John L. Seidel, Executive Director,  joined Historic St. Mary’s City in January 2024. Holding two Master’s degrees and a Ph.D., Seidel has previously taught at Rutgers University, Drew University, University of Maryland College Park, and Washington College. While at Washington College he developed a new archaeology program, resulting in a new Anthropology major, and spearheaded the eventual establishment of a stand-alone Department of Anthropology. In 2006, he was appointed Interim Director of the College’s Center for Environment Society (CES), becoming its full-time director in 2007 after a national search. Under his leadership, the CES saw an explosive growth in annual gifts, grants, and contracts; the development of extensive public programming that ranged from environmental science and habitat restoration to archaeology; K-12 STEM initiatives and extensive teacher training programs; growth of the Center in staffing and volunteers; and the establishment of three labs, the Public Archaeology Laboratory, the Watershed Innovation Lab, and a Geographic Information Systems Lab.

His wife Elizabeth also worked at Washington College, in the role of Archaeology Lab Director and Senior Staff Archaeologist. Elizabeth Seidel began her career in the late 1980s at the Baltimore Center for Urban Archaeology. She has worked for the University of Maryland College Park, Historic Londontown, the Lost Towns Project of Anne Arundel County, and various consulting firms. In 1999, Elizabeth launched Washington College’s Public Archaeology Lab, stepping down from the role last March.