Our Team
Founder & CEO
Lois D. Conley, has dedicated many years toward researching African-American history, with particular emphasis on the Underground Railroad and Westward Expansion. Conley was a consultant to the National Park Services study which documented the trails of hundreds of enslaved Blacks that used it to secure their freedom via the Underground Railroad. She has also lectured across the nation at various schools, churches, universities, and has conducted tours to Black historic sites.
Conley consulted for the Royal Tropical Museum in Amsterdam for its exhibition on slavery. She has visited and studied museums in Mexico, Great Britain, Canada, and throughout the United States. Conley was a member of the Neighborhood Leadership Team for St. Louis’ 5th Ward Sustainable Neighborhood Project, has served on grant review panels for the Missouri Arts Council, St. Louis Regional Arts Commission and United Way, and was a founding member of the St. Louis Mid-Size Arts Collaborative.
Conley has been honored by numerous organizations including the Missouri Humanities Council, Top Ladies of Distinction, the Harambee Institute, Elijah Lovejoy Society, National Council of Negro Women, the YWCA of Metropolitan St. Louis, the St. Louis Argus, St. Louis Gateway, Mound City Bar Association, Classic, Greater St. Louis Community Empowerment Foundation, J.U.S.T.I.C.E., Grand Center, The Royal Vagabonds. She is a member of the 2006 class of Leadership St. Louis.
Currently, Conley serves on the Advisory Committee for the Divided City Project, Center for the Humanities at Washington University; co-chairs the Fairgrounds/Grand Metro Link Station Working Group for the Brickline Greenway project, and is an organizing member of the Regional Justice Coalition (RJC-STL)
A graduate of Saint Louis University, Conley earned her bachelor’s degree in Communications and master’s degree in Education. She also earned a Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies from the University of Missouri-St. Louis as an E. Desmond Lee Scholar.
Ms. Conley grew up in St. Louis’ Millcreek Neighborhood, graduated from Vashon High School, and is a life-long member of Greater Mount Carmel Baptist Church.
Staff Members
Dr. Sewasew Assefa - Manager of Operation
Sewasew (So-so) recently earned her Ph.D. in Anthropology from WashU. She researches diet and health of East African populations using osteological and isotopic methods and contextualizes sociopolitical and economic factors through the rich textual and historical sources available. She is a member of the William Leo Hansberry Society and continues to engage in the documentation and preservation of archaeological sites in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania. At the Griot, she will be leading capacity building efforts.
Reach out regarding: Institutional partnerships, fundraising, donation, programming
Yolanda Williams - Visitor Experience Specialist
Yolanda is a dynamic, multi-faceted professional whose work is rooted in community, leadership, and continuous growth. Her journey with The Griot Museum began as a volunteer, where her passion and commitment quickly led her to serve as a board member and now as a Visitor Experience Specialist. She strives to ensure every visitor leaves with a story worth telling.
Reach out regarding: museum operations, general questions, events,
Dr. Zeles Vargas - Community Programming Coordinator
Zeles earned his PhD in Anthropology from WashU in 2025. He researches the mutually re-constitutive relationship between race and sexuality in Latin America. He contextualizes how sex, gender, and class structures among tourists reconfigure space and time into racializing and discriminatory practices that reproduce white supremacy. At the Griot, he handles community and educational programming related to museum exhibits and community outreach.
Reach out regarding: Programmatic collaborations, public education efforts and campaigns, community engagement
Tracy Williams - Media Coordinator
Reach out regarding: Marketing, website, social media
Email: fusion247365@gmail.com
Jonah Lynd-Porter - Assistant Collections Manager
Jonah has an M.A. in History and Museum Studies from UMSL. They’ve studied in China and Scotland. At the Griot their work primarily focuses on managing the collections, as well as evaluating visitor experience and alterations to the exhibits.
Reach out regarding: Archives access, artifact donations, museum feedback
Email: jonahlyndporter@gmail.com
Board of Directors
Ramona Tumblin-Rucker
Chair
Dr. Phyllis Jackson
Secretary
Brian Krueger
Dr. Christopher M. Tinson
Erika D. Neal
Ashley M.Elliott
Growing Griot Leaders
Community leaders in the arts and history sectors who are championing the campaign to ensure The Griot’s growth and sustainable future.
In collaboration with Washington University Professor Adrienne Davis, Kemper Museum Academic Programs Coordinator Rochelle Caruthers, and social impact designer, De Nichols, The Griot Museum of Black History seeks to initiate Growing Griot, a community-centered design and learning framework that investigates the feasibility of reimagining its purpose, redeveloping its building and grounds, and deepening its social power in contemporary St. Louis. This initiative is part of a multi-faceted, long-term vision that builds upon previously initiated and ongoing internal capacity-building activities. Its primary goals include three scopes of work: community engagement, Team Griot, and facility planning.
Lois Conley
Founder/President and CEO, The Griot Museum of Black History
Adrienne Davis
Vice Provost of Washington University in St. Louis and the William M. Van Cleve Professor of Law
Director of the University's Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity
Founder & Co-director of the Law & Culture Initiative
Vin Ko
Community Development and Supporter Engagement, MLS4THELOU
Mark Loerher
Curatorial Assistant, Missouri Historical Society
De Nichols
Loeb Fellow at Harvard University, Senior UX Researcher, Google, Inc.
Geoff Ward
Associate Professor and Associate Chair, African and African-American Studies at Washington University in St. Louis
Volunteers
Our mission would not be complete without the support and vision of our volunteers.
Diane Adams
Jasetha Arrington
Sharon Casey
Amber Coach
Ashley Elliot
May Graham
Laurie Greisedieck
Jeremiah Hawkins
DeJonero Jones
Margo Madison-Adams
Kayla Vaughan
Tony West
Alicia Singleton
Peggy Jo Neely Harris
Phyllis R. Jackson
Roseann Weiss
Gary Conner
Melvin Collins
Etta Daniels
William Murphy Sr.
Gail Delaney
Charles Murphy
Mollie Robinson
Joan Bricetti
Gerthia Carter
