Center Directors and Staff

David M. Kennedy, is the Donald J. McLachlan Professor of History Emeritus; he came to Stanford in 1967. Professor Kennedy received the Dean's Award for Distinguished Teaching in 1988. His scholarship is notable for its integration of economic and cultural analysis with social and political history. Dr. Kennedy was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in history in 1999 for Freedom From Fear: The American People in Depression and War. He  received an A.B. in history from Stanford University and MA and PhD from Yale University. See More >

Richard White, is the Margaret Byrne Professor of American History; he came to Stanford in 1998. Professor White's areas of study include the American Northwest, including Canada, with wide interests in social, environmental, and cultural cross-currents. White's first book, Land Use, Environment, and Social Change in a Western County, Island County, Washington, 1790-1940, was one of the first small-scale studies of ecological change produced by environmental historians. Professor White received a MacArthur Award in 1997. He received an AB in history from the University of California, Santa Cruz and an MA and PhD from the University of Washington. See More >

Tammy Frisby's research has explored how election laws affect state elections and policymaking,  state legislative term limits and direct democracy in western U.S. states, and the causes and consequences of innovative public policy in the West. Dr. Tammy Frisby received her Ph.D. in Political Science from the Department of Government at Harvard University. She joined the Center in 2006 as a postdoctoral fellow, and became its first Executive Director in September 2007. See More>

Priscilla Williams has been at Stanford since 1985, hired by the History Department. Before Stanford, after receiving a B.S. in Business with a minor in English, she earned a secondary teaching credential through an intern high school teaching program.  She is a member of the National Parks Conservation Association, roots&shoots, and a supporter of the Woods Institute for the Environment.  Priscilla joined the Bill Lane Center in 2007 as the office and financial administrator.

Julie Martinez graduated from Stanford University with a double major in Economics and History, and continued her education at the Graduate School of Management at UCLA, where she earned an MBA. She has held various financial management positions in the high technology industry at companies such as Hewlett-Packard, Sun Microsystems and Tandem Computers. She also has previous experience working with students in various settings. Julie has been coordinating internships for the Bill Lane Center for the American West since 2006, and has been instrumental in the successful growth of the program.

Sue Purdy Pelosi joined the Bill Lane Center in 2007. Sue coordinates our publicity and outreach efforts and plans our major events, including Walking the Farm. She also works on developing publications for the Bill Lane Center's activities. Sue has been managing publicity and events on Stanford campus since 2001. She has worked for Stanford's Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies (CREEES) and the Stanford Technology Ventures Program in Management Science & Engineering (STVP).