I am a professional historian, research consultant, editor and published author committed to making the past accessible and relevant to a broad audience. I hold a Ph.D. in history from Duke University and spent my graduate school years exploring the history of women and politics in the United States. In 2006, I returned to Minnesota after an absence of twenty years. My background as a professional historian brought the terrain of my youth into new focus, drawing me into an exploration of the past in my home state and home town. I am currently working on a new history of Minneapolis, which is tentatively titled City of Light and Darkness: The Making of a Progressive Metropolis in Minneapolis. I want to embed this book in a context of community engagement. To this end, I started the Historyapolis Project, which seeks to make the history of Minneapolis as accessible to the broadest audience possible. My hope is to catalyze community dialogue around some of the most challenging aspects of the past in the community. The project will include a website, public programming and a published volume that will serve as a comprehensive reference to the city's history.