David Bird\\'s background is anchored in education and museum work, primarily history museums.  For over fifteen years he served as Executive Director or Curator for museums in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Indiana, and Georgia.  He also provides consulting to museum personnel on issues ranging from educational, exhibition and interpretive programming; institutional planning and vision; and staffing.  He has consulted for the National Park Service, Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, Lebanon County (PA) Historical Society, and The Milwaukee Road Shops, among others.  David has appeared on The History Channel, PBS, and NPR. For the past ten years, he has been a public school teacher, first with the Liberty County (GA) School System and now with Elkhart Community Schools.  David has taught World Geography and Cultures, Mathematics, and Language Arts.  

Currently, David is an Assistant Principal at Elkhart Central HS (Elkhart Community Schools). David attained a Bachelor of Science in Social Studies Education from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania.  In addition, he earned a Master of Arts in American Diplomatic History from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and Master of Education in Educational Leadership from Indiana State University, and completed the coursework for a Ph. D. in American History at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo.  

David\\'s area of interest is American railroads in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era and how they were crucial to the development of the New South following the Civil War.  He lives in Elkhart, Indiana with his wife, Julie; sixteen-year-old son, Liam; and dog, Emmeline.