverages her decadeslong career in culture, global brands and museum administration to surface insights and drive performance for History Factory’s clients. She has worked in a variety of positions at Reebok and adidas, including those of global archives head, human rights commitment lead and champion of inclusive/equitable hiring processes, as well as a role in corporate communication. Erin is a futurist who is passionate about using authentic brand storytelling to drive product evolution, marketing campaigns, community building and, ultimately, increased engagement across complex global organizations.

Rod Vera

Senior Director Design & Visual Identity

Over the past 20 years, Rod has successfully assembled, guided and inspired teams of design professionals in the United States and abroad to create high-profile thematic and branded experiences that enlighten, entertain and move people to action. Whether stories of company brands, dramatized historic events or visualized narratives, they are designed to compel audiences to experience content in more effective ways. Rod has been instrumental in realizing creative visions for clients such as Verizon, Coca-Cola, Sherwin-Williams, Twitter, Southwest Airlines, Vitamix and the International Spy Museum.

Andrew Kastner

Production Manager

Louis Earle

Operations Director

As Operations Director, Louis has streamlined the efficiencies of the organization by working with vendors, banks and clients in setting up the business operations for success. He is also known for the camaraderie he creates with the employees by organizing themed events, including happy hours, baby and wedding showers, and the annual holiday party. When not serving in these roles, he also plays company travel agent, helping team members get to where they need to be in order to meet our clients’ needs.

Fred D’Silva

Director of IT

Fred brings over 10 years of experience in IT systems engineering and operations support at large commercial service providers and in complex government systems. He sharpens History Factory’s capabilities in preserving digital-born content, modernizes applications to fulfill the company’s growing needs, and cultivates an IT environment that allows staff to excel in their roles. Fred is a “roll up the sleeves” IT technologist, not afraid to tackle a problem head-on and always willing to help anyone in need.

Sara Eagin

Sr. Manager Creative Operations and Curatorial

As Sr. Manager Creative Operations and Curatorial at History Factory, Sara concepts and executes exhibitions for clients, including everything from lobby entry panels to entire museums and digital exhibitions. Beyond exhibits, Sara concepts themes for anniversaries and sources images for websites, story palettes and publications. Sara has curated exhibits for HarperCollins, Ferguson Enterprises, Florida Power & Light and Zurich.

Andrea Marshall

Curator

Andrea’s career in museums grew from her love of learning and a desire to share stories in creative and meaningful ways. She received a master’s degree in museum studies at The George Washington University, specializing in exhibit development and public engagement. Andrea has done curatorial work in a variety of institutions, including art galleries, historic homes and national history museums. Prior to joining History Factory, Andrea worked in the museum fabrication industry as an assistant project manager, helping make museum magic happen with the National Museum of the United States Army, the American Museum of Natural History’s Gilder Center and the Danville Science Center.

Mary Jatkowski

Consulting Archivist

A Michigan native and graduate of the University of Michigan, Mary Jatkowski has served as a digital specialist and educator for cultural institutions for the past 10 years with the aim of capturing shared history through the digitization, research and inclusive preservation of historic records and material culture. In her career thus far, she has produced historic research and digital content and managed archives and collections for Historic Columbia Foundation, Classical American Homes Preservation Trust, Historic Charleston Foundation, and The Henry Ford. Mary holds a masters in library and information science and a certification in archival administration. Her archival work has also included the digitization of records at the Lowcountry Digital Library, Wayne State’s Michigan Black History Bibliography Project and others. 

Kerry McAuliffe

Staff Archivist

Katie Runyan

Associate Creative Director

Paul Woolf

Director, Client Planning

Paul is driven to make sure every potential client and media contact knows who we are and the full extent of what we do. In addition to driving our marketing, Paul supports various clients with strategic planning and ideas gleaned from over 30 years of working with some of the world’s greatest and most challenging brands, both in Europe and the United States.

Melissa Reese

Account Manager

Harley Davidson

Researcher

Harley is a passionate researcher and collaborator with over a decade of experience as a historian in business, military and academic settings. He earned a Ph.D. in European history from the University of Kansas in 2016.  After that, he spent time in Germany traveling and teaching English to business clients. He began working with History Factory in 2019 as a contractor, eventually joining us full time in 2021. As a researcher, he puts his extensive training as a historian to work for our clients, mining archival collections and online repositories to find golden nuggets for stories. In his free time, you’ll find him reading fantasy series, playing basketball and working on his chicken paprikash technique.

