Elizabeth Karcher is the Executive Director of the President Woodrow Wilson House in Washington, D.C., a site of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Wilson House is a museum with guided and self-guided tours, educational programs and events, and is an event space. The site offers an intimate look at Wilson the man, his presidency, and his legacy – complicated, controversial, and consequential.
As Executive Director, Elizabeth manages the strategy and operations of this historic house and museum. The site’s current focus is on the themes of African American history, women’s history, and Wilson’s international impact. The Wilson House team is dedicated to ensuring that the House is a place for open dialogue and discussion of important historical issues related to the Wilson Presidency. Elizabeth’s team encompasses curatorial, operations, and marketing managers, as well as 20 trained museum guides. Her goal for the house is to share stories that tie the past to today. With over 8,400 pieces in the collection, this National Historic Landmark is a model historic and presidential site.
Prior to joining the National Trust and the Wilson House, Elizabeth worked at Discovery, Inc. a leading global media company.
Elizabeth served in many roles with the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, Junior Woman’s Club of Chevy Chase, MD, including serving as Club President where she led the club to convert from 501(c)4 to 501(c)3 status. She was instrumental in developing long-term fundraising programs to support the organization. She is an advisor to the board of the Shanta Foundation which supports sustainable community development in rural Myanmar.
Elizabeth holds a Master of Arts in International Relations from Rutgers University. She received her Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs from the American University of Paris, France. She and her husband live in Washington in a historic home that they have lovingly restored and renovated, preserving many historic features and details.
Felice Herman is the Deputy Director of the Wilson House. Felice joined the Wilson House staff in June 2023. Before coming to the Wilson House, Felice served as the Director of Membership and Friends of ASOR from 2018-2023 for the American Society of Overseas Research (Alexandria, VA), a non-profit that supports and funds archaeological research and cultural heritage preservation in the Middle East and North Africa. From 2014-2018, Felice worked as the Assistant Director of Development at Tudor Place Historic House and Garden in Georgetown, DC, a 5-minute drive from Wilson House. She has also worked at sites such as George Washington’s Mount Vernon and Washington National Cathedral. Felice has 10 years’ experience in non-profit work, in particular fundraising, events, and member relations.
Felice holds a Master of Arts in Archaeology from the University of College Dublin. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology and Archaeology from Washington and Lee University in Lexington, VA. As Deputy Director, she focuses on fundraising, communications, marketing, and developing diverse ways to preserve and interpret Woodrow Wilson’s complicated legacy.
Edith Michel is the Senior Manager of Education and Collections at the Wilson House. Her professional portfolio includes serving the six-time Gold Medal Award winning bi-county recreation and leisure agency serving both Montgomery and Prince George’s, Maryland, a regional urban and suburban community of nearly 2 million people. Her work experience spanned both counties supporting the mission and vision as a community planner, a curator, and special events coordinator in support of cultural and heritage month activities in the WMA. She also served as a management administrator supporting business outcomes including accreditation, program planning and financial sustainability. Much of her career focused on evaluation and research with a focus on the importance of customer engagement because “What gets measured gets done!” She operationalized “storytelling’ as a viable tool for sharing results of effective customer engagement and became a thought leader in best practices in cost recovery and program planning in support of cultural and leisure endeavors.
John Pucher is the Senior Manager of Business and Operations at the Wilson House. John has been with the National Trust for Historic Preservation since April 1999. Over the last 23 years, he has worked at various sites and positions. He started working for the National Trust in the Historic Sites department as the Assistant Financial Administrator to the Historic Sites, the Financial Administrator at Preservation Magazine, the Business Administrator to the Lincoln Cottage and Wilson House in Washington, DC. He has been in his current position at the Wilson House since 2013.
John has a Bachelor of Arts from Central Bible College in Springfield, MO. His academic curriculum included course study on church, foreign missions, biblical history, and entity management.