liesl olson, director
she/her
Liesl Olson is a writer, cultural historian, literary scholar, and social justice advocate. She is the author of Modernism and the Ordinary (Oxford, 2009), Chicago Renaissance: Literature and Art in the Midwest Metropolis (Yale, 2017), and forthcoming “Now We See the World Together: Five Midwesterners and the Revolution of Modern Art” (Norton, 2025). Before arriving at Hull-House, she directed the Program in Chicago Studies at the Newberry Library, where in 2021 she curated “Chicago Avant-Garde” and produced its accompanying catalog. With three of her Newberry colleagues, Olson was awarded the 2020 Outstanding Public History Project Award from the National Council on Public History for Chicago 1919: Confronting the Race Riots. Liesl holds strong opinions about poetry, and despite her proclivity for impossible shoes, she loves to go camping.
Matthew Randle-bent, associate director
he/him
Matthew Randle-Bent is a scholar, artist, and educator. His research focuses on international progressive arts institution building during the twentieth century. He attended his local state school in Gloucestershire, rural England, before an undergraduate degree at the University of Warwick; a Master’s at Queen Mary, University of London; and, after moving to the United States in 2016, a PhD from Northwestern University. Randle-Bent has worked across the arts and higher education in Chicago: with DePaul University, Loyola University Chicago, Northwestern University Press, Court Theatre and Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, among others. In 2022, he was an Artist in Residence at The Watermill Center. His writing has been published in Contemporary Theatre Review, Theatre Journal, Arab Stages, and caa.reviews. He is a board member at Remy Bumppo Theatre Company.
Ross Santon jordon, curatorial manager
he/him
Ross Stanton Jordan is a curator interested in the confluence of politics, history, and visual culture. .At the museum, he has produced a dozen exhibitions and one hundred public programs that connect the social justice issues of the past to the present-day demands for social equity via collaborations with artists, scholars and community-based organizations. Ross has held curatorial fellowships at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, and Independent Curators International. In 2022, Newcity Magazine named Ross one of the top 50 Chicago arts administrators working to make a more equitable and sustainable arts world. He holds a studio arts degree from Connecticut College, and dual masters degrees in art history and arts administration and policy from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Ross is a loud talker, and there is nothing that can be done about it.
Nadia Maragha, Education Manager
she/her
Nadia Maragha has been an Educator at the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum since 2020. She holds a master's degree in political science from UIC, with a research background in comparative urban politics and international human rights issues. She has worked in a variety of informal education spaces since then, including the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago. Her work and research at Hull-House include writing for the museum blog, leading public tours and programs, and giving presentations on subjects like Hull-House's work in public health, the roles of museums in communities, Chicago folklore, Hull-House's arts history, and social justice organizing in Chicago. In her free time, she is a horror enthusiast, an avid gamer, and loves needlework and hiking.
elizabeth (Izzy) Mccarthy, Program assistant
she/her
Izzy Mccarthy is a young professional who hails from Chicago. She began working at the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum in the spring of 2022 as an intern and currently works on a variety of special projects for the museum. Izzy has a special passion for assisting cultural institutions in organizing their data and artifacts in order to better utilize their resources for the public good. Her educational background lies in public policy and she aims to continue her education with a degree in library and information science soon.
candace bey, educator
she/her
Candace bey is a storyteller, museum professional and proud Southsider. She attended the women’s college Agnes Scott where she earned a dual BA in French and Francophone Studies and in Africana Studies. She also holds an MA in Intercultural Communication from the University of Manchester. Her aim is to share and engage with community histories specifically related to Chicago, labor and African American stories. Before joining Hull-House, she worked at the Chicago History Museum, The Imperial War Museum in the United Kingdom and as a adjunct lecturer at NEIU. Beyond her professional accomplishments, Candace's heart belongs to her beloved Chicago. Her favorite pastime is hosting friends from out of town and taking them on bespoke tours of the Second City (Second to none!).
katie akerboom, educator
she/they
Katie Akerboom is a Chicago-based historian specializing in Early-Modern and late-Victorian domesticity. A self-proclaimed museum nerd since 2009, Katie holds degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (B.A. in Theatre Performance and History) and Southern New Hampshire University (M.A. in Public History). Previous organizations include Heritage Hill State Historical Park and Shedd Aquarium. Katie is an avid sewist and knitter, creating garments that transcend both gender and time period to create a unique style. They can be found walking their dog in nature, providing dramaturgy for local storefront theatres, and performing at the Bristol Renaissance Faire in the summer.
Georgina stacy quintana, educator
she/her
Georgina quintana is a self-taught analog photographer and a new weaver. Hailing from the west side of Chicago, she carries the warmth of her Nicaragüense heritage in her art and spirit. she is a recent grad from nyu’s latin american and caribbean studies and holds a concentration in museum studies. At present, georgina wears the hat of a museum and cultural worker and has previously worked at the art institute of chicago, museum of contemporary art chicago, and the whitney museum of american art. she embraces the craft of connecting art and people through storytelling in educational spaces and compelling narratives through visuals within the digital domain. With a rich history of fostering connections and understanding, she specializes in bilingual facilitation, and a deep-rooted emphasis on the regions she holds dear - Latin America, the Caribbean, and the diaspora.
