Board of Trustees

Gary Johnson will serve as Chairman of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Board of Trustees. Johnson became the President of the Chicago History Museum after 28 years as a lawyer and partner in international law at Mayer Brown and Jones Day. Under his leadership, the Chicago History Museum has received the National Medal from the Institute for Museum and Library Service, the nation’s highest award for museums and libraries. Johnson also served for 10 years as President of Museums in the Park. Additionally, he worked as Vice Chair on the Special Commission on the Administration of Justice in Cook County. Johnson is a member of the American Law Institute and a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and the Illinois State Bar Association Foundation, and he served as president of the Chicago Council of Lawyers. Johnson earned his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School, his Master of Arts from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar and his Bachelor of Arts from Yale College. He also holds an honorary doctorate from Lake Forest College.

Joan Brodsky will serve as the Historic Preservation Expert on the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Board of Trustees. Brodsky is a current member of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, Newberry Library in Chicago, the Board of Visitors of the Syracuse University Library and the Board of Overseers of the Library of The Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City. A lifelong librarian and conservator, she is the founder and sponsor of an annual endowed lecture series and workshop on book and paper conservation and a sponsor of the Brodsky Lecture Series in support of the JD – MBA Program at Northwestern University. She earned her Master of Science in Library Science and her Bachelor of Arts in Latin and Education from Syracuse University.

Jacob K. Friefeld will serve as the Abraham Lincoln Historian on the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Board of Trustees. Friefeld is the director of the University of Illinois Springfield Center for Lincoln Studies. He has co-authored two books on the Homestead Act of 1862, an important part of Abraham Lincoln’s legacy in the U.S. West. His most recent book, The First Migrants: How Black Homesteaders’ Quest for Land and Freedom Heralded America’s Great Migration, tells the epic story of Black Americans homesteading in the Great Plains after the Civil War. The First Migrants won the Caroline Bancroft History Prize and the Nebraska Book Award for Nonfiction History. It was also a finalist for the Association for the Study of African American Life and History book award and a Western Writers of America Spur award.

Friefeld has a passion for making history accessible to broad audiences through his writing, public speaking, work with museums, and television appearances. He earned his PhD from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, his Master of Arts from Loyola University Chicago, and his Bachelor of Arts from the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota.

Kathryn Harris will serve as a Library and Museum Expert on the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Board of Trustees. Harris brings 25 years of ALPLM experience as the former Library Services Director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Illinois State Historical Library. In her 43 years of service, Harris has also been the Head of Reference for the Illinois State Library and Public Services Librarian for the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. In addition, she has been a Librarian at Florida International University Library, Miami Florida and the Lincoln Library, Springfield’s public library. Harris has earned a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Illinois State Historical Society, was named a Rail-Splitter Honoree by the American Society of Public Service Administrators and won Woman of Excellence Award from the Springfield YWCA. Harris serves on the Springfield and Central Illinois African American Arts History Museum Board, Sangamon County Historical Society Board as President, and the Abraham Lincoln Association. She earned her Master of Science from the University of Illinois and her Bachelor of Science from Southern Illinois University.

Jessica C. Harris, PhD, is an advocate for equity and inclusion. She believes in the transformative power of higher education and the impact that access and real opportunity can have for individuals, their families, communities, and our society.

In March 2021, she was named Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s (SIUE) inaugural Vice Chancellor for Anti-racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Her strategic vision includes operationalizing inclusive excellence at all levels of the institution to ensure an equity-minded and student-centered campus culture.

Prior to this appointment, Harris served as Assistant Provost for Academic Equity and Inclusive Excellence in the Office of the Provost. An accomplished teacher and scholar of 20th century African American History, she is also a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of History and formerly served as Director of the Black Studies Program. Harris has earned awards including the St. Louis Business Journal’s Champion for Diversity and Inclusion award, the Change, Create Transform Foundation’s Humanitarian Award, the Metro Area Professional Organization’s Distinguished Professional Achiever in Education Award, the Dillard University 40 under 40, the SIUE Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Humanitarian Award, and the SIUE Phenomenal Woman Award. Harris earned both her PhD and Master of Arts in history from Cornell University and her Bachelor of Arts from Dillard University.

Jason Lesniewicz will serve as a Cultural Tourism Expert on the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Board of Trustees. Lesniewicz currently works as the Director of Cultural Tourism at Choose Chicago. In 13 years of work the in the cultural tourism industry, Lesniewicz has worked within Choose Chicago as the Cultural Tourism Manager for Neighborhoods and as Group Coordinator for the Chicago Neighborhood Tours Program. Previously, he served as a Senior Associate for the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture. Additionally, Lesniewicz serves on the Chicago Cultural Alliance Board as the Co-Chair of the Fundraising and Strategic Partnerships Committee. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Dan Monroe will serve as the Illinois Historian on the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Board of Trustees. Currently, Monroe is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of History and Political Science at Millikin University. In addition, he has taught at universities across Illinois, such as Bradley University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In 26 years of experience as a researcher, consultant and professor, Monroe has worked for the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, Illinois Historical Survey of UIUC and the Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project. He is a member of the Southern Historical Association, Abraham Lincoln Association, Illinois State Historical Society and Hemingway Society. Monroe earned his PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, his Master of Science from Illinois State University and his Bachelor of Science from Bradley University.

Martin Sandoval, C.P.A., will serve as a Business Administration Expert on the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Board of Trustees.  With over 25 years of experience in business, strategic planning and financial management, Sandoval is the founding partner of Compass Associates. He previously was a Director of Corporate Development of Sara Lee Corporation and did similar work for organizations such as the McDonald's Corporation and Arthur Andersen. Sandoval is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Illinois CPA Society, and he has also served as Vice President for the National Museum of Mexican Art, Treasurer of the Little Village Chamber of Commerce and Vice Chair of the Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement. Sandoval earned his Master of Science in Business Administration and Bachelor of Science in Commerce from DePaul University.

Melinda Spitzer-Johnston will serve as a Digitization, Conservation and Historic Preservation Expert on the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Board of Trustees. Spitzer-Johnston is currently the Digital Media Assets Manager at Encyclopedia Britannica. She spent eight years prior at her namesake firm, Armstrong-Johnston LLC, where she served as a principal partner, archivist, historian and curator. She has also worked as the Curator of Visual and Digital Resources for the Harvard Law School Library's Historical and Special Collections Division, and in a variety of roles for the Chicago History Museum, including Research Coordinator, Project Archivist and Curator. In addition, she served on the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency Board of Trustees and as a member of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum study panel. Spitzer-Johnston received her Master of Arts in American History from DePaul University and her Bachelor of Arts in American History from Northwestern University. She became a certified archivist in 2018.

Magaret L. van Dijk is a seasoned legal and policy professional who recently retired after more than 25 years of dedicated service in Illinois government. Van Dijk has developed a thorough background in state operations, working at numerous agencies through her career in state government. Her primary areas of focus included state contracting and personnel matters, where her knowledge and leadership had a significant impact. Van Dijk earned her Bachelor of Science in Political Science from the University of Oregon and her Juris Doctorate from Washington University.