Rosie the Riveter Project Director Donna Graves

   Project Director Donna Graves joined our efforts in 1997. Donna is an arts and cultural planner who brings extensive experience with public art and public history projects to the Memorial. She served as executive director of Marin County's Public Art Works and The Power of Place in Los Angeles, an organization that gained national recognition for its innovative strategies for interpreting LA's multi-cultural history.

   "The Rosie the Riveter project combines so many things that I'm passionate about" says Donna.

   "Being able to help honor people whose contributions have been overlooked is a real privilege. This is also just a great story, and one that I know people are genuinely excited to learn about. It has been a pleasure to help forge collaborations like those with the National Park Service, Tradeswomen, and Community Works that bring this history to a broader audience." After the Memorial was completed, Donna worked with the City of Richmond and the National Park Service to initiate and plan the Rosie the Riveter Home Front National Historical Park. She received funding from the California State Library to direct a project documenting the experiences of Richmond's Japanese American and Italian American communities during WWII, and was commissioned by the Park Service to conduct a study of additional historic sites throughout Richmond that could be considered for inclusion or interpretation at the National Historical Park.

   Donna's latest efforts in Richmond were to initiate and develop the Bay Trail interpretive signage project, and to conduct research on the extensive public housing built for defense workers.

   Donna is currently pursuing several new public history projects, including serving as Project Director for Preserving California's Japantowns, the first state-wide effort to research and document historic resources in California's numerous Japantowns www.californiajapantowns.org. She can be reached directly at (510) 540-6809 or by email at dgraves3@mindspring.com.