Jason Pauli

Video Editor

As History Factory’s video editor, Jason brings brand histories to life through compelling and intriguing visual storytelling. Notable projects from his years of filmmaking experience include music videos ranging from the expansive visual album “People” by Jonathan McReynolds to a small passion project, “Square One,” from indie artist Ryan Fine. When he’s not at his desk, you can find Jason in the woods with his hammock and a good book.

Nikole Delosier

Manager, Archives Operations

Nikole has had an appreciation of history since high school, when she learned about the Renaissance era. Her passion for archives developed during an archival assistantship at Salisbury University as a student. Nikole has used her master’s degrees in history and library and information science over the last decade to make historical materials available to the public. She’s worked with clients from many sectors, including universities, nonprofits and corporations, as well as Congress and various government agencies. Nikole’s skills in consulting, processing, cataloging, researching and digital curation has taken her all over the United States and to Europe.

Justin Jones

System Administrator

Ryan Szarwark

Designer

Ryan’s industrial and product design knowledge brings a unique perspective to History Factory. Through past agency and cooperative study work, he has participated in a wide range of projects for clients such as Fossil, Starbucks, NBC Universal and more. His passion for user experience and design visualization, from concept to execution, informs every part of the creative process.

Michael Leland

Vice President

Michael advises clients on how to best use their history as a business asset. He works with clients to help them make informed decisions about how to approach, plan and implement heritage-based initiatives and projects. Michael supports new clients in crafting strategic approaches for first engagements, and since 1995 has helped the world’s top companies leverage their history.

Zack Hopkins

Senior Designer

Zack’s background in graphic design and documentary production has given him the opportunity to design for many different applications, including print and digital publications, presentations, infographics, websites, and interactives. His work is supported by an interest in typography and branding design, as well as infographic and user experience design.

Rob Hampton

Senior Designer

Rob blends historical art with fresh ideas to create a bold corporate communications vehicle that is timeless and professional, and that connects with audiences. His unique background allows him to utilize graphic arts in combination with a sense of three-dimensional space to create authentic interactive experiences. Rob has produced a wide range of designs for clients, from anniversary branding and publications to exhibit master plans for clients such as HarperCollins, AEP, Sherwin-Williams and Pacific Life.

Jessica Koenig

Staff Archivist

Jessica comes to History Factory after working as an environmental consultant and proposal manager. When deciding to change careers, she drew upon her lifelong love of libraries, the University of Virginia’s special collections, and watching her mom research their family history and meticulously preserve, organize, and catalog her stamp collection. She earned her Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Kentucky in 2018 and completed internships with the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration as well as two Northern Virginia city and county archives. She enjoys the tangible results of processing collections to make them accessible and usable by clients. With her experience in marketing and proposal development, she is excited by the mission of preserving and using companies’ history, stories, and records to shape and support their future goals.

Paul Stewart

Researcher

Paul joins us from the National Museum of American History, where he honed his research skills and developed new educational activities for museum visitors. He brings passion and focus to each project at the History Factory, working to uncover authentic content and rediscover forgotten voices. Paul has a bachelor’s degree in history from American University and a lifelong passion for theater, having worked in the past as a freelance dramaturg to contextualize history for actors and audience alike.

John Haffey

Director, Account Management

From project planning and strategy to execution and implementation, John helps brands find—and tell—a story that’s uniquely theirs. Originally from the New York area, John comes to History Factory having worked for startups in the digital media and financial technology industries. John orchestrates teams of writers, designers, researchers and other creative professionals to help ensure campaign success from start to finish.

Gabrielle Madigan

Account Executive

Gaby joins the History Factory team from a background encompassing a variety of marketing and communications disciplines. She holds an MBA in marketing from Saint Joseph’s University, where she also earned her undergrad degree. In her role, she provides internal and client support, leveraging her previous experience and dedication to exceptional client service to foster strong client relationships and deliver a top-tier experience. Hailing from Massachusetts, she currently resides in Boston.

Brittany Gellerman

Account Manager

Brittany has a passion for building relationships and bridging the gap between a company’s history and their future successes. In her role, she coordinates internal teams to exceed client expectations with deliverables, supports new business opportunities, and assists with marketing and thought leadership activities. Brittany is also the event producer for the agency’s annual Anniversary Marketing Summit, a program focused on providing marketing leaders everything they need to build successful anniversary campaigns.

Helen Macqueen

Manager, Archives Operations

Helen’s passion for history can be traced back to childhood visits to museums with her family. Helen followed her passion to Washington, D.C., where she received a master’s degree in museum collections management from The George Washington University. Helen’s experience in museums, both large and small, has added a unique perspective to the archives team. Helen finds significant value in helping maintain the collections and archives of History Factory’s clientele.

