Meet Our Team
Donna Cox Baker, Director. In 2002 Donna left her first career as a communications director in an international computer corporation to pursue her passion for history. She took the helm at Alabama Heritage. Until 2019, she will also be serving as the co-chair of the Statewide Initiatives Committee of the Alabama Bicentennial Commission. Genealogy is her personal passion, and Donna owns and hosts a blog called “The Golden Egg Genealogist." She is the author of Views of the Future State: Afterlife Beliefs in the Deep South, 1820-1865. Donna has a PhD in history and is proud to call four of Alabama’s universities her alma mater—Montevallo, Auburn, UAB, and the University of Alabama.
Susan Reynolds, Editor, oversees the daily editorial functions for Alabama Heritage. She earned a PhD in English at the University of Alabama and has a master's in library science. Prior to working at Alabama Heritage, Susan was employed by Southern Living magazine and taught courses in the University of Alabama English department.
Robin McDonald, Designer, is a native of London, England, and a graduate of Emory
University and Columbia University with an M.A. in art history, he has
been a freelance graphic artist since 1984, and continues to practice from his
home in Birmingham. Robin received a Gold Medal from the Art Director’s
Club of New York for his work on Horizon Magazine. Since, he has been the
recipient of numerous national, regional, state, and local awards, including
several Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Awards for his
work at Alabama Heritage. His books Heart of a Small Town:
Photographs of Alabama Towns (2003) and Visions of the Black Belt: A Cultural Survey of the Heart of Alabama with Valerie Pope Burnes (2015) were published by the University of Alabama
Press.
Rebecca Todd Minder, Marketing and Digital Media Manager, handles corporate sponsorships and marketing efforts, coordinates all social media, special online sales and subscriptions, website content, and our digitization efforts. Rebecca earned a master’s degree in American studies with a focus on Southern popular culture and her bachelor’s in public relations, both from the University of Alabama. Before joining Alabama Heritage, she was the publicist for the University of Alabama Press, and a managing editor at Randall-Reilly Publishing for two of its construction industry magazines.
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Elizabeth Wade, Consulting Editor, earned her PhD and master's in American Literature from the
University of Alabama. She earned her bachelor's in English from Davidson College. In addition to Alabama Heritage, her work has
appeared in such publications as the Oxford American, Kenyon Review, and
others. Elizabeth teaches literature and writing courses at the University
of Mary Washington.
Tonta Mauter, Business Manager, oversees our financial, purchasing, customer service, product fulfillment, facilities, and human resources functions. She earned a BA in secondary education and previously worked with the University of Alabama's Culverhouse School of Accountancy as well as UA's Advancement Services.
Cindy Sanford, Customer Service Coordinator, leads a team of top-notch student personnel in renewing subscriptions, fulfilling product orders, and providing quality customer assistance. Cindy will help you with any questions about the magazine you may have. She is also our facilities representative.
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Contributing Editors
Larry Davenport (Nature Journal) holds a Ph.D. in biology from the University of Alabama. He is a professor of Biological and Environmental Sciences at Samford University in Birmingham, where he teaches courses on general botany, plant taxonomy, and wetlands. In 2007, he was named Alabama Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Dr. Davenport has contributed his Nature Journal column to Alabama Heritage since 1993. This column inspired his award-winning book Nature Journal (University of Alabama Press, 2010).
Born in Massachusetts, Stephen Goldfarb (Reading the Southern Past) grew up in Texas where he attended public school and went on to the University of Texas, Austin, where he received a BA and MA in history, which was followed by a PhD in the history of science and technology from Case Western Reserve University. After teaching for about a decade, he went to work at a public library from which he retired in 2003. In addition to writing the book column for Alabama Heritage, he curates art exhibits and writes articles for scholarly and popular publications.
Frances Osborn Robb (Behind the Image) is a cultural historian and the author of Shot in Alabama: A History of Photography, 1839–1941, and a List of Photographers. She has spent twenty-five years researching Alabama photographers and photographs while serving as a consultant on the state’s cultural history and historic photography for museums, archives, and libraries. Robb has curated or advised on many exhibitions, including Made in Alabama: A State Legacy and the award-winning exhibition In View of Home: Alabama Landscape Photographs. In her search for information and images, she has visited every county in Alabama to study photographs in institutional repositories and family collections.
Samuel L. Webb (Alabama Governors) holds a JD from the University of Alabama School of Law and a PhD in history from the University of Arkansas. This department is drawn from Alabama Governors:A Political History of the State, Second Edition, edited by Webb and Margaret E. Armbrester.
Sara C. Martin, Emeritus, worked tirelessly for many years at Alabama Heritage and currently is enjoying a well-deserved early retirement. If she's not hunting turkey with her family, she's raising her sweet furbaby, or creating new projects for herself at her farm.