# Staff Directory ## expand\_more ### General Inquiries ![Search by Muhammad Atif from Noun Project (CC BY 3.0))](/sites/g/files/omnuum2761/files/styles/hwp_1_1__100x100_scale/public/wolbachlibrary/files/glass.png?itok=oqEmb6Nu) **Harvard Plate Stacks** Email with any inquiries, research requests, or questions. We are eager to support researchers from all backgrounds and disciplines. Not that do to current staffing levels, our responses might be delayed. [### Thom Burns ](/people/thom-burns)Curator of the Harvard Plate Stacks Thom Burns is the Curator of the Harvard Plate Stacks, the historical astronomical photographic collection at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. His professional and academic career focuses on connecting and creating synergy among... ![Man in red blazer stands in front of telescope](/sites/g/files/omnuum2761/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-09/Thom%209-30%20Headshots-60.jpg?h=54ff697f&itok=XLYckoNq) [### Lisa Hees Bravata ](/people/lisa-hees-bravata)Archivist & Assistant Curator Lisa Hees Bravata is the Archivist and Assistant Curator of the Harvard Plate Stacks. Lisa catalogs, describes, and preserves the historic artifacts in the Plate Stacks collection to make them more accessible to all. Her archival work emphasizes bringing... ![Women in white shirt and tan sweater stands in front of telescope](/sites/g/files/omnuum2761/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-09/Lisa%20Bravata%209-30%20Headshots-44.jpg?itok=FuixnZ8f) [### Rhiannon Rainey ](/people/rhiannon-rainey)Community Coordinator for Project PHaEDRA Rhiannon Rainey is the Community Coordinator for Project PHaEDRA. She assists volunteers and transcribes notebooks for the project, as well as handling the monthly newsletter. She started at Wolbach Library, working on their deduplication project before... ![A person in a red shirt smiling and holding a book](/sites/g/files/omnuum2761/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-12/9-30%20Rhannon%20Headshot.jpg?h=44673992&itok=3PjE0Cbj) [### Elijah Berk-Silverman ](/people/elijah-berk-silverman)Curatorial Assistant Elijah Berk-Silverman is a Curatorial Assistant with the Harvard Plate Stacks, where he is a part of the team that works on the preservation and digitization of 19th and 20th-century astronomical glass plate photographs. He works on collections management... ![Man in black jacket standing in front of cabinet of plates](/sites/g/files/omnuum2761/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-09/Elijah%20Burke-Silverman%209-30%20Headshots-140.jpg?itok=FcWlwLeD) [### Samantha Joyce ](/people/samantha-joyce)Curatorial Assistant Samantha M. Joyce is a Curatorial Assistant at the Harvard Plate Stacks, where she contributes to research, exhibition planning, and collection care. She was part of the team that completed the 20-year-long DASCH project and has supported major programs... ![Women in black shirt with red hair standing at a desk with astronomical glass plates.](/sites/g/files/omnuum2761/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-09/Samantha%209-30%20Headshots-15.jpg?itok=21KPJ4FP) [### Kayleigh MacDonald ](/people/kayleigh-macdonald)Curatorial Assistant of Astronomical Photographs Kayleigh MacDonald is a Curatorial Assistant with the Harvard Plate Stacks, where she assists in the digitization and preservation of 19th-century glass plate photographs. Her role combines high-level archival handling, metadata organization, and imaging... ![Women standing in front of telescope wearing a vest and jeans](/sites/g/files/omnuum2761/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-09/Kayleigh%209-30%20Headshots-98.jpg?itok=ztDENDS7) [### Meta Partenheimer ](/people/meta-partenheimer)Curatorial Assistant Meta Partenheimer is a Curatorial Assistant at the Harvard College Observatory’s Astronomical Photographic Glass Plate Collection at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian. In her role, Meta supports projects related to the history of... ![Woman in dark green shirt smiling in front of cabinets](/sites/g/files/omnuum2761/files/styles/hwp_4_5__690x865/public/2025-10/Meta%209-30%20Headshots-129.jpeg?h=bdc785e2&itok=rxBBGF6n)