About Us

Paul Carriere is Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President for Legal Affairs of the Atlanta History Center.

As COO, Paul leads the operations side of the History Center, including strategic planning, finance, guest experience, special events and human resources. Prior to joining the History Center, Paul spent almost nine years at the American Cancer Society. During his time with the Cancer Society, Paul held key leadership positions with the Cancer Society’s South Atlantic Division, its largest division in revenue and staff, including Chief Counsel and subsequently Senior Vice President for Operations. As SViP for Operations, Paul served in the second highest leadership position for the division. And he was responsible for leading day-to-day operations, including fundraising and mission delivery.

Before he joined the Cancer Society, Paul was General Counsel for EzGov, Inc., an Atlanta-based software solutions company, an associate in the Atlanta office of Troutman Sanders LLP and a law clerk to Judge Davison the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Paul has law degree from Tulane Law School and a B.A. in History from the University of Texas.

I manage the Kenan Research Center, the library and archives division of the Atlanta History Center.

I love the Atlanta History Center because of our collections and the dedication and creativeness of my colleagues.

F. Sheffield Hale is President and CEO of the Atlanta History Center. Prior to joining the Atlanta History Center in 2012 he served as Chief Counsel of the American Cancer Society, Inc. and was a Partner practicing corporate law in the firm of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP.

Mr. Hale serves as a Trustee of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Fox Theatre, Inc., Buckhead Coalition, Midtown Alliance, and Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau. He is a Past Chair of the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, the Atlanta History Center, St. Jude’s Recovery Center, Inc., and the State of Georgia’s Judicial Nominating Commission.

Mr. Hale received his B.A. in History from the University of Georgia summa cum laude in 1982, and received his J.D. in 1985 from the University of Virginia School of Law. He is a member of the American Law Institute.

I am responsible for capital projects, construction management, real estate, and working with the contractor which maintains the institution’s facilities.

I love the Atlanta History Center because I like helping our organization achieve big things so that our mission of connecting people with history and culture can happen in a significant way.

I direct the talented Gardens team and work on developing our gardens and forest to the highest standards of a botanical garden through landscape design and capital projects, plant and animal collections, interpretation, preservation, and collaboration on programs and partnerships.

I love the Atlanta History Center because of our combination of museum, public garden, research center and horticultural library; it allows for a much broader understanding of our past, with fascinating and diverse programs and exhibits both indoors and outside.

I supervise the research, interpretation, and presentation of collections and exhibitions, including historic houses and gardens.

I love the Atlanta History Center because it lets individuals better understand themselves, their neighbors, their environment, and their lives.

Michael Rose is Executive Vice President of the Atlanta History Center, responsible for the institution’s interpretive and research content, including the Kenan Research Center, historic houses, historic gardens, exhibitions, and the library, archives, museum, and living collections.

Mr. Rose serves on boards of the Georgia Archives Institute, Southern Architecture Foundation, Istanbul Center of Atlanta, and Daguerreian Society, is a past board member of the Southeastern Registrars Association and the Library Council of the Atlanta Regional Council on Higher Education.

He is a Fellow of the Winterthur Museum Institute and has served as a consultant to the American Alliance of Museums’ Museum Assessment Program.

Mr. Rose is the author of seven publications, including Atlanta Scenes; Atlanta: A Portrait of the Civil War; Atlanta: Then and Now; Historic Photos of Atlanta; and Lost Atlanta.

Since 1997, Mr. Rose has been the curator of over twelve exhibitions, including Captured by the Camera; Exploration and Discovery in Mapping Georgia, 1493 - 1921; Sherman’s Photographer: Scenes of Civil
War Atlanta; I Have a Dream: The Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Collection (co-curator); In the Classical Tradition: Designs by Philip Trammell Shutze; Eudora Welty: Exposures and Reflections (local component); and Atlanta's Book: The Lost “Gone With the Wind” Manuscript.

I coordinate all daily functions and operations at the Atlanta History Center’s Midtown campus. I focus on admissions, tours, group tours, and customer service. I also act as gift shop and retail manager and assist all departments and their programs as they are hosted here.

I love the Atlanta History Center because the passion shared by both our guests and colleagues is exhilarating every day.

I manage the donor and fundraising events for the Atlanta History Center, including exhibit openings and the Swan House Ball.

I love working at the Atlanta History Center because of the knowledge we are able to share with the community.

I help manage and maintain membership information and other donor data, as well as supporting all correspondences and member needs through mail, email, and by phone. I also help with membership and other donor programs.

I love the Atlanta History Center because I'm part of an organization that celebrates so much arts and culture and education.

I specialize in the subject areas of American landscape history and historic preservation. I manage the preservation and interpretation of the Cherokee Garden Library collection, including rare books, manuscripts, landscape architectural drawings, seed catalogs, and more.

I love the Atlanta History Center because I'm a passionate history and plant geek!

I care for, monitor conditions of, locate, and handle the nearly 57,000 museum objects in our collection that are spread across our campuses. I also handle loans of collections items and help researchers.

I love the Atlanta History Center because I get to geek out about history all day with fellow nerds.

