Our organization consists of passionate individuals from varied backgrounds, who share in the spirit and vision of this museum.
Our Team
dr. Thomas reidy
Thomas Reidy received his PhD in History from the University of Alabama and for many years was a popular Lecturer at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Tom currently serves as the executive director for the Scottsboro Boys Museum, where he is credited with designing and writing the content for its exhibits.
Executive Director-
His association with the museum goes back to 2010 and he played a pivotal role lobbying for and writing the Scottsboro Boys Act (AL 2013), a law which allows the state to posthumously pardon convicted felons.
In addition to his work at the museum, Tom serves on the boards of the Alabama Department of Archives and History, Historic Huntsville Foundation, and the Racial Equity Committee for the Community Foundation of Greater Huntsville.
His published works cover both the antebellum period in Alabama and the civil rights movement. He recently edited and wrote the Introduction to The Founding of Alabama: Background and Formative Period in the Great Bend and Madison County (UA PRESS, 2019), which is available in bookstores today.
Katherine Carroll
Katherine (Ren) Carroll was born and raised in Fyffe, AL, where she graduated from Fyffe High School. She went on to receive her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Auburn University during which time she interned for the National Museum for Women in the Arts, Alabama State Council on the Arts and was the Editor-in-chief of the school literary magazine The Auburn Circle.
Assistant Director
Social Media Coordinator Taylor Maddox
Creative and strategic in equal measure, Taylor brings fresh ideas to every social platform and campaign. She turns insights into action and helps our message resonate with our audience.
Community CoordinatorAngel spence
Hi everyone! My name is Angel Spence, and I am a Northeast Alabama native and recent graduate of the University of Alabama, where I earned my Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Information Sciences.
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I am excited to begin my new role as Community Coordinator, and I look forward to connecting with the community, sharing stories, creating new opportunities, and helping others learn more about the museum's history and significance.
Our board of
directors
Rev. lasange (Lacey) smith
Lacey’s hometown is Pensacola, Florida and currently resides in Scottsboro. She has been active in church and community affairs all her life: as Church secretary, Sunday School teacher and Superintendent, teacher for Evangelistic ministry, and Minister of music. She is employed by The Arc of Jackson County.
Board Chair -
Lacey is proudly married to the Rev. Jerry W. Smith, pastor of Bailey Springs (Florence) and Mt. Zion (Muscle Shoals) AMEC churches. They have five daughters, five grand-daughters and five grand-sons.
Lacey has been pastoring in the AME church since 2013, where she accepted her 1st pastoral assignment at Bethel Friendship AMEC (Orion, AL). She currently serves as pastor at Greater St. Paul-Scottsboro and Matthews Chapel-Fackler AME churches.
One of her favorite scriptures is, Psalm 91:1 “He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty
jaia chen
Board MemberJaia Chen was born in China and immigrated to America during her teenage years. She studied art at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and obtained her Master of Fine Arts degree from Ohio State University
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Mrs. Chen was among fifty international artists chosen to attend the prestigious Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture’s international advanced artist program.
Mrs. Chen is an artist, curator, and educator. She has lived and worked on three different continents: Europe, America, and Asia. She has worked as an artist, showcased her artwork nationally and internationally, curated art exhibitions, and established an artists’ cultural exchange program. She has taught art for the past twenty years at various educational institutions.
Since returning to America 17 years ago, Mrs. Chen has been working in the Alabama Community College system. Besides teaching art, Mrs. Chen and her students have engaged, collaborated, and contributed to many creative community projects, such as mural painting for the ARC foundation, teaching art at Arts n’ Autism, and decorating hospital doors during the Christmas season. Recently, she and her art students from Northeast Alabama Community College finished a large-scale chalk mural drawing in Mentone, Alabama, highlighting the bond between NACC the college and the Little River Arts Council. Mrs. Chen wholeheartedly believes that art is a shared language, transcending boundaries between people and cultures. Art can heal and bring people together, and ultimately transform communities.
Lydia fielder
Board Member, Interim Treasurer Lydia Fielder serves as the Executive Director of Tourism for Jackson County, Alabama, where she leads strategic efforts to promote the county as a destination while strengthening quality of place and advancing tourism driven economic development.
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Her work centers on building partnerships, elevating community assets, and encouraging responsible growth that benefits residents, businesses, and visitors alike.
