Heritage Commission of Delaware County - Who We Are

Who We Are

CHAIRPERSON - SAM PICKARD

Sam Pickard was first appointed to the Heritage Commission in 2021. He was born and raised in the Lawrence Park section of Marple Township and now lives in the St. Albans neighborhood of Newtown Square. He serves as the president of the Marple Historical Society and sits on the board of the 1696 Thomas Massey House. Since 2020, he has researched and authored a blog on Marple Township history. He is a preservation planner in AECOM’s Cultural Resources group, where he works alongside archaeologists and architectural historians. Sam has BA in history from La Salle University, an MS in city & regional planning from Temple University, and a certificate in historic preservation from Bucks County Community College.

Vice ChairPERSON - KAREN MICKA

Karen Micka has been a lover of American and local history since grade school. In high school, history was a favorite subject. She went to the monthly World Affairs Council Meetings in Philadelphia when in high school.
She has never lost her love of history which lead her to be a board member of the Delaware County Historical Society (Chair, co-Vice Chair, Lecture Chair), a board member for close to 20 years with the Friends of the Swedish Cabin, a longtime board member of the Aston Historical Society (President, Vice President, Treasurer and now Recording Sec.), founding member of DCHPN, co-founder of the Western Delaware County Historic Tour group, and a member of the Delaware County Heritage Commission. She loves visiting historical sites and finding out new information about history. “To me, history is very exciting!”

SECRETARY - Beth McCarrick

Beth McCarrick has been a resident of Delaware County all of her life and has lived in Bethel Township for over 30 years. She is currently the Chairman of the Bethel Township Preservation Society. She and her daughter Faith wrote "Images in America - Bethel Township, Delaware County," for Arcadia Publishing with the help of the Bethel Township Preservation Society. She has also been a presenter at Delaware County Community College's Elder Week focusing on history.

Judith Anastasi

Judy Anastasi grew up in southwest Philadelphia but has lived most of her life in Norwood Borough. She is the current President of the Norwood Historical Society and the Treasurer of the Friends of the Darby Methodist Meeting Cemetery. She is also on the board of the Lansdowne Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, as well as the previous treasurer of the Norwood Public Library. Judy has a great love of American history and was appointed to the Heritage Commission in 2016.

ROBIN CRAREN

Robin has been a resident of Drexel Hill for the past 6 years but moved to the Philadelphia area in 2010. She grew up in New England and moved here to attend graduate school at Temple University for art history. She currently works at the Barnes Foundation where she manages and performs research of its art collection. She has a particular interest in the ownership history of works of art as it shows how a work of art moved through history and place. She has always held an interest in local and cultural history and is interested in engaging with and preserving Delaware County’s history.

ALAN DERICKSON

Alan Derickson lives in Garnet Valley. He is professor emeritus of labor studies and history at Penn State.  Derickson taught American history for thirty years on the University Park campus. His research has focused on the intersection of work and health since the onset of industrialization. His most recent book is Dangerously Sleepy: Overworked Americans and the Cult of Manly Wakefulness (University of Pennsylvania Press). His articles have appeared in the Journal of American History, Journal of African American History, American Journal of Public Health, and Business History Review, among other outlets.  He served as a consultant to the National Park Service on its Labor National Historic Landmark Theme Study. He is currently a volunteer with the Kennett Underground Railroad Center.  He has a PhD from the University of California, San Francisco, in the history of health sciences.

Emma leuschner

Emma Leuschner grew up across the United States as part of an Air Force family. She is a board member and volunteer at the Concord Township Historical Society and serves on their Research Committee. Emma compiled the National Register nomination for the Pennock E. Sharpless House which was designated in 2024. She maintains several public history websites related to Concord Township. She also volunteers at the American Helicopter Museum and Education Center as part of their Education Committee. Emma lives in Glen Mills with her husband and two little boys.

Joshua Phillips

Josh Phillips currently lives in Glen Mills and has been a Delaware County resident for 9 years. He is a Professor of Communication Arts and Sciences at Penn State Brandywine with a particular interest in researching cultural narratives: The stories that we tell and retell influence how we understand and shape our world. In 2016, he published his book “Homeless: Narratives from the Street” documenting the stories of the homeless. He has also been coaching wrestling at Strath Haven High School since 2015. He received his PhD from Southern Illinois University in 2014.

TWYLA SIMPKINS

Twyla ‘Ms. T’ Simpkins taught in the Chester Upland School District for 35 years before retiring in 2008 and becoming the Founding Director of the Yes We Can Achievement and Cultural Center (formerly the YWCA Chester), a Chester-based 501(c)3 organization dedicated to the elimination of racism, empowering women and promoting peace, justice, freedom and dignity. She plays an active role in the Chester community, participating in many events as an archivistorian and storyteller. A graduate of the Pennsylvania State University, holding a BS in Secondary English Education, her hobby has become a passion. Nicknamed "Chester's modern-day historian", Ms. T brings to many projects the institutional memory as well as a profound understanding of both the local history of Chester and its place in the larger history of the region and country. She regularly contributes to the humanities-based, community revitalization efforts of Chester Made and the Pennsylvania Humanities Council, assisting with the delivery of local history programming for events as well as her on-going work with students from Widener University, Swarthmore College and other area educational institutions. She also continues to enjoy adding to her extensive black memorabilia collection and completing historical documentaries of 'Precious Places' in the Chester vicinity.

Keith swift

Dr. Keith Swift brings an archaeological perspective to historical and cultural resource management. Since 2019, Dr Swift has proudly served on the Haverford Township Historical Commission.
As a British archaeologist, Dr Swift spent more than a decade working on archaeology projects
for the Packard Humanities Institute, guiding them from planning to publication and managing both international research teams and the archaeological curation of artifacts.
Previously, Dr Swift had worked extensively on the archaeology of central Italy, co-running Anglo-American field schools, worked in close collaborations with Italian universities and state entities, and as a research fellow at the British School at Rome. Before this, Dr Swift was faculty at the University of Oxford following doctoral research with extensive excavating and museum curation in Graeco-Roman North Africa, including intensive fieldwork in Benghazi, Libya.

Kelli Wilson

Kelli was raised in the Germantown/Mt. Airy section of Philadelphia and moved to Yeadon in 2009. She is the Chair of the Yeadon Borough Historical Commission. Since childhood, she has enjoyed visiting historic neighborhoods. More recently, she spends her time enjoying historic lectures and taking courses in Historic Preservation at the University of Pennsylvania.

 

HERITAGE COMMISSION OF DELAWARE COUNTY

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