“The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction.”
- Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
OUR STORY
The effort to create Springsong officially began in 2021, as the world was emerging from darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic. With societal isolation and despair at record highs, Silver Spring resident Rebecca Henson founded the museum to be a place of joy and solace that would share Rachel Carson’s love of nature and sense of wonder with our local community and far beyond.
From our very earliest outreach efforts, support for the idea of the Springsong Museum has been overwhelming. Generous friends, colleagues, and community members have contributed their time and brainpower to making the concept stronger. We are grateful to have the support of Nature Forward (formerly the Audubon Naturalist Society), the DC-area conservation organization to which Carson belonged, as well as the list of invaluable partners below.
Rebecca Henson (R), Springsong founder and director, with Linda Lear (L), Rachel Carson's primary biographer and Senior Advisor to the museum. (Photo Credit: Lin Orrin)
Our Team
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Angie L. Barry
Museum Management Specialist
Angie L. Barry has a Bachelors in Art History and a Masters in Arts Administration from Florida State University, and for 15 years served as the Associate Director and Curator of Exhibitions & Collections at the Gadsden Arts Center & Museum in Quincy, Florida. While there, she helped secure first time accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums, was an integral part of multiple major fundraising campaigns, developed exhibitions of American artists, and oversaw and carried out the care and conservation of the Permanent Collection. Now working in Maryland, Barry helps museums develop strategic and operating plans, collection policies, multi-year exhibition projects, and has written successful federal and private foundation grants.
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Julie Farkas
Strategic Advisor & Development Lead
Julie is a social entrepreneur who has launched and scaled nonprofit as well as for-profit businesses. From founding an employment program for people who are homeless to co-founding Honest Tea, Julie has been involved in creating solutions that improve the lives of individual people as well as the health of our communities. Julie is a Co-founder and Board Member at PLNT Burger and is on the Advisory Council of Conservation Nation. For the past 20 years, Julie has spearheaded a tree-planting initiative in her neighborhood which has planted more than 400 trees.
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Gina Ghertner
Senior Nature Educator
Gina Ghertner has been an environmental educator in the DMV area for 15 years. She has a degree in Forest Sciences from La Molina National Agricultural University in Lima, Peru. Gina has been leading programs for schools K-12 as well as outreach educational events for diverse communities. Her passion is to facilitate nature appreciation through engagement in hands-on experience and to instill a sense of nature belonging to every community member.
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Rebecca Schlesinger Henson
Founder/Executive Director
A Maryland Master Naturalist & mom to two nature-loving boys, Rebecca Henson most recently worked at Nature Forward's Woodend Sanctuary and on deforestation-related projects for the nonprofit Ceres. Previously she spent nearly nine years at Calvert Investments, leading environmental screening and engagement. She serves as Vice President of the board of the Neighbors of the Northwest Branch and is a devoted Baltimore Orioles fan. Rebecca has degrees in History from Vanderbilt University and Politics, Policy, and Society, focused on comparative environmental policy, from the University of Bath (UK). She believes deeply in leaning in to wherever it is one lives.
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Brian Shah
Communications Associate
Brian Shah’s interest in Rachel Carson started when he read The Sea Around Us and personally related to her love for the ocean. In high school, Shah researched and wrote a final history paper on the legacy of Silent Spring in environmental discussions. Shah is currently an undergraduate student at Stanford University studying the environment.
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Sarah van Haastert
Project Advisor
Sarah has 25 years experience in the Museum Design industry. Beginning as a content coordinator and developer, then moving into project management and direction, she has been involved in numerous new build and transformational museum projects. Some notable past projects include The Grand Tetons Visitor Center, The Bell Museum of Natural History, The Witte Museum, The Capitol Visitor Center at the US Capitol Building (2006 and 2022), and Edelman Fossil Park at Rowan University. Sarah has an unbridled passion for the Museum industry and the change it can make in shifting public perceptions.
BOARD
Board Secretary: Elizabeth Levien, AP Environmental Science, Chemistry, & Horticulture Teacher, Montgomery Blair HS
Board Treasurer: Ylla Bishop, Executive Director, Silver Spring Day School
Board Member: Susie Leong, Nonprofit fundraising professional, public art administrator, urban planner
Board Member: Alexandra Porr Mazeres, MPH, Communications & marketing professional
ADVISORS
Senior Advisor:
Dr. Linda Lear, Carson Historian and Biographer
Subject-Matter Advisors:
Mark Madison, National Historian, USFWS
Robert Macfarlane, Writer, Cambridge University
John D. Juriga, Biographer, Carson/Hines exhibits curator
Dacher Keltner, Professor of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley
Roger Christie, Carson family
Community Advisors:
Denisse Guitarra, Maryland Conservation Advocate, Nature Forward
Dan Reed, GGWash.org
Renée Katz, Friends of Maydale and IMPACT Silver Spring
Design Team
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Howard+Revis
Exhibit Designer
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Mahan Rykiel
Landscape Architect
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GLW
Civil Engineer