Her career has been shaped by work at the intersection of people, place, and opportunity. Before leading tourism efforts, Lydia spent years working in economic development, workforce initiatives, and community based organizations across Alabama and the Northeast, gaining firsthand experience with the challenges and strengths that shape communities. This background informs her work today, using tourism as a tool to strengthen communities and support long term economic opportunity.
A North Alabama native and University of Alabama graduate, Lydia is motivated by a lifelong commitment to service, collaboration, and creating meaningful, positive impact in the communities she serves.
dennis fluet
Board Member Dennis is a farmer in the making and an admirer of the natural landscape of Northeast Alabama and the Greater Chattanooga-Huntsville region, bringing a deep appreciation for place, community, and stewardship to his professional and civic work.
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His career as a business, brand, and digital strategist has supported small business owners and leading pharmaceutical and entertainment media companies, including The History Channel, Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Travel Channel, Animal Planet, Pacira, and others.
He serves on the boards of three early-stage clinical pharmaceutical companies in the United States and Poland, as well as The Good Life Movement, a national nonprofit dedicated to ending the mental health crisis through public action, awareness, and policy change.
Civic engagement has been a core value instilled by his parents, and reinforced when he was selected to attend American Legion Boys State, a leadership and citizenship program for promising high school students. He regards his role on the board of the Scottsboro Boys Museum—a cultural institution honoring nine young African American men whose case became a symbol of race-based injustice in the American South—as one of the most consequential commitments of his lifetime.
william hampton
Board Member William H. Hampton is a sixth generation native of Huntsville-Madison County, Alabama. William developed a love of history as a small child listening to the stories shared by great-grandparents, grandparents, and older relatives on what he calls the "Front Porch Experience.” This fascination with stories and history evolved into a lifelong love of history.
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William serves the community working with the following organizations: executive board member of the Scottsboro Boys Museum and Cultural Center in Scottsboro, Alabama, a class facilitator for LearningQuest, consultant for Huntsville City Schools EarthScope Environmental Development Department, Huntsville Preservation Association, the Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society Marker Committee, chairman of the Circle of Remembrance Committee, and the Early Works Children's Museum African-American Advisory Board. William opened the Huntsville Revisited Museum, a local history museum in Huntsville, Alabama in June 2020. William is also a local concert promoter and former record label president of Madison Avenue Records.
Daniel Kasambira
Board Member Daniel Kasambira has been a nonprofit administrator for over 20 years. He currently serves as President & CEO for United Way of Madison County in Huntsville, AL. Before that, he was Executive Director then Chief Development and Community Engagement Officer at Heart of the Valley YMCA, Director of Alabama A&M Student Health and Wellness Center, and Relationship Manager at the United Way of Central, AL.
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Extended Bio Pending
Ana wright
Board Member Ana Wright is the granddaughter of Andy Wright and the Executive Director of One Simon Two Rubys and A Hamp, which is a 501(c)(3) that she founded in 2025. This organization restores dignity and accessibility to sacred outdoor spaces, specifically cemeteries in underserved communities.
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Extended Bio Pending.
loretta tolliver
Board Member Emerita 
lynda hodges
Board Member Emerita Roberson project interns
The Scottsboro Boys Museum thanks the Roberson Project for connecting the museum with passionate and prepared interns. The Roberson Project is a key community partner in our educational outreach initiative. Learn more about the Roberson Project below.
Founded in 2017, the Roberson Project on Slavery, Race, and Reconciliation is a teaching-focused initiative based at The University of the South (Sewanee, TN). This projects engages both University students, faculty, and alum and Sewanee’s local residents in the pursuit of truth-telling, inclusive community, innovation, and leadership.
This initiative’s main focus is to give a more complete historical account of Sewanee that sheds light on how slavery and its legacies have marked our shared history. It also strives to acknowledges the contributions and sacrifices of all who have shaped Sewanee’s past and present.
The project accomplishes this mission through research, curriculum, community engagement, and reconciliation.
To learn more about this initiative visit https://robersonproject.sewanee.edu/ .
Eliza Dieck
Summer 2026 InternHi! My name is Eliza Dieck and I am thrilled to intern at the Scottsboro Boys Museum this summer. I recently graduated from Sewanee: The University of the South in May with a Bachelor of Arts in Rhetoric and minors in Business and Art History.
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Thank you to the Roberson Project on Slavery, Race, and Reconciliation for collaborating with the Scottsboro Boys Museum to offer this inaugural internship. I am excited to work with the Scottsboro Boys Museum team because of their mission to confront and correct collective memories of racial injustice in the United States through education reform.