Our Staff and Board

Born and raised in Chatham, Ontario, Michael has been the Executive Director/Curator (ED/C) of the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum (MVTM) since July 1, 2007. He studied for a diploma in Fine Arts at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario, before receiving a diploma in Applied Museum Studies from Algonquin College, Ottawa. He was employed as Assistant Curator at the Diefenbunker: Canada’s Cold War Museum, and then as Program Coordinator for Young Canada Works in Heritage Organizations with the Canadian Museums Association.

Serving as ED/C, Michael has been pivotal in making the building fully accessible, acquiring a heating and cooling system, and increasing the Museum’s partnerships within Mississippi Mills and the surrounding areas. He has overseen the creation of two permanent exhibits at the Museum about industrial wool processing, an oral history project preserving the experiences of local mill workers, the Millworkers’ Staircase and Riverwalk, and countless temporary exhibits that work to provide forums for contemporary issues.

Paving the way for safe museum spaces, Michael has empowered the MVTM to become Canada’s first Rainbow Registered museum, and strives to create a more diverse and inclusive heritage sector. With this goal in mind, Michael is involved in several local Town committees and the Ontario Museum Association’s Executive Council.

Ryan Milton has been the Curatorial and Museum Management Assistant at the Mississippi Valley Textile Museum since June 2020. He previously worked for the museum as a Summer student during the spring and summer of 2018. He studied Arts and History at the University of Ottawa, before receiving a diploma in Applied Museum Studies at Algonquin College in Ottawa, Ontario. He was previously employed as Conservation Assistant [student] at Lower Fort Garry – Parks Canada, Manitoba, as well as an Art Handling Technician with the Canada Council Art Bank.

This varied background has allowed him to collect many tools and varying points of view regarding history and the arts, as well as the varied ways in which both are displayed and engaged with by the public. He has aided in the conservation, digitization, display, and storage of varied works and artefacts, as well as the de/installation of various exhibits and displays.

Laila Hack graduated from Wilfrid Laurier University in 2017 with an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Near Eastern and Classical Archaeology, where she focused on ancient art interpretation and spent three seasons excavating at the Town of Nebo archaeological site in Jordan, researching artifacts and drawing them for publication at the University during school terms. She went on to complete a Master of Arts with Distinction in Art and Archaeology at University College London, doing original research through a feminist lens for her dissertation on the construction of gender and sexuality ideology in early Islamic art. Pivoting from academia to the museum sector, Laila completed a post-graduate diploma in Museum Management and Curatorship at Fleming College.

Through both school and work, she has conducted research for Peterborough Museum & Archives, Hutchison House Museum, the Association of Nova Scotia Museums, Robert McLaughlin Gallery, the Ontario Museum Association, and Pickering Museum Village. Her research experience is varied with an intersectional approach, including different methodologies, lenses, and sources, and pertained to numerous subjects, including history, modern and ancient art, artifact interpretation, data enrichment, and current issues within the museum sector, such as accessibility, diversity, and decolonization

Jo Danaher has been the Bookkeeper for MVTM since 2012. In addition to the museum, she provides bookkeeping services for a variety of retail, consulting, and charitable organizations in and around Almonte. Jo is a graduate of Carleton University with a background in Human Resources and Project Management. She has a love of numbers and a great respect for the entrepreneurial and charitable spirits.

Jo has lived in Almonte for over twenty five years where she has raised two children along with a variety of four legged creatures.

Maybe McInnis is a multidisciplinary artist and art historian specializing in visual art, 2SLGBTQIA history, and community engagement. 

After graduating from Concordia University in 2020 with a BFA in Art History and Studio Arts, Maybe relocated to Mississippi Mills and began working at Big Vintage on Almonte’s Mill Street, where they deepened their appreciation for the historical roots of the Mississippi Valley. From 2021-2023 as program coordinator at Mississippi Mills Youth Centre, Maybe partnered with local artists, businesses, community members, and volunteer organizations to develop high quality programs and events for youth and families to connect with their community.

As MVTM’s Museum Management Assistant, Maybe works on special projects, museum collections, fundraising, reception, and events, while also coordinating volunteers for projects such as the 29th Annual Fibrefest, the MVTM Dye Garden, and an upcoming project with Digital Museums Canada: “Fashioning Identity: Clothing and the 2SLGBTQIA+ Community of the Mississippi Valley.”

With a background that ranges from kitchen management to auto restoration, Lizz has an unusual mix of technical and artistic skills.  She formally trained in conservation and arts administration at Sir Sandford Fleming College, Peterborough.

Since starting her career as a conservator and museum professional, Lizz has worked in a variety of heritage institutions, including the Canada Museum of Science and Technology and The Klondike National Historic Site. She has worked on objects as diverse as a beaded silk wedding dress and the carding machines upstairs at the MVTM.  She is now retired and is formerly the Facilities Manager at the Diefenbunker, where she was responsible for the building and building infrastructure as well as the care of the museum collection.

