About

About Read Write History

Read Write History follows the increasing use of inexpensive modern tools to increase the awareness of and engagement with local history, and ultimately to encourage historic preservation.

It touches . . .Read Write History

  • many fields, including historic preservation, public history, the humanities, geography, and archeology
  • the work of archivists, librarians, and those involved in museums, as well as those in the field, including archeologists and geographers
  • technologies, including the application of Web-based data storage and retrieval and the wide variety of Web 2.0 tools
  • the local, state, region, and national levels
  • private non-profit and for-profit organizations, as well as government agencies

About the Author

The Read Write History blog is written by Lee Wright–no, the title is not a play on words–and is based on the belief that the best way to ensure historic preservation of artifacts, buildings, and our local history, is to provide broad-based engagement that fosters an appreciation of and connection to historical objects, places, and events.

Leading a meeting of New England historical society boards.

Leading a meeting of New England historical society boards.

Lee is also creating The History List, which has a similar mission and is focused on increasing awareness of history-related programs and special events.  (If you’re interested in learning more, please send an e-mail message.)

These are both the result of work in historic preservation and the preservation of local history and the application of experience with new technologies, especially web-based technologies, to communicate and collaborate.

Current volunteer efforts

Board

Member

Volunteer efforts with historical societies in New England have been covered in the Boston Globe.

Home

Grasslands Farm in the early 1900s.

Lee and Katherine live in The Samuel Witt House (1780), which, in the early 1900s, was part of a 100-acre farm called “Grasslands Farm.” (The undated photo is from this period.)

One of their more creative interior additions–all Katherine’s idea–was a featured Instructable.

Experience

Through work at industry-leading public and private companies, Lee has focused on the development and introduction of new technologies, including co-founding a web start-up in 1994, founding a web usability consultancy in 1997, co-founding a mobile application developer services provider in 2000, and serving on the management team of an identity services infrastructure company in 2004.

He has spoken at industry conferences in the United States and Europe, and his research and commentary has appeared in Ad Age, The Industry Standard, Wireless Week, RCR, ZDNet, InfoWorld, and ID Newswire, among others, and on CNN.

In addition to his current volunteer work in local history and historic preservation, his earlier volunteer efforts include service on the board of trustees of the Des Moines Public Library System, the board of directors of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Evening Associates, the Campaign Effectiveness Council of the United Way/Crusade of Mercy, the mayor’s technical services committee for the City of Dallas, and the board of directors of the Association for Retarded Citizens/The Arc of Dallas and on the board of the state organization.

Lee has a bachelor’s degree from Drake University and a Masters of Management from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

Contact

LinkedIn

Twitter

E-mail

Credits

Thanks to more than a year of urging from Bruce Warila, and more recently from Darius Abbassi and Victor Brilon, I started writing about issues I’ve been working with since moving to New England a few years ago, and to the help and encouragement of Troy Harrison, James Marzano, Gavin McGovern, Ellen Sullivan, and other friends and colleagues along the way.