Samantha Dorsey

NSCDA Program Manager

Samantha is responsible for coordinating the promotion of Great American Treasures and managing various programs like Dame-led scholarships, preservation, and public service projects.

Prior to joining us in January 2021, Samantha was the Curator of Collections at Gunston Hall, the 18th-century historic home of George Mason, located in Lorton, Virginia on Mason Neck. Together with her colleagues, she co-curated “Revolutionary Rights,” an exhibition exploring George Mason’s ideas, choices, actions, and legacy. In addition to her regular duties as a regional leader in museum collections, she also writes about and presents on material culture—the history of “us” through “stuff.” Her prior experience includes serving as the Historic Properties Curator at the City of Bowie Museums in Bowie, Maryland, and as a Curatorial Associate at Mount Vernon.

Her museum career began at age thirteen working at Claude Moore Colonial Farm. Her early museum experience inspired her B.A. in History/Public History from James Madison University and her M.A. from the Winterthur/University of Delaware Program in American Material Culture.

Fun Facts: In her spare time, she hosts elaborately themed dinner parties and is currently obsessed with ancient Rome. During Covid-restrictions, she chooses to travel through time and across the world on her dinner plate. Yes, she is related to Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey and once soloed at the Kennedy Center.