Board of Directors

Melissa Hield is PHIT’s executive director. A founding member of PHIT, she also serves on the board. In 2019 she retired as an executive at a Texas state agency where she specialized in strategic, business, and project planning. Hield has a M.A. in American Civilization from The University of Texas at Austin. She is a writer, researcher, and interviewer on PHIT projects.

Cynthia Beeman is an independent scholar who has worked on Texas history projects since the 1970s. A resident of Austin, Cynthia Beeman retired in 2007 after 21 years at the Texas Historical Commission, where she was Coordinator of the State Marker Program and Director of the History Programs Division. Beeman holds a bachelor’s degree in History from Texas Tech University. She is co-author with Dan K. Utley of History Ahead: Stories Beyond the Roadside Markers of Texas.

Jim Cullers retired after working for more than forty years as a videographer. His clients included PHIT and other non-profits, the City of Austin, and the University of Texas at Austin Longhorn Band.

Richard Croxdale is a professor of economics at Austin Community College. He has been director of research for People’s History in Texas since 1979. He is the principal researcher, scriptwriter, and editor on every project.