Born in Almonte, Andy has called the Mississippi Mills area his home for most of his life. A lawyer by training, he worked most of his career as an international human rights mediator and journalist. Andy is an avid member of Valley Heritage Radio, where he contributes to documenting the history and culture of the Ottawa Valley. A songwriter, musician, and a 5th generation fiddler, he is passionate about all art forms that reflect who we are, and where we have come from. Andy has devoted much energy to social justice advocacy, particularly for the 2-spirit and LGBTQ+ communities. On July 4, 2020, he married his husband, Tony, on the grounds of Mississippi Valley Textile Museum. Andy brings legal and media skills, together with his passion for culture and the arts.

Pam is the recently retired CEO/ Chief Librarian of the Mississippi Mills Library. Pam has a passion for public library service, Pam Harris began her career as a children’s librarian and rural services advocate. Pam promoted meaningful public library service in her role as the CEO/Chief Librarian of the Mississippi Mills Public Library, a 2-branch system serving a population of 12,500. Mississippi Mills is not only a bedroom community to Ottawa; it is also a growing community, a mix of rural farmland, hamlets, villages, a town, and an economy increasingly relying on tourism. Its unique configuration continues to present interesting and surprising challenges for the cultural sector.

Charlotte has been a member of the MVTM for several years and appreciate the contribution it makes to the culture of Mississippi Mills. Charlotte is interested in helping to ensure that the museum continues to be successful. I am interested in the role of the museum in researching local history as well as its role in bringing contemporary art exhibits to our area.

In Charlotte’s working life (1973-2006) Charlotte was a computer systems analyst and then a manager of IT with several government departments. Charlotte has experience as a project manager and in her role as a manager gained experience in the management of human resources, budgets and in the development of business and strategic plans.

Since retirement she has volunteered with local organizations. Charlotte was on the Town’s Heritage committee for 9 years both as a member and the chair. During that time, she gained some knowledge of the legislation and policies concerning built Heritage as well as the functioning of municipal government. While on the Heritage committee she managed 3 Doors Open events, learning more about both local history and managing an event in a volunteer environment with limited funds.

Skylee-Storm Hogan-Stacey holds a B.A. Hons. cum laude in Law from Algoma University and an M.A. in History from the University of Western Ontario. Skylee-Storm has worked professionally as an Archive Assistant, Research Assistant, and Educational Outreach Coordinator for the Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre from 2015-2018. Skylee-Storm began working in historical research services in 2019. Currently a Historian with Know History on an interchange working with the Office of the Independent Special Interlocutor for Missing Children and Unmarked Graves and Burial Sites associated with Indian Residential Schools. They have a book with Krista McCracken: Decolonial Archival Futures, published through the American Libraries Association.

Sean has been a stone mason for over 2 decades. In 1999 he enrolled in the Heritage Masonry program in Perth and in the years following honed his skills in the trade. In 2004 Sean moved with his young family to Almonte and became self-employed forming Dominion Masonry, Stonework’s & Construction. In the coming years he completed various restoration and new construction projects including Class I heritage designated restorations at the Commissariat, and the Experimental Farm in Ottawa, the Woods Mills complex in Smiths falls as well as works at various other buildings such as the Old Flour Mill, the Victoria Mill and the Thoburn Mill in Almonte. Sean continues to work in Lanark County and the Ottawa area producing and preserving lasting masonry structures.

Sean brings a love and wealth of knowledge of the built history and architecture of traditional structures in Ontario as well as an in-depth knowledge of proper restoration techniques.

Bel is a feminist artist, who believes in equality, social justice, and creativity.  She started a journey to find ways to integrate her life, background, experiences, ethnicity, culture, passions with creativity.

She has spent most of her working life as a humanitarian aid worker, and lived and worked in Asia, Africa, Middle East, Europe, and North America, working with refugees and internally displaced people.  Some years she has specialized on programmes addressing violence against women, but other years served in senior management or as an independent consultant.  Bel is a self- taught artist with a master’s degree in development studies.  Bel is inspired by progressive friendships and readings.  She is especially inspired by friends and organizations working on economic justice, environmental justice, land rights, and social justice and those working to end violence against women. Bel endeavours to share some of those inspirations here.

Eliakim is deeply passionate about preserving and sharing cultural heritage. Growing up in a rural community in Kenya, he watched as shifts in technology made some elements of his culture quietly become obsolete. As a passionate photographer, he began to document some of these artifacts in the hopes of one day creating a digital repository of images and stories about his culture.

Eliakim had the opportunity to build on his knowledge and skills throughout his six years of work with Digital Divide Data (DDD), a global social enterprise that supports a variety of digitization projects, from legal or newspaper records to entire museum collections.

The project that he is most proud of from his six years with DDD was one he completed in partnership with Amazon Web Services and Intel to digitize one of the largest collections of Archeology and Palaeontology in the world, at the National Museums of Kenya. 

Eliakim intends to continue using his skills to ensure that cultural heritage is preserved.