Editor/ President

Aubrey Jones graduated 2023 with her B.A. in History. Her research area of interest is the philosophical relationship between North America and Scotland in from the 17th and 18th centuries. She is on track to receive her M.A. in History and as well as a graduate certificate in Public History in December of 2025. She wrote her undergraduate thesis on the influence the Scottish Enlightenment played on Thomas Jefferson's Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom. Aubrey is a huge fan of the tv show "New Girl" and prides herself on her ability to recite almost any episode. It has become her entire personality.

Assistant Editor/ Vice- President

David Krista graduated from the University of Auburn with a B.A. in History and a Minor in Creative Writing in 2024 and is projected to earn his M.A. in History in May 2026. His historical interests include Ancient Mediterranean History and Medieval European History. He wrote his undergraduate thesis on the impact of German U-boat operations in the Caribbean on the United States' oil industry. David enjoys watching the Boston Red Sox, playing golf, and reading. After finishing his M.A. in History, David plans on pursuing his Ph.D. and writing a book.

Co-editor/Secretary

Kurt Vetters is a current Master’s student in the Public History program at the University of North Alabama. As a veteran, Kurt’s historical area of focus is military history, and he has written for The Greenfield, Indiana Daily Reporter, and Studio Magazine in the Shoals. He has also contributed works to The Byler Road Project, Historic Tuscaloosa, the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area, and the Arts and Museums Department of Florence, Alabama.  He has two Civil War novels, Confederate Winter and Freedom Spring. Kurt enjoys participating in Civil War reenactments and painting historical scenes from his research.

Staff Advisor

Garrett Keenum graduated from the University of North Alabama with is B.A. in Social Science in 2022. His undergraduate thesis focused on the racial dynamics in Sir Francis Drake’s alliance with the Cimarrons of Panama against the Spanish from 1572-1573. He graduated with his M.A. in Secondary Education-History and an additional graduate certificate in Public History in May of 2025. Garrett’s favorite movie of all time is Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. This movie inspired him to enter the historical profession.

Faculty Advisor

Brian Dempsey is an associate professor of History at the University of North Alabama, and director of the UNA Public History Center. He completed his PhD in Public History at Middle Tennessee State University, and his MA in History at James Madison University. His work focuses on the relationship between landscape and cultural identity, the connections between the arts and historical interpretation, and the process of helping communities tell more complete stories. He recently served as visual curator for the book, Johnny Cash: The Life in Lyrics, and he is currently working on projects exploring the public history of Thomas Jefferson, and music archives in North Alabama.

Alumni Advisor

Jessie Johnson specializes in 19th-century United States History. After she earned her B.A. in History from the University of North Alabama in 2022, Jessie enrolled in the Public History graduate program where she began to look into the founding of UNA’s predecessor, LaGrange College. In that research, she found a rich history of LaGrange Mountain that begins with Paleo-Indian people and runs through the modern day. Jessie received her M.A. in Public History in May of 2024. Jessie is an avid reader of the Peanuts comic strip and named her childhood dog Snoopy.