Historical Society of Palm Beach County
The Society Brings History to Life.
The Historical Society of Palm Beach County is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to collect, preserve, and share the rich history and cultural heritage of Palm Beach County. The HSPBC maintains a large archive on the history of Palm Beach County, Florida, and the Caribbean. Through its archives, which includes four million photographic images, plus maps, newspapers, journals, periodicals, architectural drawings, and research files, the Society maintains an active research facility and documents the people and events that have shaped Palm Beach County. In addition, the multiple education programs and initiatives of the Society in schools and communities are of primary importance to our vision of building an understanding and appreciation of local history in our children.
After the Historical Society was formed in 1937, West Palm Beach attorney A. Stanley Bussey donated a vintage black-and-white photograph of an island street scene to the newly established Society, the first gift to what would become a remarkable collection of artifacts and documents representing the cultures and communities, failures and successes of life in Palm Beach County.
The creation of the Richard and Pat Johnson Palm Beach County History Museum in 2008 finally allowed the collection to fully serve its critical purpose: to share and showcase the rich history of Palm Beach County and the larger context of Florida’s heritage dating back at least 12,000 years.
Our Team

Jeremy W. Johnson, CAE
President and Chief Executive Officer
jjohnson@pbchistory.org | ext.102

Sharon Poss
Office Administrator
sposs@pbchistory.org | ext. 100

Rhonda Gordon
Director of Outreach and Volunteer Services
rgordon@pbchistory.org | ext. 109

Erica Grant
Collections Curator
egrant@pbchistory.org | ext. 113

Stephanie Issac
Membership and Development Director
sissac@pbchistory.org | ext. 103

Taylor Materio
Chief Development Officer
tmaterio@pbchistory.org | ext. 104

Debi Murray
Chief Curator
dmurray@pbchistory.org | ext. 105

Rose Guerrero
Director of Research
rguerrero@pbchistory.org | ext. 112

Casey Lipschutz
Education Coordinator
clipschutz@pbchistory.org | ext. 106

Kalani Leblanc
Research Assistant and Special Events Coordinator
kleblanc@pbchistory.org | ext. 136
OFFICERS 2024-2025

Richard S. Johnson Jr.
Board Chair

Jeffrey Alderton
First Vice Chair

Penny Murphy
Secretary

Thomas M. Burns, CPA
Treasurer

John P. Archer
Member at Large

George L. Ford III
Member at Large

Joseph P. Chase Sr.
Member at Large

Vernique Williams
Member at Large
BOARD OF GOVERNORS

Laurel Baker

Daniel Hostettler

Andrew
Sciame

Hampton Beebe

Scott Johnson

Maricela Torres

Bill Bone

Stacey Leuliette

Traci Simonsen

M. Cheryl Burkhardt

Harris Levitt

Mary Weiss

Alex Griswold

Stephen C. Richman

Sarah Wetenhall
BOARD OF ADVISORS

Christian Angle

William Graham

Karen Marcus

Mark B. Elhilow

The Honorable Bradley G. Harper

Carey O’Donnell

Mark Stevens

George T. Elmore

Dale R. Hedrick

Harvey E. Oyer III

Keith Williams

Mary Fairbanks Freitas

Russell Kelley

Jorge Pesquera

Dennis Grady

Gary S. Lesser

Jean Shafiroff
Ex-OFFICIO BOARD MEMBERS

Matthew Lane
School Board of Palm Beach County Member

Mack Bernard
Palm Beach County Commissioner

Danielle Hickox Moore
Town of Palm Beach Mayor

Thomas M. Kirchhoff
Past Board Chair
Foundation Support
The Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin Counties
The David Minkin Foundation
The Ellen and Ian Graham Foundation
Florida Department of State Division of Arts & Culture
The Fortin Foundation of Florida
Frances and Jeffrey Fisher Charitable Foundation Inc.
Frances G. Scaife Foundation
General Society of Colonial Wars
The Hulitar Family Foundation
J.M. Rubin Foundation
Knight Foundation
The Loreen Beisswenger Farish Charitable Foundation
The Mary Alice Fortin Foundation, Inc.
Pat Moran Family Foundation Inc.
PJ Callahan Foundation, Inc.
The Park Foundation
Richard S. Johnson Family Foundation
Scaife Family Foundation
The Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation
Sharkey Family Foundation, Inc.
Sidney Kohl Family Foundation
Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Florida
William A. Meyer Foundation
History is not the past. It is the present. We carry our history with us. We are our history.
-- James Baldwin
Diversity, Equality, & Inclusion (DEI) Statement
In furthering our mission, the Historical Society of Palm Beach County and Richard and Pat Johnson Palm Beach County History Museum pledge to continually work toward integrating values, policies, and practices that ensure equality and inclusiveness for all people without regard to race/ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, socioeconomic status, geography, citizenship status, or religion.