Staff
Executive Director Matthew Logan
Matt assumed his current position as Executive Director in November 2014. Throughout his career as an executive, he has built the capacity and effectiveness of small nonprofit organizations in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Beginning in 1998, he led Potomac Conservancy, a regional conservation group, through a period of rapid and sustained growth. He later founded and served as the first president of the C&O Canal Trust, an official partner of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park. With the Trust, he developed a series of successful programs, most notably Canal Quarters, which was recognized by the federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation with its Chairman’s Award for Achievement in Historic Preservation.
Matt co-founded Potomac Riverkeeper, where he served as chairman of the Board of Directors and later as president. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, Rock Creek Conservancy, and Acorn Hill School.
Matt holds Master’s degrees in environment/land use planning and United States history.
Director of Programs Matt Gagle
Matt joined Montgomery History as the Outreach and Volunteer Manager in the summer of 2019 and became the Director of Programs in June of 2020. He has a BA in History from Thomas Edison State University and has a passion for American Civil War history. Matt and his wife moved to Montgomery County from Abu Dhabi, where they lived and traveled for four years. Matt’s hobbies include photography, hiking, and beekeeping.
Director of Library and Archives Sarah Hedlund
Sarah holds a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Maryland with a specialization in archives and digital curation. She joined the staff at Montgomery History in the fall of 2016 as Archivist for the Montgomery County Archives, later taking a full-time position as Librarian and Archivist for the Jane C. Sween Research Library and Special Collections in 2017. She also serves as the editor for the historical research journal The Montgomery County Story, in which she has also published several articles. Previous to Sarah’s position with Montgomery History, she worked as a freelance contract archivist, a graduate assistant archivist for the University of Maryland’s Special Collections and University Archives, and an archival intern in the Archives Center of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Sarah moved to Rockville, Maryland in 2015, having worked in west Michigan for more than 20 years as a professional violinist and music teacher.
Director of Collections Sammie Hatton
Sammie began volunteering for Montgomery History in 2017, working with collections and later joining the Collections Committee. She became Collections Manager in May 2023. She oversees the daily care and safekeeping of the museum collections, maintains the object database, and processes incoming object donations. She received her Master of Arts in Museum Studies, focusing on Collections Management, from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She has previously worked in collections for Dumbarton House, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, and the Ohio History Connection. Sammie lives in Rockville and enjoys reading and frequenting bakeries and Boba shops in the area.
Director of Development Brenna Ryan
Brenna Ryan, a Montgomery County native, became a part of Montgomery History in the fall of 2023. As development director, Brenna is responsible for securing the financial health of the organization by raising funds from individuals, businesses, foundations, and organizations. She holds a BA in History with a minor in International Relations from Utah State University, and she brings a wealth of experience garnered through internships at the Utah State Senate, The Utah State University Inclusion Center, The Center for Anticipatory Intelligence, and Search for Common Ground DC. Prior to her role at Montgomery History, Brenna served as the Associate Director of Stewardship and Donor Relations at Sandy Spring Friends School. Brenna champions the belief that good development work means fostering genuine relationships, uplifting the stories of our county, and above all, conveying the transformative power of community collaboration.
Office Manager Stacie Vodra
Stacie joined Montgomery History as Office Manager in the summer of 2019. In addition to holding a number of office positions and volunteering for the library at Laytonsville Elementary School, she has worked as an interpretive Park Ranger for the National Park Service at both Adams National Historical Park in Quincy, Massachusetts and Presidents Park in Washington, D.C. Stacie earned a Bachelor’s degree in History from Dickinson College and interned at the Cumberland County Historical Society, both in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. On weekends she can be found volunteering with the Boy Scouts of America and playing board games.