OUR BOARD MEMBERS
Vice President - Alan Ver Ploeg
Alan is currently a retired (2016) geologist after a 39-year career at the Wyoming State Geological Survey working in oil and gas and geologic mapping in the State of Wyoming. Prior to moving to Laramie in 1976, he worked as a minerals and energy manager with the BLM in Rawlins Wyoming for two years (1974-1976). Born and raised in Iowa, he graduated from Iowa State University in 1970 (BS degree) with a double major in Geology and History and an MS degree in Geology in 1973. Alan has always had an interest in western history and has been a member of the Wyoming Historical Society since the early 1980s. He has a strong interest in local history and an avid collector of early photography related to Wyoming history and personalities.
Secretary - Carol Frost
Carol takes a long view of history, going back to the Precambrian. She came to Laramie in 1983 to take a faculty position in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Wyoming. Her research focused on the geology of Wyoming’s oldest rocks, so beautifully exposed in the state’s mountain ranges. She enjoys local history, especially exploring how people relate to the landscape and how the landscape shapes us.
Treasurer - D. Claudia Thompson
D. Claudia Thompson was an archivist at the American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming, for 35 years. She headed the Arrangement & Description Department, which produced finding aids for the Center’s collections. She has given numerous public presentations on historical topics and has published historical and professional articles in Montana: The Magazine of Western History, The American Archivist, and Annals of Wyoming. She retired in 2020 and now enjoys an active life reading, singing, line dancing, and practicing tai chi.
Cheri Pettit Bellamy
Cheri Pettit Bellamy moved to Laramie in 2012, teaching at UW as an academic professional lecturer for the school of nursing and retired in 2016. Cheri was born and raised in Southern Calif. She is a graduate of UW and as an undergraduate met her future husband Bill, they married in Laramie. They lived in four states and three large metropolitan areas before retiring to Laramie. Her interest in Wyoming history stems from visiting her mother’s and uncles’ farms as a child in Torrington and Lingle. Cheri enjoyed her UW years in Chi Omega and nursing school and has always been interested in local history. Bill’s family arrived in Laramie in 1873, his great grandmother being the first women Wyoming legislature in 1911 and his great grandfather modeling a generational line of engineers. Attending Albany County Historical Society meetings has enriched her understanding of Laramie and Albany County. She has been a docent volunteer for the Laramie Plains Museum at the historic Ivinson mansion since she retired.
Emma Comstock
Emma was born and raised in Southwest Wyoming and graduated from Lander Valley High School. She went on to earn her Associate's in History from Northwest College in Powell and her B.A. in history from the University of Wyoming in 2022. Her later studies during her undergrad, including her capstones, focused on medieval women's history. Emma works for the American Heritage Center's Toppan Rare Books Library as an Archives Specialist. She gave a talk in May 2024 at the Midwest Archives Conference about the Toppan family and her process of reassembling Eliza Toppan's library that, until then, had been hidden within the greater Fred and Clara Toppan Collection. Emma's other work with Wyoming history examined Laramie's red-light district from a social historical perspective. She is currently working on her Master's in Library and Information Science.
Kim Viner
Kim is a 6th generation resident of Laramie. After graduating from UW in 1973, he entered the U.S. Navy and retired with the rank of Commander after 20 years of service. He is also a graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School. His interest in local history began while serving as a senior docent at the Laramie Plains Museum and served one term on its board of directors. He is currently a docent at the Wyoming Women's History House. He is a benefactor of both museums. He has received numerous awards from the Wyoming Historical Society for books, articles, event planning, and social media posts. This is his second stint on the ACHS Board of Directors.
President - Jan Botkin Therkildsen
Jan was raised in Laramie and also lived for 10 years on a Heart Mountain farm between Powell and Cody. She's a University of Wyoming graduate, and retired after 25 years as an accountant/strategic analyst with the U.S. Dept. of the Interior in Denver. She served 2010-2022 on the David Westphall Veterans Foundation Board, which supports the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Angel Fire, NM -- a place she's volunteered for 30+ years with and for her generation's heroes. She’s always pursued the history of places she’s lived/visited, and her interest in history has expanded over her many years of genealogy research. She returned to Laramie in 2021, and she's looking forward to contributing to ACHS Board projects and learning more about Albany County's history.
Jim Kearns
When Jim Kearns arrived in Evanston as a third-grader, he was intrigued by his grandfather's stories about the area's history, such as the tragic mining disasters in nearby Almy and the thriving Chinese population that once lived in the area. Such stories prompted a life-long interest in local history. A Laramie resident for more than 40 years, Kearns worked in various public information positions at the University of Wyoming during his 35 years at the school. He previously worked as news director at radio stations in Laramie, Cheyenne and Sheridan. At UW, he received numerous awards for news writing and audio production. Kearns has also served on the boards of the local Red Cross chapter, Laramie Youth Baseball and the Wyoming Association of Broadcasters and served on numerous UW committees.
Jane Nelson
Jane is proud to be a fourth-generation Wyomingite whose great-grandfather arrived here in 1868. She was born in Laramie and graduated from the University of Wyoming. She and her spouse then moved to Utah to earn graduate degrees. She taught at Texas A&M University before returning to Laramie in 1982, where she worked at UW until retirement in 2011. She is now pursuing an ever-growing interest in local and regional history and in genealogical research. She has been a member of the Albany County Historical Society for some thirty years and has frequently served on its board.
