Dr. Travis Parno is the Director of Research & Collections at Historic St. Mary’s City. He has over 18 years of experience excavating and researching historic sites in Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts, and Bermuda. In addition to overseeing the Department of Research and Collections, Travis directs excavations at St. Mary’s Fort site, home to the first fort constructed by the European colonizers who established the Maryland colony in the spring of 1634. He is also a founding member of the Chancellor’s Point Working Group, a team of museum professionals and descendants advising the study and commemoration of enslaved individuals buried at the site of Chancellor’s Point.

Travis received his B.A. in Anthropology from the College of William & Mary in 2006, his M.A. in Historical Archaeology from Bristol University in the UK in 2008, and his Ph.D. in Archaeology from Boston University in 2013.