I manage over 1100 manuscript collections at the Kenan Research Center by keeping the materials organized, overseeing preservation, and cataloging new donations. In addition, I assist with reference and work with donors.

I love the Atlanta History Center because I participate in the protection and the dissemination of Atlanta’s rich past.

I catalog books and periodicals, manage metadata, and work at the reference desk.

I love the Atlanta History Center because I enjoy cataloging books and helping patrons find information.

I catalog and process books, periodicals, manuscript and visual arts collections, as well as assist researchers.

I love working at the Atlanta History Center because I can combine my two favorite interests, gardening and archives.

I manage the Atlanta History Center’s oral history collections and produce genealogy programs for our members and the public.

I love the Atlanta History Center because everybody has a story to tell and we collect, preserve, and share those stories with the world!

I solve challenges and help others anyway I can. If you are outside I am usually nearby doing something.

I love the Atlanta History Center, especially the gardens, because no two days are ever alike and I am never bored!

I provide care for the Atlanta History Center’s animals: sheep, goats, chickens, turkeys, honey bees, and a cat. Also I’m in charge of the wildlife projects we undertake on campus.

I love the Atlanta History Center because we have a great staff of humans as well as a great group of animals.

I am involved in all of the countless, behind-the-scenes jobs to help make this place look nice.

I love the Atlanta History Center because this is a very beautiful place… and the people here are so friendly.

I manage the plant life on the Smith Family Farm and use the gardens as a tool for understanding what life on a slave-holding farm in the 1860’s would be like. When I’m not in the dirt, I’m researching 19th-century foodways and agriculture to inform my growing practices.

I love the Atlanta History Center because we have so many different ways for people to engage with their past. I especially love when guests share their vegetable gardening experiences and memories with me when they come to the farm.

I oversee the recruitment, training, and placement of all active volunteers in an effort to engage our community and increase Atlanta History Center’s service capacity. I also coordinate our Intern Program, which takes place in three sessions each year throughout all of our departments.

I love working at Atlanta History Center because I love engaging people in a shared interest, in this case history. In order to become a better community and country, we should examine the past to determine areas of growth and change. I’m proud to be a part of that process here at Atlanta History Center.

Louise was the fourth generation of her family to lead the 108 year old office furniture and workspace solutions company. She succeeded her great-grandfather and company founder, Ivan Allen, Sr., her grandfather, the late mayor Ivan Allen, Jr., her uncle, the late Ivan Allen III and her father, H. Inman Allen. Atlanta born and educated in The Westminster Schools, Louise began her business career in California with Goldman Sachs in San Francisco. Her real passion for business developed when she joined an internet company in the mid 90's. When they sold the company five years later, Louise headed to New York where she joined Thompson Financial, a leader in providing e-information and integrated work solutions to the worldwide financial communities.

Louise was asked to take over the daily operations of Ivan Allen Workspace in May of 2005. As CEO, she became the first woman in the Allen family to assume this position and led the company with courage and a passionate dedication toward providing her customers with extraordinary service. She managed to switch manufacturers, buy her family out of the business and ultimately sold the family business to a publicly traded company.

Louise is currently working with the Woodruff Arts Center Annual Corporate Campaign and serves on the Authority Board of Grady Hospital.

Teya Ryan is a 30-year broadcast media veteran with a career that includes broadcast management, production and content creation. Ms. Ryan brings a wealth of experience to her role as President and Executive Director of GPB Media. Ms. Ryan formerly served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of CNN/US. Before taking on her role with CNN/US, Ms. Ryan served as Executive Vice President and General Manager for CNN Headline News and CNN fn. Ms. Ryan has also generated a series of television “firsts,” including “Talk Back Live,” the first daily live talk show to incorporate interaction via the Internet. While working jointly for CNN and TBS, Ms. Ryan served as the executive producer for “Network Earth,” the first weekly environmental magazine series. During her tenure as Executive Vice President and General Manager for CNN Headline News, she also pioneered the unique multi-element screen as part of the network redesign launched in 2001. As Executive Vice President and General Manager for CNN fn, Ms. Ryan also built the first set for the CNN NewsGroup at both the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ. Ms. Ryan’s additional career accomplishments include consulting for PBS on the design of the digital cable network, Public Square. Before joining GPB Media, she led her own multi-platform media company.

In 2012, under her leadership, GPB Media received the Southeast Regional Emmy for Station Excellence and again in 2015. She also received a Womenetics 2012 POW! Award for business innovation. Additionally, Ms. Ryan has won seven Emmys, four Cable Ace Awards and she was named one of the ten most powerful women in media by Crain Media in 2002. Her civic roles include serving as a board member for Oxfam America; serving as a vice president and founding member of The Society for Environmental Journalists; serving as vice president of the board for LEAD International, serving as vice president of the board for the Verde Valley School, a secondary school in Sedona, Arizona; and being active with Women in Film and The Women’s Leadership Forum. She is also a member of Atlanta’s Woodruff Arts Center Board of Trustees and the Rotary Club of Atlanta.