Staff

Matthew Logan, Executive Director 

Matt assumed his current position as Executive Director in November 2014. Throughout his career as an executive, he has built the capacity and effectiveness of small nonprofit organizations in the Washington, DC metro area. Beginning in 1998, he led Potomac Conservancy, a regional conservation group, through a period of rapid and sustained growth. He later founded and served as the first president of the C&O Canal Trust, an official partner of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park. With the Trust, he developed a series of successful programs, most notably Canal Quarters, which was recognized by the federal Advisory Council on Historic Preservation with its Chairman’s Award for Achievement in Historic Preservation.

Matt co-founded Potomac Riverkeeper, where he served as chairman of the Board of Directors and later as president. He has also served on the Board of Directors of the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay, Rock Creek Conservancy, and Acorn Hill School.

Matthew holds Master’s degrees in environment/land use planning and United States history. He lives with his son and daughter in Kensington, Maryland.

Matt Gagle, Director of Programs

Matt joined Montgomery History as the Outreach and Volunteer Manager in the summer of 2019 and became the Director of Programs in June of 2020. He has a BA in History from Thomas Edison State University and has a passion for American Civil War history. Matt and his wife moved to Montgomery County from Abu Dhabi, where they lived and traveled for four years. Matt’s hobbies include photography, hiking, and beekeeping.

Sarah Hedlund, Archivist and Librarian

Sarah Hedlund holds a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Maryland with a specialization in archives and digital curation. She joined the staff at Montgomery History in the fall of 2016 as Archivist for the Montgomery County Archives, later adding the title of Librarian and Archivist for the Jane C. Sween Research Library and Special Collections in 2017. She has worked as a contract archivist for Ellis Conservation and the Town of Glen Echo, and before that worked as a graduate assistant archivist for the University of Maryland, and at the Archives Center in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Acting as both archivist and researcher, she has authored several articles published in the Montgomery County Story (Montgomery History’s bi-annual journal) on the three lynchings in Montgomery County and on the 75-year history of the Montgomery County Historical Society. Sarah moved to Rockville, Maryland in 2015, having worked in Michigan for more than 20 years as a professional violinist and music teacher.

Benjamin O’Dell, Development Coordinator

Benjamin joined Montgomery History as Development Coordinator in February of 2023. He manages all aspects of fundraising including individual donations, event sponsorships, the Annual Fund campaign, and grant writing. Ben had internships with the Dekker Huis and Holland Museums in Michigan before moving to the Washington area. Most recently he worked in visitor services and marketing with the National Building Museum and Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum. Ben has a Bachelor’s degree in Public History from Western Michigan University.

Elizabeth Lay, Collections Manager

Elizabeth first began working for Montgomery History as a guest curator for “A Walk Down the Aisle,” wedding gown exhibition at the Kentlands Mansion in February 2015. She received her MA in the History of Decorative Arts from the Smithsonian-GMU, with a concentration in American Textiles, and minor in Twentieth-Century American Furniture. Lay has a long history in textiles which includes a license agreement with the Victoria and Albert Museum for textile design and internships with Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens, the U.S Department of State Diplomatic Reception Rooms, and the Fashion Museum in Bath, UK. She is also an instructor at The Smithsonian Associates. Elizabeth combines her curatorial experience with 10 years in arts management which included her time as the Executive Director for the City of Gaithersburg Council for the Arts.

Stacie Vodra, Office Manager

Stacie joined Montgomery History as Office Manager in the summer of 2019. In addition to holding a number of office positions and volunteering for the library at Laytonsville Elementary School, she has worked as an interpretive Park Ranger for the National Park Service at both Adams National Historical Park in Quincy, Massachusetts and Presidents Park in Washington, D.C. Stacie earned a Bachelor’s degree in History from Dickinson College and interned at the Cumberland County Historical Society, both in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. On weekends she can be found volunteering with the Boy Scouts of America and playing board games.