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

Arliany Sapuis
Marketing and Events Coordinator
asapuis@pbchistory.org | ext. 106

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

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. 101

Kalani Leblanc
Museum Coordinator
kleblanc@pbchistory.org | ext. 136
Officers 2023-2024

Richard S. Johnson Jr.
Board Chair

Jeffrey Alderton
First Vice Chair

Joseph Chase
Secretary

Thomas Burns, CPA
Treasurer

Mark Stevens
Member at Large

Vernique Williams
Member at Large

John Archer
Member at Large

Penny Murphy
Member at Large

George L. Ford III
Member at Large

Mary Freitas
Member at Large
Board of Governors
Laurel Baker
Hampton Beebe
Margaret Cheryl Burkhardt
Alex Griswold
Scott Johnson
Stephen C. Richman
Andrew Sciame
Mary Weiss
Alisha Winn, Ph.D.
Board of Advisors
Christian Angle
Cressman D. Bronson
Mark B. Elhilow
George T. Elmore
Dennis Grady
William Graham
The Honorable Bradley G. Harper
Dale R. Hedrick
Pat Seaton Johnson
Russell Kelley
Gary S. Lesser
The Honorable Karen Marcus
William A. Meyer
Carey O’Donnell
Harvey E. Oyer III
Jorge Pesquera
Sidney A. Stubbs Jr.
Keith Williams
Ex-Officio Board Members
Alexandria Ayala, 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 Chair
The 1916 Society
Judy & Howard Bernick
Edith R. Dixon
Frances & Jeffrey H. Fisher
Susan & George L. Ford III
Charlene & Richard S. Johnson Jr.
Kristy & Scott Johnson
Carol & Thomas M. Kirchhoff
Susan & Christopher D. Pappas
Frances G. Scaife
John Turgeon
Jane Woodman
Foundation Support
The Loreen Beisswenger Farish Charitable Foundation
Marshall E. Rinker, Sr. Foundation, Inc.
The Mary Alice Fortin Foundation, Inc.
Pat Moran Family Foundation Inc.
Richard S. Johnson Family Foundation
Scaife Family Foundation
Frances and Jeffrey Fisher Charitable Foundation Inc.
Frances G. Scaife Foundation
The Howard B. Bernick Foundation
J.M. Rubin Foundation
The Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation
Florida Department of State Division of Arts & Culture
The Fortin Foundation of Florida
The Hulitar Family Foundation
Sharkey Family Foundation, Inc.
Daelansa Foundation
The David Minkin Foundation
PJ Callahan Foundation, Inc.
Society of Colonial Wars in the State of Florida
General Society of Colonial Wars
Reynolds Family Foundation
Tree of Life Foundation Inc.
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.