Kristen Walker Staley (she/her) is a museum professional, avid traveler, and lifelong student of history. In her career at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, she has brought the lessons of history to diverse audiences across the nation through campus outreach efforts and by managing in-person and virtual academic lectures, public programs, and other special events with the Museum's survivor volunteers.

 

Kristen earned her Bachelor’s in History (magna cum laude) from the University of Scranton, focusing on Europe, World War II, and the Holocaust. Her keen interest in this subject matter inspired her to study abroad at Uniwersytet Civitas in Warsaw, Poland. In addition to her studies, she worked as an editor and proofreader on the early phase of the “Virtual Shtetl” portal for the Museum of the History of Polish Jews (POLIN). After returning to Pennsylvania, she helped other students prepare for their own international experiences by working at the university’s Study Abroad and Global Initiatives Office. She relocated to the Washington, DC area after graduation and has been at the USHMM for over 10 years.

 

In her free time, Kristen loves to explore all of the museums that DC has to offer, take epic road trips with her husband to explore the US, and cheer on her hometown football team, the Philadelphia Eagles. She also dedicates time to her town’s historical society and serves as Secretary on their board.

As a PTLP Advocate, Kristen volunteers her voice by recording audio essays for our LGBTQ+ Stories from Nazi Germany initiative. Her first essay was for the profile on Josef Kohout.

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Speaking about her motivation to volunteer for PTLP, Kristen says, "I met Dr. Jake Newsome in 2016, and through his research and source recommendations, I began to read in-depth about the Nazi persecution of the LGBTQ+ community. I recognized a significant gap in my education about a time period in history that I thought I knew so much about. I have followed the work of the PTLP since it was launched, and I was moved to become a volunteer advocate to help bring this wealth of a resource to as wide an audience as possible.

 

I am also motivated to be as knowledgeable of an ally as I can be. I feel it is important that the duty of carrying the lessons from this history forward does not solely rest on my LGBTQ+ peers. It is imperative for our larger society to acknowledge how the past has informed the present-day and what can and must be done to actively counter ongoing prejudice and injustice."