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.
Jessica Flock
Jessica Flock was raised in Laramie, WY. Growing up, she traveled the state for swim meets, horse-pack trips, school field excursions and rafting adventures. During those experiences, Jessica fell in love with the landscape, history and people of WY. She's been an educator for 25 years and previously served as the state coordinator for the National History Day program in WY. Her latest adventures include documenting the murals, monuments and memorials across Wyoming. Currently, she is serving her second term on the board of the Albany County Historical Society and ended her 2nd term as President on Dec.3, 2024.
Marcia Hensley
Marcia is a transplant from Oklahoma who fell in love with Wyoming while working in Yellowstone as a college student. Years later, she spent time in Laramie attending summer conferences for college English teachers at the University of Wyoming. Eventually, she moved to Wyoming to join the faculty at Western Wyoming Community College where she taught writing and Western American Literature. Learning about the landscape and history of Sweetwater County during her nearly thirty years living there was an ongoing adventure that inspired her writing. When she moved to Laramie five years ago, she joined the Albany County Historical Society wanting to develop a connection to & sense of belonging in her Laramie home as she had in Southwest WY. She is the author of Staking Her Claim: Women Homesteading the West a nonfiction book about single women who homesteaded alone.
President - Jan 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.
Robert Kelly
Bob is a Laramie native. After attending the University of Wyoming and the University of Chicago, he worked until retirement as a professor in Atmospheric Science at the University of Wyoming. In addition to teaching, he used their twin-engine research aircraft to study the interaction between the surface and the lower atmosphere. One of his long-standing interests has been the history and operation of railroads in Wyoming and Colorado.