Peter Gianopulos

Creative Lead, Author

Peter’s diverse experience in the publishing industry—including magazine journalism, oral history projects, PR work, web writing and corporate ghostwriting—has deeply influenced his approach to content creation. He is a story architect committed to crafting content that realizes client goals and appeals to targeted readerships. Whether collaborating with large institutions and law firms on multi-faceted corporate heritage projects or working one-on-one with CEOs to ghostwrite autobiographies and thought-leadership books, he believes in the power of authenticity and the importance of capturing both the ethos of corporate cultures and the pathos of individual employee experiences.

Verena Callahan

Creative Director

As an Associate Creative Lead at History Factory, Verena concepts and executes exhibitions for clients, including informational panels and technology pieces. Beyond exhibits, Verena provides research support for anniversary projects and sources images for websites and publications.

Tracy Ulmer

Senior Archivist

A Certified Archivist, Tracy is determined to preserve her clients’ cultural heritage, both physically and intellectually, for future use, without losing sight of or contact with their rich and varied pasts. Tracy’s interest in history makes her work processing and cataloging archival materials, preparing materials for digitization, and completing research requests all the more enjoyable.

Sam Grabel

Sales Operations Analyst and Marketing Manager

Before landing at History Factory, Sam traveled extensively in Europe and Asia while working as an English teacher. Since his arrival in 2015, he has worked as a researcher and writer and now is History Factory’s sales operations analyst and marketing manager. Sam puts his research skills to the test to uncover long-forgotten episodes in history that he effectively weaves into our clients’ overall stories. In his spare time, you can find Sam skiing, hiking, camping and enjoying live music.

Alex Johnson, C.A.

Senior Archivist

Originally hired to work on a yearslong archival project in Jersey City where she helped make a large financial firm’s records accessible to internal stakeholders, Alex has become an integral part of completing archival work for several History Factory clients. She is interested in the preservation of collective memory and history using digital solutions and believes the changing technological landscape will continue to have a lasting impact on the archives profession.

Dario Sarlo

Group Creative Director

Dario’s background as a storyteller across multiple media has given him the passion and insight to contribute throughout History Factory’s unique creative process. His expertise extends from devising and leading campaign and creative strategies to interviewing executives on camera and writing copy and video scripts, ardently pushing the envelope with virtual reality and digital concepts. Viva la Revolution!

Rick Beller

Executive Counsel

Rick is focused on securing the talent, strategies, and scalability needed to grow domestically and internationally. His client work emphasizes alignment between each client’s business and communications objectives and firm solutions. He has served as executive sponsor and strategist for many clients, including USAA, Zurich North America, Sherwin-Williams, BlackRock, Graybar, Lockheed Martin, HarperCollins, and Deloitte. Rick has a BA from Harvard and is a John Harvard Scholar and Michael J. Rockefeller Memorial Fellow.

Emilia Mahaffey, C.A.

Senior Manager, Metadata and Collection Management

Emilia is interested in making accessible records in a variety of formats and on a variety of topics, so that everyone can find a connection to history. Most recently, Emilia has been working on an extensive project in Jersey City that allows her to make the records of a large financial firm, both physical and digital, accessible to internal users.

Jennifer Andreola, C.A.

Lead Archivist, Description and Metadata Services

Jenn has nearly a decade and a half of experience working as an archivist for Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits, educational institutions, accrediting institutes, medical societies and the federal government. Daily duties include accessioning, arrangement and description, preservation, reference requests, digitization, and vendor and project management. These duties play a major role in assisting corporate communicators to repurpose their advertising assets to help strengthen their brand.

Chris Juhasz, C.A.

Senior Director, Archives

As History Factory’s archives lead, Chris drives archival implementation projects, interfaces with clients to promote clear and consistent program visions, and coaches archival program development methods and processes. Chris is focused on building lasting relationships with clients by helping them make good decisions about archival issues. To ensure that architectures and solutions represent sound directions for clients, Chris conducts critical analyses of needs and expectations, and provides appropriate recommendations and strategies rooted in archival practice.

Damion Boulden

Sr. Director Production

With two decades of project and production management under his belt, Damion leverages his exceptional experience to deliver the authentic vision and messaging of History Factory’s clients. In addition to leading projects and teams, he also oversees the production of our best-in-class museum, tech, web and publication deliverables. Damion has worked with leading organizations such as AEP, Nationwide, Verizon, New Balance, Harley Davidson, the Smithsonian Institution and many others.