Alumni

Our alumni work throughout the region and the United States. Not only do most our alumni go on to find jobs in the field, but they also build successful lifelong careers. Many continue to give back to the program through mentorship, internship, and teaching. To get to know the alumni that teach graduate courses in the program, please visit the Meet Us page.

Alumni Spotlight

Sean de Courcy, Preservation Director, City of Sacramento

After completing my Master’s degree in Public History with a focus on Cultural Resource Management at Sacramento State University in 2010, I began my career as a Graduate Student Planning Intern with the City of Sacramento’s Preservation Office. Shortly after graduating, I worked with JRP Historical Consulting, where I conducted research and evaluations under Section 106 (NEPA) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

In subsequent roles, I served as the Historic Preservation Project Manager during the rehabilitation of the Stanley Mosk Library and Courts Building, as a Historian for the California Office of Historic Preservation (OHP), and with the California Energy Commission’s Cultural Resources Unit. These experiences refined my expertise in environmental review processes and the treatment of historic properties, preparing me for my current position as Preservation Director for the City of Sacramento.

The Public History program at Sacramento State provided a strong foundation in historic preservation and cultural resource management, as well as opportunities for hands-on learning through internships and research projects. The program's focus on professional practices, coupled with access to institutions such as the Center for Sacramento History and partnerships with organizations like the City of Sacramento, has been instrumental in advancing my career.

Jessica Knox-Jensen, Archivist, California State Archives

Following graduation from the Sacramento State Public History Program in 2009, I began working full-time as an Archivist at the California State Archives, where I had previously interned. There I managed several different programs including reference services, digitization and automation, preservation, graduate internships, and the Western Archives Institute. I completed an MLIS degree from San Jose State University in 2014 and joined the California State Library in November 2018 as the State Library Services Assistant Bureau Chief. I was appointed State Library Services Bureau Chief in March 2020. In this role I oversee the “operations side” of the California State Library. State Library Services is made up of the Braille and Talking Book Library, the California History Section, Information Services, the Government Publications Section, the Witkin State Law Library, and the Sutro Library (in San Francisco). The bureau is also responsible for the acquisition, cataloging, maintenance, and preservation of the State Library’s collections.

The Public History Program provided opportunities to learn about archives, museums, cultural resource management and historic preservation. The hands-on instruction I received from experts in the field was invaluable and continues to inform my work overseeing the collections and services of a large public research library.

Michael Jasinski, Historian, California State Parks

My education from the Sacramento State Public History Program prepared me for the challenging academic and professional requirements for a career in Historic Preservation. Collectively, the multi-disciplinary course work, combined with the knowledge and guidance of professors with wide-ranging professional and academic experiences that I shared amongst a talented and motivated cohort of fellow students, allowed me to narrow my focus and develop skills that have led to a career as a Historian for California State Parks.

As a Historian for State Parks, I travel throughout the state, working to identify and preserve historic resources to ensure that their historical integrity is maintained and their significance in the Parks they are a part of and communities they are associated with is honored. Whether working on National or State level nominations, HABS/HAER/HALS recordations, responding to natural disasters and emergencies, evaluating the potential effects of a proposed project for environmental compliance, or designing a new project to the Secretary of the Interior's Standards, it is a honor to work with a diverse range of resources that reflect the unique experiences and lessons of the past that contribute to a shared sense of place today.

As an alumni of the program (and proud K-Grad School student of the California Public Education System), it is a privilege to work with this large, inspired community of people who share a passion for learning, growth, and Public History.

Kara Brunzell, Owner and Principal of Brunzell Historical

After completing the master’s degree at Sacramento State University, I established my own historic preservation and cultural resource management consulting firm, which specializes in the recordation, inventory, and evaluation of historic resources. Like many traditional graduate history programs, Sacramento State provided a solid grounding in academic history.At the same time, their Cultural Resource Management and Historic Preservation courses offered an introduction to both professional practices and working public historians, resources that would not have been available in a traditional program.

The Sacramento location was an important advantage: students were familiarized with research institutions such as the California State Library and California State Archives that are essential to working public historians statewide. We also got to know the Office of Historic Preservation and its personnel, probably the most influential group in California’s preservation community.

Friendships I formed in the program are the foundation of my professional network. The program’s professional, academic, and location advantages created a synergy that launched me into an extremely rewarding public history career.

Brittani R. Orona, Ph.D. (Hupa), UC President's and Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow, UC Santa Cruz and Assistant Professor of Native American Studies, UC Davis

I graduated from Sacramento State with my Public History Master’s Degree in 2014, and the program has helped me advance both my professional and academic career. After a series of internships focused on Indigenous communities during the program, I became increasingly interested in public policy. My background in Public History and interest in policy helped me gain a spot in the Capital Fellows Executive Fellowship Program after a series of internships at the Office of Historic Preservation, California State Archives, and the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C.. After I completed the fellowship, I accepted a position as an Environmental Justice and Tribal Affairs Specialist with the Department of Toxic Substances Control and ended my state service as the Tribal Affairs Program Manager for the Cultural Resources Division at California State Parks.

From there, the academic interests nurtured at Sacramento State led me back to school. I graduated with my Ph.D. in UC Davis in Native American Studies with a Designated Emphasis in Human Rights in 2022. After I spent a year at San Diego State University as an Assistant Professor of American Indian Studies, I received a 2023-2025 UC President’s and Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship at UC Santa Cruz in History. I will be joining UC Davis (as of July 2025) as an Assistant Professor of Native American Studies where I focus on California Indian studies, Indigenous art, visual sovereignty, and environmental humanities. In addition to my academic projects, I work as a freelance curatorial consultant where I have collobrated with a variety of museums such as the Autry Museum of the American West, Cal Poly Humbolt Goudi’ni Native American Arts Gallery, and the Oakland Museum of California. I currently serve on several committees for the National Council on Public History (NCPH) and on the Council of Leadership (2024-2027) for the California Indian Scholars and Studies Association (CISSA).

My time at Sacramento State was invaluable to my academic and public history career. I learned the process of creating archives, museum exhibitions, oral histories, and cultural resources management skills I still use today in the classroom and in the field.

Westby Mize, MA 2016, Cultural Resources Specialist, Planning Division, Denver Service Center, National Park Service

Much of what I do as a cultural resources specialist ties back to Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.Whether I’m helping park staff reach out to local American Indian tribes or ensuring that a proposed parking lot doesn’t disturb a park’s archeological resources, it all comes back to this critical law.

The Public History Program at Sacramento State helped me develop the knowledge necessary to work in this field, both through coursework in historic preservation and cultural resource management and through hands-on internship experiences. I love what I do, and I give the public history program much of the credit for helping me learn to love it.